The UN Information Centre (UNIC), Nigeria in collaboration with Media Awareness and Information for All Network (MAIN) on Tuesday, trained Journalists in Enugu on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking on the objective of the training, the Chairman, MAIN, Prof. Lai Oso, said the training was aimed at realizing 17 SDGs through journalists and media organizations.
According to him, for us to achieve 17 SDGs, the media is very vital in sharing the knowledge and its understanding by creating awareness to the public through sustainable journalism.
“The journalists have a role of understanding how these SDGs works and capture its leakages,” he said.
The UNIC National Information Officer, Dr Oluseyi Soremekun, in an address, said the training would help increase capacity of Journalists with the knowledge of sustainable high-quality journalistic practice.
This, he said, would aid sustainable reporting with emphasis on economic, social and environmental dimensions.
The Information Officer, however, described SDGs as an initiative that improves the lives of people today and tomorrow.
He stated that the two-day training would expose Journalists and Media Organizations to the sustainability of the goals through their reportage.
Soremekun listed SDGs as Poverty Alleviation, Hunger, Inclusive Education, Gender Equality, Economic Growth, Industrialization, Climate Changes among others.
He added that similar programmes had been held across other geo-political zones of the country, stressing that no individual or country can achieve SDGs but through collaboration and partnerships.
“Journalists can use any of the SDGs to stimulate and trigger storylines that would better the lives of people.
“This will help us do better than we did in Millennium Development Goals,” he said.
MAIN is a Non-Governmental Organization that specializes in media research, National Development, Media and Information Literacy, Communication and Advocacy for SDGs.