KANDAHAR - As a part of a series of training for radio journalists to improve their capacity in reporting, UNAMA successfully held three-day training in the southern Kandahar Province last week.

Seven journalists from different radio stations participated in the training that was held from 29 to 31 January. One of them was Razia Sarwari, a journalist of Kandahar radio and the only female participant in the training programme. She told UNAMA that it was her dream to become a journalist when she was young.

“I learned a lot of this training especially on conducting interviews,” said Ms. Sarwari. “This training will help me become a professional journalist.”

Started in October 2012 in Herat in Afghanistan’s northeast, the UNAMA has conducted training in Kunduz and Jalalabad as well. This year, UNAMA plans to roll out the training in other regions and provinces of Afghanistan.

While opening the training in Kandahar, Abdusamat Khaydarov, the Head of UNAMA for the southern region, said that the role of media and journalists were important in Afghanistan, especially during the transition period. Mr. Khaydarov told the journalists to report their stories “based on facts and carry out their jobs with enthusiasm”.

Mahmood Jamali, a journalist of Afghan Independent Radio was another participant who told UNAMA that he benefited a lot from the training, and he would implement the skills in his daily work.

Similar to the previous training in other regions, this radio journalism training used participatory-based approach where participants were regarded as knowledgeable professionals. The trainer’s role was to facilitate discussions and activities.

“The success of the training depends on you. You are required to fully participate in discussions and activities,” said Setyo Budi, UNAMA radio producer and trainer.
The journalists learned not only theory but also practice. There were six subjects in this training that covered topics from role of a journalist in a democratic society, codes of ethics in journalism to how to produce features.

By UNAMA Kandahar

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