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Call for Applications for HIV/AIDS
Training Programme for Nigerian Journalists
Beginning May 1, 2006, Projekthope, the host NGO of the news and
information website, NigeriaHIVinfo.com, will offer a series of one-month
training programmes funded by the Health Journalism Partnership (HJP)
Small Grants Programme. The Health Journalism Partnership Small Grants
Programme is a joint initiative of Internews Network, ICFJ, and Panos
London.
According to Mr. Steve Aborisade, Editor in Chief of NigeriaHIVinfo.com,
the programme will host professional journalists at their office to
receive formal training to report on HIV/AIDS issues for both the website
and for their respective media outlets. Internships will last for four
weeks and will be offered to five journalists at a time from one of each
outlet: television, radio, newspaper, magazine and photojournalism.
Applicants should be professional journalists from any medium (television,
radio, newspaper, magazine and photography) with demonstrated interest and
or experience in HIV/AIDS or public health reporting.
Selected applicants will receive a N10,000 stipend for participating in
the programme.
All travel costs associated with covering stories for the training
programme will also be covered (this does not include transport costs to
and from the office).
The use of computers and internet will be provided at the training
facility.
During the internship, guest journalists will undergo on-the-job training
by reporting exclusively on HIV/AIDS issues in Lagos and around Nigeria.
An in-house media trainer (Sutton Eaves) from a Canadian based media NGO,
Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), will work with interns on a daily
basis to help develop the specific skills and attitudes necessary to
report on HIV/AIDS issues. Lessons in specialized health reporting will be
partly prepared by Dr. Patricia Wodi, who is board certified both in
general pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases from University of
Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), Newark, New Jersey. Dr.
Wodi currently practises in Mississippi, USA.
Under the guidance of the in-house media specialist and other local
partners, journalists will receive training on the basic protocols of
reporting that will inculcate elements of human rights and also introduce
participants to specialized health reporting. Both individual and
workshop-style skill development sessions will examine investigative
reporting and research methodologies, the impact of language and
presentation and source selection.
At the end of the project, at least 20 Nigerian journalists will have
received specialized instruction in health and human rights journalism, as
well as the chance to put these skills into practice.
Application packages will be made available in the newsrooms and should be
returned to the Projekthope office at 24 Omotayo Ojo Street, off Allen
Avenue, Ikeja Lagos by April 21, 2006. Application can also be completed
online at
www.nigeriahivinfo.com
Inquiries can be directed to training@nigeriahivinfo.com
NigeriaHIVinfo.com was conceived to complement the efforts of the media in
Nigeria in reporting HIV/AIDS but more importantly to provide timely,
accurate and responsible news and analysis about the occurrence of the
disease in the country.
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