The Aga Khan University president Firoz Rasul (left), Graduate School of Media and Communications dean Michael Meyer and Deutsche Welle director-general Peter Limbourg during the signing of a partnership agreement to develop training programmes for media and communications professionals, at the university’s Westlands Campus on July 14, 2015. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU
The Aga Khan University and German broadcaster Deutsche Welle have signed a pact to develop training programmes for media and communication professionals in East Africa.
The partnership will see trainers from DW Akademie offer their expertise to students at the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications (AKU-GSMC) located in Westlands, Nairobi.
DW Akademie is the international media development and training division of DW.
It will leverage on over 50 years experience in training to coach the media and communications professionals.
Speaking on Tuesday during the signing of the memorandum of understanding, The Aga Khan University presidentFiroz Rasul said the programmes running for up to a week would target practising journalists.
“The professional development programmes will increase journalists’ capacity to explain information to their audience better, which happens to be their main mandate,” he said.
The institution hopes to have trained approximately 250 professionals by the end of this year, with plans to have the number go up to 600 by the end of next year.
DW Director- General Peters Limbourg said strengthening human rights through media development is at the core of the undertaking that is envisaged to be a long-term project.
Nation Media Group Editor-in-Chief Tom Mshindi said attracting and retaining talent is one of the biggest challenges for local media houses.
“An institution like AKU-GSMC thus encourages enthusiasm and interaction for working journalists who require occasional professional improvement,” he said.
AKU-GSMC was established to address the need for globally competitive media and communications training in eastern Africa.
The focus of the institution is in supporting a robust, independent and professional media and communications sector by offering professional development, executive leadership and graduate programmes to journalism and media professionals. During the training sessions, emphasis will be put on digital reporting to ensure students are in tandem with the changing technological advances.
The partnership is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, the German Development Bank and the East African Community.
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