Sudan – A total of 29 Sudanese journalists, bloggers, and radio and TV presenters last week (10-13/10) attended IOM Sudan’s second quarterly media forum. The forum covered training on ethical reporting, social media training and included a tour of the organization’s Operations and Movement Management Unit.

IOM Sudan’s Chief of Mission, Mario Lito Malanca, who participated in a roundtable discussion, emphasized the importance of media in creating a more responsible and positive narrative on migration in the country. Malanca reminded all present that “we are not here to combat migration but rather to manage it in a way that prioritizes the dignity of every single migrant and demonstrates the positive role that migration can have in this world if managed effectively.”

Samia Ibrahim Mohammed Salih, a local political journalist expressed her appreciation of the forum saying that it gave local journalists a more comprehensive view of migration issues in Sudan and of the work being done by IOM to support migrants. She said she particularly appreciated the social media training which introduced her to practical tools which would help her improve her use of social media and reach a wider audience.

“I have been to many trainings and forums in the past ten years of working as a journalist and this is by far the best I have attended,” said Salih adding that she looked forward to future media forums organized by IOM.

The ethical reporting training session was facilitated by renowned Peter Mackler Award winning journalist, media trainer and monitor Fasial Mohammed Salih who gave a brief overview of Sudanese media coverage of migration since the last forum. He also gave advice on how it can be improved in terms of ethical factors, such a verifying sources and improving the use of migration terminologies.

The social media training was held by Omniya Shawkat, co-founder of Andariya a bilingual digital cultural platform, which exposed and intrigued her interest to use social media platforms as a way to amplify voices from Sudan.

Supported by the US Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, this is the second Media and Migration forum held regularly with Sudanese media professionals to ensure meaningful and ethical coverage of migration and a wide reach to various audiences in Sudan. The first forum was held in May 2016.

For further information, please contact Dalia El Roubi at IOM Sudan, Tel: + 249-912154652, Email: delroubi@iom.int