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Central Africa Journalists at the school of Social Media.

From 17-18 June, 2015 a regional building capacity workshop  was organized by The Sao Tome and Principe Water Partnership in collaboration with GWP-CAf  on “the contribution of social media in achieving water security in central Africa” for central Africa Journalists specialized in water security and climate resilience reporting.

 

It brought together at Santana Club & Beach Resort Hotel in Sao Tome Journalists from various media house both private and public, and different countries including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Chad, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe.

 

The workshop aimed at initiating media practitioners to the proper use of social media as a means of communication on the one hand, and on the other hand underlining the role of social media as a catalyst in changing human behavior with respect to water security, and climate resilience and are concerned.

 

The two day workshop which focused on the use of social media was also a unique opportunity for not only introducing media professionals to the GWP-CAf‘s web presence including the regional website and social media on which the organization is active but also inviting media practitioners to interact on these online platforms

Field visits were organized to projects supported by Sao Tome and Principe Water Partnership like the school of deaf and a drinking water supply points financed and constructed by the STP WP. These field visits enabled media professionals to discover the interest of deaf students through plays on good water management and latrine use on the one hand and the fight against waterborne diseases on the other hand. It was also an opportunity to draft “Mayi”, a GWP-CAf annual magazine.

The workshop evaluation indicated that participants were very happy with the new knowledge gained, and made a pledge to be more active on social media to share their stories.

Lessons learnt

  • Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn ...) are new and powerful tools for communication, information, education and sensitization of the population. Thanks to them the information is disseminated in real time on several subjects to thousands of people.
  • Social networks represent a revolution in our time.
  • With the use of social Media journalists are at the forefront of technology and looking for more audience.
  • Deaf students learning from “Fundaçao e Desenvolvimento de Sao Tome e Prinicipe” pledge to be one of the major actors in sensitizing communities on water management and water-borne diseases.
  • It is crucial to integrate gender concerns into national development planning and priorities. The deaf students need assistance to become more involved in making communities aware of water issues.

Outcomes

  • The participants therefore gained during two days session skills for writing with @GWP-CAf, #GWP, exchanging of contents and publishing updates.
  • Also, Journalists were able to consolidate their knowledge on IWRM, climate change and water security. At the same time, they learned how to perfect their audience through commitment on social media.
  • In response to the request of deaf students, GWP-CAf and workshop participants raised some funds (216 000 Fcfa) to support the foundation and promised a computer to facilitate access to social media, tools for deaf children.
Page last edited: 6/25/2015