International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) a non-governmental organisation in collaboration with Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has organised a three -day intensive training for some selected journalists in Ghana.
The aim of the training programme, according to the Deputy Coordinator of ICI, Mr Prince Gyamfi, was to help provide education and insight on what constitutes child labour, child work, as well as the workings of ICI in some cocoa growing areas in the country.
Speaking in an interview with Today after the programme, Mr Gyamfi explained that the media has proven over the years to be a key stakeholder in any development programme.
Journalists, according to him, serve as intermediaries between projects and stakeholders such as the government, the general public and direct and indirect beneficiaries of projects.
That, he said, was no different when it comes to the child labour and the need for child protection in cocoa growing areas.
“With the various misconceptions on child labour and what it entails, it has become very critical to ensure adequate use of the media to educate, create awareness, sensitise and engage key stakeholders and the general public on child labour and child protection issues. The best placed stakeholder to facilitate this type of public discourse is the media,” he stated.
According to him, many media houses and journalists in Ghana have little interest in child labour issues because they lack in-depth knowledge on the concept.
This, he said, has resulted in few media reports on the subject or its total relegation to the background to make room for more ‘sensational’ stories.
He emphasised that the training programme forms critical part of the ICI strategy to influence decision takers, civil society organisations (CSOs) hence the decision to train journalists at the national and local level within its operation areas.
The training, deputy coordinator of ICI, maintained will enable the participants have a better understanding of the issues when it comes to child labour and child protection as well as seeking to bring journalists and communities together to interact on child labour and the strategies these communities have adopted to protect the children in the community.
The training focused on concepts of child labour and child protection, child development, child work and child labour, causes and consequences of child labour, worst form of child labour, efforts by government and other stakeholders to eliminate child labour, and role of the media in child labour elimination and child protection.
Story: Franklin Asare-Donkoh, Back from Assin Fosu, Central Region
