The Wayamo Foundation held a four-day workshop in Nairobi between 9-12 September 2024 on responsible media reporting of justice and accountability processes in and for Sudan.
This workshop brought together Sudanese journalists and a limited number of human rights reporters for training on reporting during times of armed conflict, understanding and dealing with trauma and self-care, reporting responsibly while navigating the complexities of hate speech, and universal jurisdiction for international crimes.
The training spanned three days and included both group sessions and practical break-out sessions. Wayamo drew on its pool of experts to establish peer-to-peer training and briefing sessions with Sudanese counterparts and the training was followed by a one-day, one-on-one engagement between Wayamo experts and the participants, aimed at producing well-prepared reports for various media platforms on critical issues discussed during the workshop or those of current importance in Sudan.
Wayamo drew on its expert network to lead the workshop sessions, with Marine Alneel, Executive Director Afia for Community and Psychological Wellness Services and Studies, leading sessions on understanding trauma self-care, and trauma and professionalism.
Veteran Kenyan journalists Christine Nguku, representing the Media Council of Kenya and Macharia Gaitho, Columnist and Former Managing Editor Special Projects at the Nation Media Group led sessions on practising journalism in the midst of hate/dangerous speech, and practical steps newsrooms can take in improving reporting on dangerous speech. Nick Leddy, Head of Litigation, Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), contributed a session on the promise of universal jurisdiction, discussing how the path facing international efforts to achieve justice for crimes committed in Sudan.
Wayamo’s team also contributed to the training as well, with Legal and Research Officer Abdalbasit Mohamed leading a session on the legal complexities of the armed conflict in Sudan, while Coordinator for East Africa Judie Kaberia led a session on reporting safely in Kenya amidst political unrest. Wayamo Digital Programmes Manager Kris Kotarski led a session on fact checking around online hate speech and incitement along with Robin Taylor, Research Assistant, Crisis, Conflict & Arms Division, Human Rights Watch, while Gouja Ahmed, Wayamo Sudan Communications and Logistics Officer co-facilitated a session with Nasraldeen Eltayeb, Editor-in-Chief, Ayin Network who led his fellow Sudanese journalists in a lively discussion on improving awareness and not becoming part of the problem on hate speech.
Finally, Wayamo’s Africa Director Joseph Roberts-Mensah led the trainees and his fellow presenters through a full day story workshop, working on in-depth strategies for reporting accurately and objectively.
Participants and trainers.
The Wayamo Foundation has organised media workshops for Sudanese journalists (including those documenting the conflict) with the objective of strengthening reporting skills and building their knowledge about critical justice-related issues within the framework of its “Capacity building for civil society and the justice sector in Sudan” project. Well-trained journalists and informed citizens are able to take a fuller participatory role in their countries’ democratic processes are key to enhancing local ownership of justice and accountability.
With the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office.
