Steer The New Path Of Ghana’s Progress - Journalists Charged

Journalists and Media Practitioners in Ghana have been charged to build lasting brands of themselves in order to offer quality professional services and steer the path of Ghana’s progress.

Dr. Nana Oppong, President of Distinguish Scholars of Africa (DINTSA), made the remarks when he led a training workshop for Journalists in the International Standards Journalism (ISJ) Certification Programme at the Accra International Conference.

The programme, the first of its kind in Ghana, seeks to train Journalists in the country to become top-notch professional who would champion excellence in Journalism and demand accountability and transparency in the socio-politico- economic development of the country.

It was organised by the DINTSA and Data Link Institute.

With the phenomenon of having an NDC and NPP nations, and several ethnic states in Ghana, Dr. Oppong bemoaned our weak allegiance to the country, arguing that “we need people who love Ghana; we need dedicated people in Ghana.”

He observed that we have to change the way we conduct politics in Ghana, and charged Journalist to be at the forefront to steer the path of new progress in the country.

Describing the programme as signifying the Birth of a new chapter in Ghana’s Journalism, Dr Oppong, tasked Journalists to do something new and nationalistic that would rekindle the spirit of nationalism and patriotism among Ghanaians, and inspire a new sense of ‘Ghanaianess’ among our people.

To effectively perform this role, he urged Journalists to sharpen their skills, acquire requisite knowledge and build their competence in order to deliver.

The main Facilitator, who took participants through five critical areas of applied knowledge and democratic governance: economics, law, intelligence, politics and society (E-LIPS), stated that understanding these basic areas was vital to making them excel in their careers.

Dr. Opong, touched on the poor conditions of service of journalists in the country, and observed that it was about time Media Processionals in Ghana received good professional fees, adding that the ‘soli’ or honorarium paid them was woefully inadequate.

“Create a product or service, add a different touch to your journalism and start charging for your services,” he noted, and advocated for standard payment for journalists.

He advised media professional to build effective networks that will help them champion their professional course.

Hon. David Yeboah, MP, said that people become remarkable when they believe in themselves go far, adding that it takes courage for someone to run this programme. He commended the good works and efforts of Dr. Oppong.

Similarly, Hon. Owusu Boateng, MP for Akyem Akroso Constituency, expressed worry about monetisation in politics and highlighted the need for Ghanaians to be selfless and work for the common good. He said education was key in the answer to the mired challenges in our country but urged the educated to give back to the society.

He said “you need education and skills to rise,” entreating media practitioners to keep on learning and use their intelligence to better serve society.

The ISJ is informed by relevant competence in five critical areas of applied knowledge and democratic governance in E-LIPS.

The Distinguished Scholars of Africa and Data Link Institute have developed a scientific, strategic, comprehensive and yet fast-tracked ISJ programme for journalists and would-be-journalists, which promises to enhance competence leading to national, international competitiveness and professionalism, prestige as well as employment and networking opportunities for participants.

The certification in international standards journalism is part of the learned heart programme of the Distinguished Scholars of Africa and Data Link Institute for strategic capacity-building of journalism and support for enhanced democracy in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Participants at the programme, pledged to further the excellence in the profession and make journalism the bastion of change in Ghana and Africa.