BY SIMON NDIVE KALLA
Members of Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists, CAMASEJ, Limbe-Tiko chapter have been empowered on technics to effectively report the conflict in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon.
This was during a one-day restitution workshop held in Limbe on Saturday, October 5, 2024, organised by the Limbe/Tiko Chapter with sponsorship from the National Bureau, led by President Jude Viban and his executive.
Speaking during the event, the president of CAMASEJ Limbe-Tiko chapter, Kuma Honore said the conflict in the two English-speaking regions has been rated as one of the most under-reported conflicts in the world.
“That’s why the Open Society thought it wise to empower journalists to optimize their engagement in effort in building peace in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon through increased media participation,” he said.
On the aspect of pitching international stories on the conflict, Kuma said, “Most journalists limit themselves to only engage local reporting, meanwhile the money in the profession is also in pitching and reporting stories for international media.”
However, journalists were cautioned not to endanger their lives while reporting the anglophone crisis and the stories must not be biased (should be void of emotions).
The over 20 journalists were also trained on how to effectively pitch stories for local, national, regional and International media.
The training aims to enhance CAMASEJ members’ skills to report on and promote peaceful resolution of the armed conflict in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon which has been on in the last 8 years.
The workshop was restituted by Kuma Honore who presented on, “Understanding Conflict Reporting and Risk Mitigating Measures. Adamou Williams covered Search Engine Optimization while EmerenciaAwung focused on digital security. NoelaBisong facilitated on pitching story ideas to editors.
The workshop followed a training of trainers workshop in Yaounde which was themed, “Optimizing Media Engagements in Peace Efforts in Cameroon’s North West and South West Regions.” Twenty-four journalists, four from each of the six chapters, became trainers to share knowledge with fellow association members nationwide.