The Upper East Regional chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has launched the second edition of its awards at a brief ceremony.
The maiden edition of the awards was held in 2019; but since then, the leadership of the GJA was unable to subsequently organise the awards to reward best performing and distinguished journalists in the region owing to circumstances beyond them.
The event, which is slated for October 6, 2023, will be on the theme: “Safeguarding the peace and security of the Upper East Region: the role of the media”.
Categories
Categories for the awards include Journalist of the Year, Agriculture Reporting, Child Protection, Human Rights, Water and Sanitation, Conflict Reporting, Environmental Health and Gender.
The rest are Disability Reporting, Sports, Best Radio Station, Tourism and Culture, Best Radio Programme and some honorary awards to some personalities.
As part of the event, a three-member committee chaired by a former Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University for Development Studies, Professor David Millar, was inaugurated to receive entries and select the winners of the various awards categories.
Other members of the committee are a senior Journalist and Communication Lecturer at the Bolgatanga Technical University, Samuel Akapule, and the Regional Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Jalaldeen Abdulai.
Huge task
At the event last Thursday, the Regional GJA Chairman, William Nlanjerbor Jalulah, reminded colleague journalists of the huge task they had to ensure peace and security in the region for the benefit of all.
He urged them to be professional in reporting on conflict and conflict-related issues, saying “If we must report on any conflict, let us cross-check our information well to safeguard the peace and unity in the region”.
“It is better not to report on matters you are not sure about the accuracy of the information than to report and mislead the public because the consequences of such action could be dire,” he said.
On violent extremism, he urged the media to alert the security agencies of any suspicious activities of such people for immediate action to be taken and noted that if the media rushed to report on such activities, the perpetrators would re-strategise and relocate to carry out their evil acts.
Further, he appealed to corporate bodies and institutions to come on board and support the association to recognise and honour hardworking and well-deserving journalists in the region.
Working together
Launching the awards, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Bolgatanga, Rex Asanga, commended the journalists for working together with duty-bearers towards the development of the region.
He mentioned that the theme for the event was intriguing since aside from internal conflicts, the region had to contend with rebels in Burkina Faso which shared a border with some communities in the region.
He underscored the huge role the media had in protecting the relative peace in the region for the benefit of the people, saying “As the fourth estate of the realm, you have an utmost responsibility to guard the peace of the region and the nation as a whole.”
While congratulating the media on the good job done over the years, he urged them to overcome the challenging environment in which they work and continue to sacrifice to propel the growth of the region.
The Chairman of the Upper East Regional Media Advisory Committee of the National Media Commission, Robert Ajene, who chaired the event, advised media practitioners against reporting on issues they had a personal interest in, as they would obviously support either of the sides.
He entreated journalists to fully examine the information available to them before reporting on them to the public, stressing “I wish to call upon the media to be circumspect in their profession, as information not well-examined is not worth sharing”.
Source: Graphiconline
