By Emma Okereh.
A one day capacity building workshop was Monday, organized for editors and electoral officers in Abuja by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The training which was a collaborative effort between UNESCO and Agate Multimedia and Light-up Africa Development Initiative was aimed at guaranteeing free, plural, fair and credible election through fostering freedom of expression, press freedom and public access to information. The one day training aimed at reinforcing the capacities of participants on international standards on freedom of expression and good practices to address the evils of disinformation and misinformation during elections. Speaking at the event, representative of the officer in charge, UNESCO Regional Office, Abuja, Mamadou Lamine Sow emphasized that flowing from its role to guaranteeing free, plural and fair elections in times of disinformation and peaceful society. He said that UNESCO identifies the paramount role of editors and electoral officers in pushing for free, fair and credible 2023 elections. He emphasized the need to uphold the right to freedom of expression, access to information, fighting misinformation and disinformation. He noted that the workshop aimed at deepening skills, reinforce capacities, build effective strategy to tackle fake news as well as in depth analysis on the broadcasting code. He noted the dangers fake news have on the polity and submitted that the media must work to suppress the evil of disinformation and hate speech. In his remarks, the chief Technician Adviser for elections, UNDP, Deryck Fritz noted that the workshop is about reinforcing the capacities of editors to address misinformation and disinformation as 2023 beckons. He stated that electoral umpire must be transparent and that all stakeholders must be up and doing in order to give the media the conducive environment to do its job well. Others who gave remarks included the national president of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Chris Isiguzo who was represented by the Treasurer and the Nigeria Guild of Editors represented by the national secretary. The two bodies were in agreement that the Nigeria project is paramount and as such, journalists must always to hold it leaders to account and that transparency must be at the heart of governance. They stated that media platform must be used to build and not to destroy. Some of the papers discussed at the workshop include, the new information paradigm and elections delivered by professor of mass communication, Prof Oso Muraino Olayiwola, the impact of online harmful practices on elections and responses to tackle them by Piterbarg Albertina and Covering elections in the Digital era by Pamela Makotsi Sittoni.
