The Uganda Media Women’s Association (UMWA) has embarked on a training program for journalists in public affairs reporting, made possible with support from the Finnish Foundation for Media and Development (VIKES) under the Women and Media Project.
This one-year training initiative will focus on equipping female journalists with the skills necessary to effectively report on public affairs. The program will be implemented in Kampala and the Northern region, with a total of 10 female journalists selected from 10 media houses – five from Kampala and five from the Northern region.
As part of the training, participants will receive story grants to support their reporting on critical issues such as gender-based violence, challenges faced by women living with disabilities, minority groups, and other underreported topics.
“Apaalati Catherine says, ‘We are starting with a small group of female journalists due to funding limitations, but we hope to expand to other regions in the future. We chose Kampala because UMWA is based here and the Northern region because VIKES is implementing other programs there. This is our first project with VIKES, and if we implement it successfully, we will include other regions.’”
This training highlights UMWA’s commitment to promoting gender equality in the media by empowering female journalists to cover important public issues that are often overlooked.