A total of 12 journalists have received DW Akademie and MISA Malawi certificates after undergoing a three-day hands-on Digital Storytelling training.
The journalists, who were drawn from different media houses in Malawi, attended the training at Bridge View Hotel in Malawi’s Capital, Lilongwe, from Monday, January 7 – Wednesday, January 9, 2019.
The participants described the training as unique and valuable.
“We promise that our audience or readers will see a difference. We have acquired skills that will make our stories more exciting and easy to understand,” one of the journalists, Titus Linzie of Youth Net and Counselling (YONECO) FM in Zomba said.
MISA Malawi Chairperson Teresa Ndanga pointed out that the training had come at a right time and would help improve online writing in the country.
“We have seen that there is growth in terms of writing for online publications. It is also helping to form opinion and setting the agenda. As we are going towards elections in May 2019, we think that storytelling through digital means will be more relevant and this training has come at the right time,” Ndanga said.
She called on the participants to be creative and professional.
Ndanga also thanked DW Akademie for supporting the training and MISA Malawi in general.
An expert in Digital Storytelling from DW Akademie Marcus Bösch, who was the lead facilitator, said the participants were excited and eager to learn.
“I am very proud of the participants. Although they seemed to struggle with some technical stuff, they were all giving their best…,” Bösch said.
Among others, the training focused on ‘online photography,’‘telling online stories using videos,’ and‘mobile reporting.’
MISA Malawi, in partnership with DW Akademie, Germany’s leading organisation for media development and Deutsche Welle’s center of excellence for education and knowledge transfer, have lined up a series of trainings for journalists and communications professionals for the period January – March, 2019.
The trainings include ‘Digital Story Telling,’ for online journalists; ‘Essential Public Communication skills’ for Public Relations Officers; ‘Essential Journalism Skills,’ for community radio broadcasters; and ‘Voter Centered Elections Reporting,’ for seasoned journalists interested in elections reporting.
