Training young journalists ‘an investment’ in future of media — Shboul

AMMAN — Minister of Government Communications Faisal Shboul on Thursday attended the closing ceremony of a training project for journalism and media graduates specialising in health media.

The project was implemented by the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS) in partnership and cooperation with the Ministry of Government Communications, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In his speech at the ceremony, Shboul, who is also the government’s spokesperson, said that this project is part of a series from the Ministry of Government Communication to develop the media environment and information quality over the next three years.

"Investing in training young people is an investment in the future of journalism and media,” Shboul said, noting that the health field in particular “requires continuous awareness and training to confront fake news, rumours and violations of privacy".

The ceremony also included a presentation of an assessment study conducted by the RHAS on the design of the project, and its key results and recommendations were submitted to relevant authorities.

Al-Shboul further said, "Investing in youth training is an investment in the future of journalism and media. Today, Jordan, like the rest of the world, is facing a significant spread of mis- and dis- information, especially in the health field, which requires continuous awareness and training to confront fake news, rumors, and privacy violations."

He also stressed on the importance of spreading Jordan's pioneering experience in media and information literacy education to confront risks of misinformation spread among children and young adults.

The Minister of Government Communication commended the role of the Royal Health Awareness Society in designing and implementing this pioneering project, thanking the Jordan Media Institute, the academic partner for designing the academic component of the project, as well as the World Diabetes Foundation and the Novonordisk Foundation, UNICEF, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, and the International Rescue Committee for their generous financial support, and commended the 12 local media outlets that provided professional training for six months. 

The Director-General of the Royal Health Awareness Society, Dr. Amal Ireifij, stated that “This training project is the result of continuous cooperation and partnership with a number of government agencies, foremost among them the Ministry of Government Communication, Ministry of Health, as well as media institutions and supporters”.. Ireifij further explained that the project was designed after the COVID-19 pandemic, which had repercussions on the community, including the spread of infodemics, which necessitated the existence of a specialized media training program on health that works to empower a group of journalism and media graduates and build their journalistic and research capacities, enabling them to verify the accuracy of health information and conveying it to the public especially around topics such as noncommunicable diseases, reproductive health, and others. It is worth noting that this training is also part of the activities of a project that aims to strengthen national response to COVID19, implemented by Ministry of Health, Royal Health Awareness Society, and funded by the World Diabetes Foundation with support from the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

The training resulted in the production of more than 350 health media products, in visual, written, audio, and digital formats. The ceremony included a presentation of an in-house evaluation study assessing the project design and delivery. The study highlighted the extent of the benefit achieved by measuring the impact of theoretical and professional training on participants and the extent to which they benefited in developing their competencies and skills. The study also identified strengths and successes that could be built upon in designing future training programs aimed at recent graduates in the fields of journalism and media