By Joseph Edegbo
Africa Media Development Foundation, AMDF, Wednesday in Kaduna, North West Nigeria, rolled out its success story to mark the Tenth Year in championing the training of journalists in various sectors including governance, health, environment, education, peace as well as sexual and gender based violence, SGBV.
The trainings which include ethical issues of the profession, resulted in the indepth and well informed reports from the participants, drawing the attention and actions of the government, politicians and spirited individuals to issues raised.
Other major activities, included Press Freedom violation cases in Africa, which among others, necessitated the annual memorial lecture named after a Nigerian journalist , Bagauda Kaltho who went missing in 1996 as a result of his journalistic calling.
The annual Media Clinic provides reporters, producers, media executives and CSOs the opportunity to meet, discuss and set agenda on trending issues, while Africa Conference on Development Journalism with the gathering of journalists, media executives, academia, donor partners and CSOs, discuss development journalism and SDGS.
The conference features presentation of awards to journalists that distinguished themselves in indepth journalism work and creates community of learning that would support the growth of development journalism in Africa.
Also highlighted at the event, were non-journalism based activities carried out by the AMDF. These include maternal and Child health, partnership with Omni Agrik on food security as well as the Rise Up project of the Public Health Institute of John Hopkins University, through which it supported the Kaduna State Government to develop a policy implementation framework for girls education in public secondary schools.
Also in focus, was the implementation of a project advocating the enforcement of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition, VAPP law. The law deepened the prevention of sexual and gender based violence in the State.
The AMDF Executive Director, Sekyen Dadik who chronicled the achievements, said even though the organization had not reached its pinnacle, it has achieved a lot within the Ten years of the formation, to be celebrated.
Some of the activities, Mrs Dadik emphasized, were carried out through their expertise without sponsors and therefore commended the staff for their resilience with awards for hard work and dedication to duty.
The Executive Director paid glowing tribute to the founder of the AMDF, now in the US, Mr. Iliya Kure who had given them room to grow and also the media, for always being with the organization.
In a remark, a member of the AMDF Board Of Trustees, Dr. Yila Umoru who had been a friend of the media, noted with satisfaction that a mustard seed had grown and blossomed, given cover to many.
Dr. Yila Umoru was highly delighted at the feat which, he said, was recorded without funding, but through home grown.
Speaking on behalf of the media, a Freelance and member, Journalists for Peace, Mohammed Ibrahim expressed gratitude to AMDF noting that it was the organization that Development Journalism which most of them have benefitted from, was introduced in Kaduna.
Most Journalists in the State, Ibrahim added, would ever remain grateful and continue to identify with the AMDF.
He also commended DevComs, a media development organization which promotes development journalism for social and economic progress.
