Kathmandu, August 22
Seven young journalists completed a two-day Training of Trainers ( ToT ) here on Wednesday, organised by Media Action Nepal (MAN) with support from the Czech Republic. The programme, which was part of the Countering Disinformation and Promoting Inclusive Newsroom initiative, sought to promote independent, inclusive and ethical journalism in Nepal.
Laxman Datt Pant, a globally recognised media rights advocate, led the ToT, which combined expert-led sessions with interactive exercises to improve technical and facilitation skills.
Pant was joined by experts such as Chhatra Karki, Umesh Pokharel, Kalpana Acharya, Priyanka Jha and Mim Bahadur Pariyar, who presented sessions on key challenges in Nepali journalism. Day one concentrated on media freedom, gender-sensitive reporting and ethical practices.
Pant highlighted the risks that journalists face, such as surveillance, self-censorship and trolling. Pokharel's session on gender sensitivity focused on the portrayals of women and marginalised groups, whereas Acharya emphasised ethical reporting on women's health, including role-playing to practise sensitive interviewing.
The second day's sessions focused on conflict-sensitive journalism and climate justice. Jha and Pariyar discussed post-conflict reporting and fact-checking divisive narratives, while Karki used a Climate Justice Story Map to investigate the role of the media in amplifying marginalised voices in climate policy.
The closing session saw fellows present their own training modules, demonstrating their readiness to train 70 more journalists. The topics covered included digital safety for female journalists, artificial intelligence in newsrooms and preventing child marriage.
"This ToT is about creating a domino effect in which young journalists lead," Pant stated.
The fellows will now train others, publish impactful stories and support MAN's media development initiatives, all of which will help to improve Nepal's journalism landscape.
