“I really learned much from the workshop. So many things were new to me. Now I have a clear vision. The workshop encourages me to deal with these issues. Now I am interested in this type of journalism and in these issues. Therefore, we’ll produce gender-based violence stories from a humanitarian perspective,” Hanan ben Makhashin, a participant from Mukalla, stated at the end of the workshop which targeted 24 journalists from the governorates of Hadramout, Shabwa, and Mareb. The workshop aimed at training journalists on writing humanitarian stories on gender-based violence and reproductive health issues as well as ethics of this type of journalism.
In the closing session, programs director at SEMC, Hamdi Rasam, explained that the workshop is one in a series of workshops that make up a program targeting 15 governorates, the first was implemented in Taiz, the second in Aden, and the third here in Hadramout. The program is being implemented by SEMC in partnership with the UNFPA.
“The skills you acquired in this training workshop are just the first step in the journey. We hope to proceed with the same enthusiasm and determination that we have seen during the training phase,” Rassam urges participants, stressing that he is waiting for their stories that address gender-based violence and reproductive health issues in their local communities.
For her part, UNFPA Liaison Officer, Ms. Fahmiya al-Futaih said, “UNFPA is conducting this series of training workshops across the country this year which marks the 25th anniversary of the historic International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), in which reproductive issues and rights and gender-based violence were first recognized. This year, world leaders, including media professionals, will meet again in Nairobi in November to renew their pledges and commitments to these issues. UNFPA counts on the role of journalists in raising social awareness of these issues and promoting the ICPD agenda in Yemen.”
Trainer Bassam Ghobar explains that the workshop seeks to create journalism focusing on humanitarian issues, especially on gender-based violence and reproductive health.
Ghobar pointed out that the workshop enables journalists to acquire skills needed in this type of journalism, including selection of stories, access to sources, and methods of writing these stories based on state-of-the-art journalistic techniques and ethical principles that take these issues into account.
Ghada Al-Husseini, a journalist from Mareb, said, “I have attended lots of training workshops, but I benefited from this workshop most. I acquired valuable skills and information, especially as training included practical activities. I especially learned techniques of searching for and verification of information, as well as methods of writing humanitarian stories on gender-based violence.”
Hani Joud, a participant from Sayoun, said, “The workshop added much to my knowledge and skills. It consisted of theoretical lessons, scientific concepts, and field work that will benefit us in practice in a way that contributes to improvement of performance and keeps us informed of new trends in journalism and helps us address social issues clearly and comprehensively.”
Mathhaba, a participant from Mukalla, stated, “I was ignorant of some concepts and writing methods of humanitarian stories because I always imagined it as a literary genre. I also learned new reproductive health and gender concepts. It was a comprehensive and useful workshop that added much to my knowledge.”
Further confirming the fact that the workshop was helpful, Adnan Al-Mansouri, a journalist from Shabwa, states, “The workshop was a threshold to humanitarian journalism. It constitutes a milestone marking a shift towards caring for simple people, touching their concerns, problems, and doing them justice by communicating voices of the vulnerable. Through the workshop, I am taking the first step towards realizing this dream.”
This attitude is also expressed by Safa ba Akaba, a participant from Mukalla, “It was a new professional workshop for me on sensitive humanitarian issues that were not sufficiently covered by the media. I learned many new things. The workshop also helped me assess risks while producing stories on sensitive issues, and introduced me to many new concepts that enrich my career as a journalist.”
SEMC is a non-profit civil society organization promoting a successful and transparent economic system through training and raising awareness of economic issues, and enhancing transparency and citizen participation in decision-making. It promotes professional media and economic empowerment of youth and women and advances their role in peacebuilding.
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