Leadership programme graduates 25 female scribes

MEDIA  JOURNALISM

Twenty-five Ugandan editors and senior journalists have graduated from a six months leadership programme developed to promote women leadership in the media.

The Women in News (WIN) Programme is an initiative by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

The initiative by WAN-IFRA was informed by studies which showed that just as in many other fields of endeavour, there is poor representation of women in the media, especially at management levels. The studies pointed out that this has a bearing on the content that the media produces and how women and children issues are treated in the media.

The WIN programme was, therefore, crafted as a "leadership accelerator programme for high potential media women, to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to enable them to excel in their careers," according to a WAN-IFRA statement.

The programme includes; Media Management Training, individual coaching, mentoring, networking and building various managerial skills include managing people and managing finances.

 A group photo of the graduands of the World Association of Newspapers Women in News Uganda Programme 2019 with Barbara Kaija the Editor in Chief New Vision during their closing ceremony 

The 25 women in the Ugandan cohort were graduated in Kampala by the Minister for General Duties in the Prime Minister's Office, Mary Karooro Okurut. Karoro decried the persistent relegation of women in media houses where they are denied equitable remuneration and opportunity to grow. She asked the women to demand fair treatment because they have proven their worth.

She noted that this programme will help women take control of their own destiny despite the many roadblocks set in their path because of their gender.

The programme has been running for the past 7 years in Africa, Middle East and South-East Asia. At least 500 participants have gone through it and according to testimonies; it has proved to be a high impact, sought after programme transforming careers of many women.

The Uganda WIN programme is part of the programme being held in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana.

 A group photo of the graduands of the World Association of Newspapers Women in News Uganda Programme 2019 with Mary Karoor Okurut the minister of General Duties from the office of the Prime Minister, Barbara Kaija the Editor in Chief New Vision and Dr. Tikhala Chibwana, the Director for Africa Women in News during the closing ceremony  in Kampala. (Photo by Karim Ssozi)

The programme was introduced to Uganda this year with support of the Norwegian Government who funded the programme. While in other countries, there is only one coach and there are 7 to 8 participants, Uganda has three coaches and 25 Winners.

Rose Bukirwa a Journalist with UBC receiving a certificate from Mary Karooro Okurut, Minister of General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister and Barbara Kaija the Editor in Chief, New Vision during the closing ceremony that marked the end of this year's edition of the World Association of Newspapers Women in News Uganda Programme

ABOUT WAN-IFRA

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is the global organisation of the world's newspapers and news publishers, representing more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. WAN-IFRA is unique in its position as a global industry association with a human rights mandate: to defend and promote media freedom and the economic independence of news media as an essential condition of that freedom.

WAN-IFRA has undertaken global advocacy and development work for more than six decades now. The WIN programme is part and parcel of WAN-IFRA's development work to strengthen the capacity of media institutions by addressing the apparent poor representation of women in senior management positions.