National Federation of Gambia UNESCO Clubs and Centres

Promoting ICT and EFA as a tool for Sustainable Development

Influenced by the Information For All Programme (IFAP), and recognizing that information is power, NAFGUC through its Participation Programme 2006-2007 established the nucleus for a Community Multi Media Centre (computers with Internet and e-mail, phone, fax and photocopying services) in one of its Educational Resources Centres located at Jarra Soma in the Lower River Region. Continuous support and upgrading of this centre’s facilities is very important in giving ICT access and relevant developmental information to youths and community members. The Federation would also like to replicate the facilities in Soma at the Bajagarr Educational Resources Centre located at the Western Region of the country in order to disseminate important developmental information and news. In fact there is a need for the establishment of Community Multi Media Centres in the other remaining two regions of the country in order to build a well informed society. The main objective being to promote media literacy and education through mechanisms enshrined in the Information for All Programme (IFAP) and International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC).

The Community Multimedia Centres (CMCs) will promote community empowerment and address the digital divide by combining community broadcasting with the internet and related technologies.

It is against this background that UNESCO, through its Participation Programme for 2008-09 provided funds for the purchase of equipment for the proposed radio station in Jarra.

A limited tender was sent to suppliers for the purchasing of the radio equipment. Consequently, the lowest bidder was awarded the tender and negotiations were opened for the bid price.

It is envisaged that the administration of the Multi-Media Centre will rest in the hands of the local youths of the area.  It is hoped that public awareness linkages between ICT and Education for All Goals will be created. More developmental information will be available to the community.

Also the CMC will create and enhance more visibility for UNESCO Clubs and Centres countrywide.

Support for Media Training in The Gambia

This project seeks to address some of the concerns of the media cadre, the Government and the public through proper and relevant training for not only practising journalists but also those who are aspiring to join the profession. there have been concerns expressed of  scanty news articles produced by Gambian newspapers and heavy reliance on sensational headlines which are sometimes threats to security, sovereignty of the country or defamation of character of a public figure. Hence, it is imperative to ensure that media personnel are more respected through their display of professionalism and respect of ethical values. They should play their role in educating the public and providing important information of government policies and other international or developmental news that could be valuable to people. The training programmes look at responsible journalism, ethics, government policies, how to manage and handle sensitive information as well as accurate reporting to avoid unnecessary mistakes leading to apologies or rejoinders.

Media Agenda is implementing the training of journalists countrywide on different media components. The institution is expected to train about 200 journalists on different issues at different levels by the end of March 2009. So far, three training activities have taken place.  One impact envisaged from the training is an improvement of relations between the media, government and the public in addition to increasing awareness of Media Agenda and its training programme.