Welcome Statement by the Resident Coordinator at the Journalism Ethics & Human Rights-based Report Training

I am delighted and honored to welcome all of you this morning to the first training of journalists from all media houses in the Kingdom of Eswatini. This training is part of an on-going partnership-building between the UN family in Eswatini and local media institutions, through the Ministry of ICT, that is aimed at building the capacity of the media to contribute to the advancement of Agenda 2030 of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

There are at least four trainings planned in the upcoming months, which will involve different groups within the media community and will touch on various subjects.

 At this stage, I would like to welcome the Director of the UN Information Centre in Pretoria, Mr. Simba Tafirenyika, who has volunteered his valuable time to come to Eswatini to  share experiences and guidance on how best Eswatini journalists can report on Eswatini  development agenda and enhance their skills and performance in an environment in which so much is happening/is being realized by the Government, the civil society, the private sector, communities, partners and donors and ordinary individuals but in which sensationalism continues to attract and retain attention.

I also wish to welcome Dr. Maxwell Mthembu who, as most of you already know, is a colleague as well as a teacher at the University of Eswatini. Dr. Mthembu has been part of the media industry for more than 20 years as a practising journalist and a journalism trainer. I hope and trust that, through his facilitation, we will all enjoy interesting, engaging and very productive conversations with lots of useful and actionable take-aways.

We also appreciate the presence of the teaching staff from the Limkokwing University. The UN is in the process of building strong partnerships with learning and research institutions to promote knowledge and information-sharing, capacity-building, experience-sharing and best practices around the SDGs. Your presence here to learn more about the SDGs, the work of the UN, its partnership approach and how your professional corps can effectively lend a hand to the Government/donors/development partners is highly appreciated.

I appreciate, recognise and praise the good working relationship that my office enjoys with the Ministry of ICT under the astute leadership of HRH Princess Sikhanyiso, and her team. That privileged relationship has ensured that this training is held and is a success. The SDGs can only be achieved with strong partnerships with all stakeholders, including the government, civil society, private sector as well as the media. To the Ministry responsible for media development, we want to reiterate our commitment to ensuring that our partnership is strengthened for the benefit of the media industry in Eswatini.

Since my arrival in Eswatini in December last year, I have held several meetings with different stakeholders with the aim of building partnerships. This training is the outcome of those consultations in which the need for capacity-building was expressed.

The purpose of this training is therefore to enhance the capacity of the media to report in a responsible and ethical manner on a wide range of issues, but it is also an opportunity to create a platform where both the UN and the media can understand one another better and cultivate a healthy and mutually benefiting rapport. Too often, we have unrealistic expectations of each other because we do not engage/we do not communicate sufficiently. Consequently, we, the UN in Eswatini, have decided to enhance our engagement with each of you and would be willing to convene quarterly breakfast meetings to discuss issues of mutual interest as well as provide updates on progress from the development agenda front.

To place the relevance of the training today in its context, we also need to understand that we live in a world where the spread of false information or ‘fake news’ is on the rise and poses a threat to people’s lives and human rights. Disinformation and misinformation are different from quality journalism, which abides by professional and ethical standards.

 We are also faced with cases of weak journalism that falls short of its own promise. Weak journalism includes, for example, errors that arise from poor research or sloppy verification. It includes sensationalism, exaggeration through the discriminatory selection of biased facts at the expense of fairness, balance and accuracy. Poor quality journalism sometimes allows disinformation and misinformation to originate in or leak into the real news system.

These are global phenomena that require concerted efforts from all stakeholders. It is evident that strong ethical journalism is needed as an alternative and as an antidote to the contamination of the information environment. The theme of this training is “Journalism Ethics & Human Rights-based Reporting” and is intended to protect the professional and ethical standards of Esmaswati journalists by giving them the tools to report adequately on information that is primarily in the public interest such as SDGs, which affect or impact the life  of each and every Emaswati.

 Through, UNESCO, the UN in Eswatini is committed to strengthening journalism education and fostering professionalism. This is only the beginning.

Once we have built the foundation, we shall explore opportunities for professional growth and exposure through exchange programmes, study or filed visits and other forms of trainings. As an example, UNHQ has been running, for the past 3 decades, the Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship which is a unique opportunity for young journalists in the ages of 22 to 35 from developing countries to cover for their media outlets the United Nations General Assembly sessions which are held every year in September.

As a conclusion of these introductory remarks, I wish you very fruitful deliberations and a renewed energy to tackle the challenges inherent to your fascinating and very sensitive job.

I thank you.