In observance of #WPFD2023, Gambia Press Union (GPU) in collaboration with the Media Council of The Gambia (MCG) and the Media Academy for Journalism and Communication – MAJaC held a Safety Forum with Media Managers and Editors.
The event, held on 3rd May under the theme “Strengthening In-House Safety of Media Houses in The Gambia”, is funded by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), with participants drawn from various media houses including the newspapers, radio, television, and online media.
The forum discussed Findings of GPU Safety Assessment of Media Houses and Introduction to the GPU Safety Tool Kit; Procedures for Seeking Justice: An Assault Guide for Journalists; and the Idea of a Safety Curriculum for MAJaC.
The idea is to get media managers and editors to adopt the GPU safety guidelines and to establish their own safety structures and mechanisms in their newsrooms.
The forum was meant to promote the idea of safety-conscious editorial boards across newsrooms within the media industry in The Gambia.
This year’s global theme for WPFD, “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights”, signifies the enabling element of freedom of expression to enjoy and protect all other human rights.
The GPU called on the government to prioritize its responsibility of fulfilling its promises of the full enjoyment of freedom rights.
“We are urging The Gambia Government to make the realisation of freedom of expression and a free and independent press a top priority for Gambians to fully enjoy all other rights, including civil, political, economic and social rights,” GPU President, Muhammed S. Bah said.
In his keynote statement, the Executive Secretary of the MCG, Bai Emil Touray, said WPFD provides media practitioners with the opportunity to take stock of the gains they have recorded in the past year and to also “hammer out solutions to the challenges they have been grappling with.”
“It is our view that unethical practices by journalists is a recipe for disaster. Journalists are professionals, who are expected to discharge their duties in a responsible and professional manner,” he said.
“I wish to encourage the GPU to continue engaging media managers on the collective bargaining agreement as it seeks to enhance the welfare of journalists,” Touray said. “Journalists who receive pittance or starvation wages are more vulnerable to unethical practices than those that are highly motivated by their employers.”
