A five-day intensive training for 20 young sports journalists drawn from the print and electronic media Saturday afternoon wrapped-up at The Gambia Press Union head office in Fajara.
The training was conceived and executed by Sang Mendy, acting executive director of the GPU. The training focuses on Introduciton to Journalism, Creative Writing, and Ethics of the profession among others.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Sang Mendy, the trainer said he saw it as his social responsibly to help the young sports journalists. He lauded the high level of participation during the five days, while hoping that the knowledge gained would be utilised by the participants at their various media outlets.
He advised them to aspire to be greater journalists as the profession calls for continued reading at all times. He finally thanked all those who supported or contributed their resources to make the training successful.
Musa Sise, President of the Sports Journalists Association of The Gambia (SJAG) commended Sang Mendy for the training and urged the journalists to build interest in reading. “You [sports journalists] must read and read if you want to be a good journalist as it will enrich your writing and your vocabulary.”
He reaffirmed SJAG’s commitment to capacity building of its members and urged journalists to join the Association.
Bisenty Gomez, a former sports reporter, administrator and an educationist, also delivered an inspirational statement to the participants. He advised the participants to remain more committed and focused on their job.
He advised them to always report accurately and based on the ethics governing the profession. The purpose of the training, he said, will be meaningless if the participants fail to start applying the knowledge gained.
The Secretary General of SJAG, Alieu Ceesay, thanked Sang Mendy for conceiving the idea of organising training for the journalists, something he said has lessen the work of SJAG.
Ceesay emphasised that capacity building is very important and urged others to come and learn.
Delivering the vote of thanks, Foday Jatta commended all those who helped in making the training successful.
The participants later presented a brand new watch and a pair of shoes to trainer Sang Mendy in appreciation of his good work.
by Muhammed Lamin Drammeh