The President of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) on Thursday asked the UN to extend training on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to journalists in the states so that they report accurately on the impacts of climate change.
Speaking at the opening of a two-day training on SDGs for over 40 journalists, Oyet Patrick Charles also tasked journalists to report about climate change as a component of SDGs.
“I would like to urge the UN family to continue helping us, especially by taking similar pieces of training to various states of the country so that our colleagues who are in the states also benefit from this knowledge that is being shared here,” he said.
Oyet also urged journalists to identify more angles to reporting and promoting SDGs and the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 which is the blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future.
On his part, UNESCO Country Representative Julius Banda said freedom of expression remains a driver for SDGs and that journalists should initiate discussions on development.
“We have to go beyond the peace agreement and start talking about development. There are frameworks of development globally and nationally and it is none other than the SDGs,” he said. “We need to start having such discussions in South Sudan as to how far the implementation of the SDGs is. This is where journalists can play a critical role as a driver of the goals.”
“It is up to you journalists to rise to this challenge and inform people about of SDGs and AU Agenda 2060 agenda as well,” Banda added.
He lauded the UN for sparing resources to train journalists on SDGs and said it will help in reporting about food security and humanitarian crises among others.
Meanwhile, Jemila Ebrahim, the co-chair of the UN communication group in South Sudan said, journalists need to be trained to deliver understandable messaging on SDGs to the public.
“To meet the national targets of the SDGs, journalists must receive regular training to enable them to relay and create information for the general public in effective and simple formats that are easy to comprehend,” she said.
The training was organized by UJOSS with Support from 17 members of the UN Country Team (UNCT).
The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals include achieving; no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water, and Sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work, and economic growth.
The others are; industry, innovation and infrastructures, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption, and production, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace, justice, and strong institutions, partnerships for the goals.