Guests at the training of members of Correspondens’ chapel, Plateau state on use of ICT.
By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – The Benue State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda has called on media practitioners not to shy away from embracing the use of ICT as it has come to stay and the world is being ruled by it.
Yilwatda gave the charge in Jos, the Plateau State capital while speaking at the training session organized by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ.
The Chapel organized the event alongside other activities to honour their colleagues who died in the course of their work as well as those who survived a fatal accident on the 16th of May, 2007.
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The REC who spoke on topic “Social Media and the Survival of Traditional Journalism in a Digital Era: How to Effectively Reach the Public” said journalists should be acquainted with ICT tools like “speech to text converter, TinEye, Tabula, OpenRefine, Mailvelope, oTrancribe, FilMicPro’ amongst others to boost their work and get quality output.
Another speaker, the immediate past Head, Mass Communication Department, University of Jos, Dr. Taye Obateru who spoke on “Peace Journalism and its Risk”, urged journalists to be committed to creating a stable and peaceful atmosphere which would enhance their work and add value to the society.
Also, the State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Sylvanus Tapgun who Chaired the event further tasked media practitioners to embrace the opportunities created by ICT in contributing to national peace.
A cross section of journalists at the event.
He maintained that despite the negativity associated with ICT, its positives are more hence the need for journalists to explore the positives and improve on their work.
However, the State NUJ Chairman, Paul Jatau commended the Chapel for engaging in training in line with his administration’s belief and urged other chapels in the Council to emulate the Correspondents’ Chapel saying, “The focus is very apt considering the challenges we face out there in discharging our duties…”
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Earlier, the Chairman of the Chapel, Gyang Bere explained the training was to equip his members with requisite ICT skills to enable them carry out their assignments with ease and urged members to use the opportunity to learn and explore new skills.
The line up of activities which started on Thursday will climax with a thanksgiving service on Sunday.
