By Matik Kueth
The Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) has concluded a two-day training for journalists on conflict-sensitive and peace journalism reporting on Wednesday, emphasizing the necessity to adhere to the journalist’s ethical code of conduct to report professionally.
The workshop, which also tackled hate speech and misinformation, as well as the role of artificial intelligence in media, brought together at least 30 journalists from various media outlets in Juba.
Speaking at the closing session of the training, Josphine Achiro, AMDISS’s Chairperson, urged journalists to uphold integrity and adhere strictly to professional standards.
She underlined the importance of professionalism in journalism, warning against the spread of unprofessional reporting often seen on social media.
“If you go back to the Court of Conduct, it defines everything what you are supposed to do as a journalist. Let us back off as professional journalists. Maybe we leave to those citizen journalists. Because in this country, everyone with a smartphone is a journalist, a citizen journalist. Let them be the ones to make those mistakes when we correct them as professional journalists,” Achiro stated.
Participants expressed gratitude for the training, noting its relevance and potential impact on their reporting practices.
Yep Joseph, participant and a reporter with Number Citizen Newspaper, commended AMDISS for organizing the workshop, stressing that the training would help journalists report more responsibly without bias.
“The two-day training will really help us. We have some necessary information to help the journalists in ensuring that whatever they write or whatever they give to the public is free from hate speech. And it’s more of a conflict resolution rather than equivalent conflict in the country,” he said.
Another participant, Susan Gabrielo, a journalist working for SSBC, said she benefited from the training and promised to put into practice the knowledge she acquired.
“We have been here for two-day workshop training on the conflict sensitive reporting where they equipped the journalists with enough knowledge on how they can carry their duties on their respective media houses,” she stressed.
She added, “This program has been organized by AMDISS in South Sudan. So, actually I benefited a lot from this two-day workshop, and I just want to assure you that all the journalists that have been here for these two-day, all of them were quipped and we are going to put all the knowledge that we got from here into practice.”
Since South Sudan gained its independence in 2011 after decades of civil war and strife. The media landscape is both fragile and transforming; with a history marked by political strife, ethnic conflicts, and ongoing violence, journalism’s role has never been more vital yet challenging.
The training reflects AMDISS’s vital role in promoting responsible reporting, that can contribute to conflict resolution and social cohesion in South Sudan.