RNTC-ICTA to conduct 'Internet for Journalists' workshop in Colombo

2-Sep-2010

World-renowned media training centre, RNTC, will conduct a two-week practical training workshop for Sri Lankan media personnel on 'Internet for Journalists'.

"This will be organised parallel to the e-Sri Lanka awareness workshop from 6 to 17 September in Colombo," ICTA Chief Operation Officer Reshan Dewapura said.

"The course aims at strengthening the capacity of broadcast, print and online journalists and of the organisations they work for to use the internet for the purposes of research, publication and distribution," RNTC Course Manager Tony Wilkinson said.

The Colombo workshop, in which 25 local media personnel will take part, will be conducted by two professional trainers from Holland, namely, Abi Daruvalla and Jeroen Westerbeek.

"The speed of the internet and its growing ubiquity mean that it is increasingly for journalists the first medium on which their stories appear. On the internet they can present their news stories in new and attractive ways, supported by additional background material, using a variety of media, and stored in dossiers and archives for later retrieval. The rapid evolution of interactive technologies and social media also means that, more than ever, journalists can engage with their audiences and readers," the ICTA COO explained.

He stressed the need of building the ICT capacity of local media personnel and said that ICTA continuously supported this endeavor under its 'Strategic Communications' Programme.

"ICTA, being a development organisation, human skill development is a very important area for us to achieve certain targets in the e-Sri Lanka road map. ICT savvy journalists can report development related stories in a more professional and efficient manner," he explained. 

The participants will be from different professional media such as radio, television, print and online. The goal of the course is to transcend these boundaries and merge the disciplines in search of the ideal of a multimedia journalist.

"The workshop will be dedicated to enabling the participating journalists to work as internet journalists/producers. The emphasis will be on learning by doing, focusing on theory and practice," ICTA Head of Strategic Communications Athula Pushpakumara said.

The Radio Nederland Training Centre is a centre of excellence in the field of media, development and education. They design and implement projects supporting the development of the media sector and the effective use of media for development. RNTC is attached to the Dutch international broadcaster Radio Netherlands Worldwide.