UMWA- Trains Female Journalists On Election Reporting, Safety And Security Of Journalists

 Kampala-Uganda  . Uganda Media Women's Association ( UMWA) with the support from Finish Foundation For Media and Development, VIKES      has organized a two-day training in kisaasi , Kampala , aimed to strengthen female journalist's skills in proffesional, ethics in election coverage, enhance awareness of safety and security measures during election, and Equip them with practical tools and mitigate risks while in Field  a head of the 2026 general election .

Project co-ordinator of UMWA, Catherine Apalat says that the media has a big role to play in election as a powerful institution that the public depend on for accurate information " Every body turns to the media ,to hear what the media is saying, how prepared are journalists in this coming elections "  but  it was releaved that many media houses in Uganda do not train their staff on election reporting, leaving the reporters un-prepared for high demand and risks of political coverage . "we also want to see that gender equality is main streamed in the media and practices"

She also called on female journalists to report on political stories , "we should not fear to report on political stories, this is our call , let us do not focus on brown envelopes .let us up raise our game "

Ndagire Laila , project Officer of UMWA, as the similar angle , encouraged the media bosses  to prioritize election reporting and provide journalists with protective gears such as helmet,reflector jackets and Press ID to safeguard them during this time .

She concluded appealing the security organs to respect the press freedom " we request the security to work together with broadcasters, so that they deliver accurate information to the Ugandans "

Several broadcasters from different media houses like, Mama Fm , Tiger Fm , Luweero Online Radio, Buwama, UBC , Mukono Fm etc , praised tye the initiative, because it boosted their confidence and deepened their  understanding of how to report on election responsibly such as reporting independently , equal reporting and broadcasting filtered stories using the technics learnt from this training.

The training combined with discussions, case studying etc , leaving participants better equiped to deliver balanced coverage and uphold decomcratic values