The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has trained about 30 selected Ghanaian Journalists on how to effectively report on Climate Change and Green Economy issues towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The capacity building workshop held in Kumasi was sponsored by the United Nations Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI).
The participants were from Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Brong Ahafo and Ashanti Regions.
Human activities that result in the emission of Green House gases, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide among others dominated the discussions.
The lead facilitator from the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Peter Dery, implored the participants to push duty bearers especially those at the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to fully integrate the Sustainable Development Goals in their programmes.
Peter Dery said Ghana is a signatory to the SDGs treaty for which reason concerted efforts must be made by all stakeholders to achieve that goal by 2030.
He attributed the worsening situation of climate change to human activities and thereby urged the media to continually highlight its negative impact on human well-being.
The PAGE project Coordinator at the UNDP, Kingsley Bekoe, explained the key issues of Green Economy and Climate Change related SDGs to be considered at the local governance level.
A UNDP media expert, Praise Nutakor, led group discussions on how to formulate compelling story ideas on the two most critical issues.
She underscored the need for the media to ask critical questions that will compel the MMDAs to be mindful of the Green Economy during the implementation of programmes tailored towards achieving the SDGs.
Praise Nutakor further advised the participants to minimize comprehensive texts and consider using more pictures to embellish their write-ups.
The participants among several suggestions lauded the workshop and called for more of such engagements.
They promised to network for effective media coverage on Green Economy and Climate Change related SDG issues.
The training workshop sought to improve the understanding of the media on the principles of Green Economy and Climate Change, share experiences in covering the two major issues and other related stories.
It also aimed at creating a network or a pool of Journalists for effective coverage on Green Economy, Climate Change and related SDG issues.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the action-oriented, global and universally applicable set of targets to be achieved by 2030.
The SDGs aim to stimulate sustainable development in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet across countries.
Achieving the SDGs require action by all stakeholders including governments, the private sector, local authorities, civil society and the media.
PAGE is to contribute to Ghana’s efforts to fully integrate SDGs and internalize Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) commitments in development planning processes using the decentralized governance system in the country within the context of the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda II (GSGDA II: 2014-2017).
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citinewsroom.com/Ghana