Bafoussam: CENPA sharpening journalists' skills on election reporting, responsible journalism.

 The workshop is on the premise of the preponderant role the media plays in democracy and electoral process. It has as objectives to impact journalists with knowledge and skills for effective and responsible coverage of upcoming elections in the country and boost access to information and electoral conflict prevention.

Participants will also be drilled on responsible journalism during electoral periods, availed on the need for the respect of one’s genuine opinion during electoral processes and imbibed with strategies the media can use in advocating a peaceful, free, fair, and credible election, avoiding hate speech and staying away from activism.

The workshop, CENPA officials said, also seeks to mitigate hate speech and violent language within the media in Cameroon during elections, engage journalists to tell the story better, so Cameroonians can live with their differences like in a rainbow nation; before, during, and after elections and promote living together, national unity and social cohesion throughout the electoral period and accompany the government in its efforts towards enhancing the country’s democratisation and electoral process.

The CENPA workshop will also enlighten journalists, particularly those in the conflict-hit North West and South West Regions, on safety guides while covering elections. 

The workshop, CENPA officials detailed, will handle modules including  the role of the media in a democratic election, actors and stakeholders in the electoral process, balanced coverage for candidates, issues that are key for voters; preparing for election coverage, social media and election.

It will also handle pre-election stories, election day reporting and post-election day reporting, interviewing techniques, sourcing for credibility and accuracy in election reporting, ethical and legal dangers in election reporting, sharing of best practices in election reporting.

Experts will also drill participants on legislation regulating elections coverage in Cameroon, code of conduct in election reporting, responsibility of election reporting, mitigating hate speech and xenophobia during election period, media’s role in curbing violence before, during and after elections; and digital tools in election reporting.

Enter CENPA president

Speaking to The Guardian Post, CENPA president, Kristian Christian, said because the media plays a key role in electoral processes, either making or marring, the association took upon itself to train journalists to report elections in a responsible manner.

“We want the journalists, after participating in the workshop, to report the upcoming elections in a way that will help prevent any post-election violence that can lead to loss of lives and property. We think it is the role of journalists to be responsible in their reporting in order to preempt schemes,” he said.

Ngah added that: “So, CENPA, in its own small way of contributing to nation-building and peace-building, has decided to organise this workshop on election reporting and responsible journalism”. 

It should be noted that CENPA, which is a grouping of 35 English language newspaper publishers in Cameroon, was created in 2019, in the wake of the crisis in the North West and South West Regions.

It has as key objectives to promote peace reporting, responsible journalism and national unity. 

So far, CENPA has organised two workshops in Yaounde on peace reporting and responsible journalism.

CENPA, in 2023, organised another workshop for its members on newspaper management. The three-day workshop took place in Bengo Hotel, Ebolowa, South Region.

Apart from getting members to tailor their reporting and editorial content towards encouraging effective schooling in the two English-speaking Regions, CENPA, in the heart of calls by separatists for school boycott in the crisis-hit Regions, donated didactics to schools in all the 13 Divisions that make up the North West and South West Regions.

CENPA equally visited media houses in the country and donated anti-COVID-19 kits, when the pandemic broke out in 2021.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3450 of Friday May 16, 2025