Mogadishu, Tuesday, September 7, 2021: In partnership with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), the Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) has concluded three – day training workshop on capacity building workshop on election reporting and supporting the 30% women quota.

The training workshops aimed to strengthen the capacity of journalists in election reporting and support the 30% women quota during the elections in Somalia have been held for thirty selected journalists from various media outlets in Mogadishu and representatives based in Mogadishu working for other media stations at regional and international level.

The participants in the training workshop included both male and female journalists from media stations, newspapers, websites, TV and social media.

Representatives from the Ministry of Women Affairs and Human Rights Development and the Banadir Reading and Writing Club were also the key participants in the workshop focusing on enhancing the capacity of election reporting and supporting the 30% women quota for political participation.

The main purpose of the training workshops conducted for covering the Somali elections was to build the capacity of the journalists on election reporting, specifically on how to report about women’s political participation and advocate and campaign for women’s political participation.

Facilitators with expertise in media training have participated with the journalists and the presentations of the themes in debates, discussions and analyzing the issue of the 30% for women.

The key topics covered included different formats of Programs on elections and promoting women, ethical Journalism and key, the use of social media in elections, how to make feature program of women Quota program sequencing, understanding the challenges women face and how the media can mitigate, discussion on best ways to promote 30% women quota in the Federal parliament and increasing Somali Media advocacy campaign on Women Participation in the political processes.

Fardowsa Mohamed Sahal, one of the participating female journalists, pointed out to have benefited a lot from the workshop in many aspects relating to their skills. She mentioned that they had learned different production methods, news packages, comments, dramas, and the audience's time.
Walid Mohamed Ali, a visually impaired journalist, said, " The training provided an opportunity for me to make reports and stories about women with special needs who also want to run for the Parliament. In addition, the journalists with special needs are more close than other reporters to interview or report on women with special needs who are interested in politics.”

With the support of UNSOM, the Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) intends to conduct similar training workshops in the capital cities of the regional states of Somalia; the journalists will be taking advantage of these opportunities to increase their professional capacities in election and support for women’s quota.

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Mohamed Kafi Adam(Uk)

©2021 Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) | Maka Almukarama road ,Waberi ,Mogadishu ,Somalia