29th July, 2018, Windhoek, Namibia: The Secretariat of the Southern African Development Community in collaboration with the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, Republic of Namibia on 29th July, 2018 convened a Media Awareness Workshop to build capacity of journalists to competently report on SADC Regional Integration and Industrialisation.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development in Namibia, Dr Michael Humavindu called on the media to give prominence to the strides that the SADC region has made in promoting Regional Integration and in driving the SADC Industrialisation Agenda.
Dr Humavindu said it is the responsibility of the media to unpack and sensitise SADC citizens on the importance of the 2018 SADC Industrialisation Week theme which is; Promoting Infrastructure Development and Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development.
The Deputy Permanent Secretary committed to facilitate interaction between journalists and key informants who have been invited to take part in the 3rd SADC Industrialisation Week, citing subject experts, policy makers, private sector, cooperating partners and representatives of the youth as examples of key news sources that will help journalists in their reporting about the 2018 SADC Industrialisation Week.
On his part, the Director of Industrial Development and Trade at the SADC Secretariat, Mr Tapiwa Samanga said journalists should extend their reporting beyond their national borders and give attention to the SADC regional Integration Agenda.
Mr Samanga urged participating journalists to consider dedicating more airtime and space on SADC programmes on their media outlets, cognisant of strides the SADC region is making in the promotion of regional integration.
The Media Awareness Workshop was held as pre cursor to the 3rd SADC Industrialisation Week to build the capacity of journalists to competently cover the SADC Industrialisation Agenda and, specifically the 2018 SADC Industrialisation Week which will be held from 30th July to1st August, 2018.
Support for workshop was provided by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH which is the development agency of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany through the projectStrengthening the National-Regional Linkages in SADC (SNRL) and it was facilitated by Mr Chibamba Kanyama, a seasoned journalist and media trainer, specialising in economic and development communication.
