Peace Journalism Training is Organised for Journalists
The Justice and Peace Service in a One Day training which took place on the 05th of July, 2016 equipped some 20 journalists from print and audio-visual media houses in the North West Region with skills in Peace Journalism.
Facilitated by Rev. Mokoko Mbue Thomas, National Communication Secretary, of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC), and Alexander Vojvoda, Community Manager at CBS Radio in Buea was very interactive in nature, with practical case studies and group works to enable participants have a mastery of basic concepts.
When editors and reporters make choices about what to report, and how to report it – that creates opportunities for society at large to consider and to value non-violent responses to conflict. This is Peace Journalism. It emphasizes the rule of DUALISM; ‘on the one hand… on the other hand… in the end, only time will tell’ -and seeks to Give Peace a Chance. This is unlike War journalism which is about conflict that has a value bias towards violence and violent groups. It usually leads audiences to overvalue violent responses to conflict and ignore non-violent alternatives.
Role of Media in Peace Buildingwas also higlighted, while expantiating on some models to facilitate participants‘ understanding; Conflict Mapping, Conclict Tree, and Onion Analysis.
