A Week-long training of trainers (ToT) on environmental Journalism concluded in Kabul… Mediothek Afghanistan in partnership with The Liaison Office and Heinrich Böll Foundation organized a week long advanced training of trainers (ToT) entitled “Training Workshop on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change” from 17th through 21st of May 2021 in Kabul. The training was attended by more than 30 young and active journalists from leading media outlets from Kabul and six other provinces. The young trainees, who are active journalists, successfully completed the week-long training which started each day at 8:30 A.M. and ended at 4:00 P.M. each day. The training was conducted by an experienced environmental expert and lecturer of environmental sciences in Kabul University, Associate Professor Mustafa Hassany. The training was organized within the framework Mediothek Eco-Journalist Network’s expanding activities. The Eco-Journalist Network is dedicated to mobilizing and training environmental journalists and raising public awareness and it is supported by TLO and Heinrich Böll Foundation and managed by Mediothek Afghanistan. The main and core objectives of the training of trainers (ToT) included the following: • Raising journalists’ awareness of environmental issues, natural resources, climate change and its causes and consequences, • Equipping journalists to reflect on national and local challenges and possible solutions through accurate and professional reporting, • Enhancing environmental reporting skills through practical work and assignments, • Facilitating sharing of experiences and perspectives among participants, • Teaching practical ways to equip participants to run and manage similar workshops for other reporters or learning teaching and training workshop methodology • Learning techniques of raising public awareness through environmental journalism “We are planning to expand the Eco-Journalist’s Network to six more provinces’ said Abdullah Rasuly, Mediothek Program Coordinator, speaking at the launch of the training”. The network has already has expanded its reach beyond Kabul, according to Mr. Rasuly and has started partnerships and signed MoUs with local media organizations in provinces as an effort to mobilize media and journalists to work together on environment and public awareness. Siddiqullah Tauhidi of the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, speaking during the launching ceremony of the training, encouraged the trainees to take active part in the training and make most of their time during the one week, saying that the environmental challenges in the country are way more dire and acute than the devastating war and conflict in the county. The world is threatened by environmental challenges, he said, and Afghanistan is particularly vulnerable and at risk and sadly no one pays attention to these challenges. Danish Karokhel, director of Pajhwok Afghan News, addressing the trainees at the launch event, hailed Mediothek Afghanistan for its work and the journalists for their commitments and dedication. “Most media and news reports are focused on security related incidents,” said Mr. Karokhel, “we are living in difficult times, but the fact is that environmental challenges are true and reporting on these challenges is very valuable and needed.” We are speeding towards environmental catastrophes due to our lack of attention to the challenge we face, Mr. Karokhel warned. We must work together and raise our voices so that these challenges are taken seriously by authorities and the public alike. Mr. Karokhel invited the young journalists and encouraged them to be creative in their work and reporting on environmental issues. “Report on the work of the local heroes who are working on preserving the natural environment,” he asked the participating journalists “so that people learn about the works these selfless heroes are doing and get encouragement from their work.” Also speaking at the opening of the ToT, a representative of TLO, Mr. Saser Nazari, talked about TLO and HBS’ work on environmental preservation and activism, adding that supporting activities of the Eco-Journalists’ Network of Mediothek is a part our expanding work on environmental preservation and environmental journalism. Mr. Nazari added that he expects the journalists from the provinces who participated in the workshop to organize effective environmental training programs and share what they will learn here with their peers, co-workers and other local journalists and help local journalists and media shift their focus to environment related issues. Creating sections dedicated to environmental issues in each media organization, according to Mr. Nazari, is a must and a necessity and you could be the one who could create such sections in your and other media outlets. The Eco-Journalists’ Network was established by Mediothek Afghanistan in 20218 with the support of TLO in Kabul. And has organized dozens of specialized training workshops, events, meetings and coordination in Kabul and provinces. This training of trainers will be followed by similar training workshops across seven provinces, and training more than 120 journalists on environmental journalism, natural resources and climate change related topics. Expected results: Participants were able to learn basic concepts of environment, natural resources, and climate change along with their challenges and solutions, in view of the country’s conditions. • Participants learned the skills of analyzing and writing environmental reports, • Participants shared their experiences and views with each other through group-work and other practical activities during the workshop, • Participants gained access to rich educational and training resources for sustainable use, • Participants learnt training methodology and were equipped with tools of conducting similar training for other journalists and anyone interested. Teaching method: The teaching method of the training was participatory and student-oriented, and considering the age of the participants, it was based on the principle of adult education and learning. The instructor and facilitator used a variety of methods to facilitate the workshop, including presentation, group discussion, brainstorming, skill improvement exercises, and group work to name some. For better learning during the training workshop questioning were used to incite brainstorming at the beginning of each secession. In addition, at the beginning of new secession, previous lessons were evaluated using reflection methods. Without exception, all the participants evaluated the training very effective and practical. An analysis of written feedback and pre-training and post-training assessment of participant’s knowledge clearly showed improvement in the basic knowledge of participants about key environmental topics such as climate change and natural resources and more. The assessment showed that the training was useful and educational and practical. It is worth noting that a session on the last day of the training was devoted to individual planning for the members of the network, who are required to plan their work well . Similarly, guests were also invited on the concluding day of the training including Mr. Ezatullah Siddiqi, deputy head of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) and Mr. Tawab Stanekzai, a representative of TLO. In his remarks, the deputy head of NEPA stressed the importance of journalists’ work in raising public awareness about environment and environmental topics and hailed Meditohek Afghanistan and the Liaison Office (TLO) for providing the opportunity to train such a large group of journalists in a very crucial topic. The event concluded with the distribution of certificates.
