16 Jul 2020

Media practitioners have been identified as key stakeholders in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional integration agenda.

Speaking at a two-day virtual SADC training for journalists on July 15, the sustaininability and organisational development advisor for Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), Ms Lindiwe Ngwenya said the training was intended to close the gap between national and regional integration programmes.

The training was a collaboration between the SADC secretariat and the Office of the President through Botswana Government Communication and Information System (BGCIS).

The workshop was attended by over 30 local media practitioners. She said the media was the appropriate organisation to strengthen regional linkages between member states.

For linkages to be strengthened, she said it was important for journalists to understand regional integration and their role in empowering citizens about  the SADC regional integration agenda.

She underscored the need for media practitioners to understand the importance of communication and storytelling, and how they could influence change in their country.

For his part, the chief public relations officer at BGCIS, Mr Kaelo Kaelo also aknowledged the media as a key component in information dissemination about regional integration at the national level.

He said the training was intended to bridge the information dissemination gap to the citizenry in SADC member states.

“It is, therefore, important for the media to understand the regional integration concept so that they could break it down to the ordinary citizens.

This training came at the right time when Botswana, as a landlocked country, is currently experiencing shortage of essential supplies such as fuel,” he said.

He noted that the media had to have an understanding of how regional integration worked between member states in order  to accurately communicate  issues to the public.

He appealed to attendants to inform themselves about the regional integration agenda and also to freely write on the same.

Meanwhile, SADC’s communications and public relations officer, Mr Innocent Mbvulandula called on journalists to take part in SADC’s 40^th anniversary commemorations this year.

He said it could be done through identifying areas worth highlighting.

“Our appeal to journalists is to look at key achievements in the last 40 years and identify success stories and challenges in various sectors to write about,” he said. ENDS