The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and the German Cooperation are partnering with the media in Nigeria to improve the skills of journalists and media professionals on fact-checking, Media Information Literacy (MIL) and promoting information integrity in the ECOWAS region.
40 journalists from broadcast, print and online media will be trained over 2 days (March 5 – March 6, 2025), in Abuja Nigeria in collaboration with partners – Center for Journalism, Innovation and Development (CJID) and Media Foundation West Africa (MFWA).
The engagement with the media is in line with promoting ECOWAS Vision 2050 – A community of peoples fully integrated in a peaceful, prosperous region, with strong institutions that respect fundamental freedoms and work for inclusive and sustainable development.
Speaking on the importance of the training, the Head of Communications Division, Mr. Joel Ahofodji said: ‘For some time now, ECOWAS has been seriously confronted with the problems of misinformation, disinformation and fake news, which threatens the stability of our institutions and our member states. This training comes at an important time for the ECOWAS region, as we need to mobilise all stakeholders to combat this scourge and promote the integrity of information in our regional space. The training will provide media professionals with the essential tools they need to promote news and messages that not only inform the public but also reinforce the truth, present facts that counter misinformation in the region and safeguard democracy’, added Mr Ahofodji.
The trainings are being organized by the ECOWAS Commission, in partnership with the Centre For Journalism Innovation & Development (CJID) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) with technical and financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Organisational Development Programme, Support to the ECOWAS Commission, which is implemented with support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
The ECOWAS Commission recognizes the critical role the media plays in fostering peace, stability, and social cohesion. Given the negative impact of misinformation, disinformation, and the rising.
