The International Women's Media Foundation has launched a new online workbook designed to help media trainers and journalists implement in-house training. The goal of the workbook is to expand the IWMF's in-house training model, which was developed in conjunction with its Maisha Yetu project to improve health reporting in Africa. It is a self-directed online training module and includes detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to establish an in-house media training project, sample lesson plans and materials, and training and mentoring tips.
The workbook is a companion to Writing for Our Lives, a report on the Maisha Yetu project. Maisha Yetu ("Our Lives" in Swahili) was conducted in media houses in three African countries from 2003-2007 with the goal of improving reporting on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. The training model developed for the project can be adapted to train journalists on various topics using the new online workbook as a guide.
The Maisha Yetu project trained more than 1,000 journalists-half of whom were women-in better health reporting and nearly doubled the volume of stories on critical health topics. It also created an online network of journalists who continue to collaborate on health reporting.
We want to spread the word internationally about this new online resource for media houses. Please visit the IWMF Web site and take a look at the workbook at: http://www.iwmf.org/categorydetail.aspx?c=hivaids
The IWMF also has a Facebook, fan page where we post articles and discussion subjects of interest to women journalists every week. Please check it out!
