McKinnon sees media role in building dynamic Commonwealth

Secretary-General Don McKinnon says the media can play a big role in building a dynamic Commonwealth that must remain relevant and credible.

He told journalists at a special media seminar reviewing how better to report on initiatives around Millennium Development Goals that it was key that they took leadership for promoting equity and development.

The November 19-23 seminar in Kampala is a joint project of the Governance and Institutional Development (GIDD) and the Communications and Public Affairs (CPAD) divisions of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Eastern Africa Journalism Programme. The Commonwealth Media Development Fund is one of its sponsors.

Solomon Islands, Jamaica, Fiji, Barbados, Swaziland, Malawi and Zambia are some of the countries where participants were drawn from.

He told the journalists to take a lead role in outlining the achievements made in the Commonwealth particularly during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held this week.

“This marks your relevance as media. Take the message out there, you see the issues – so keep raising them,” McKinnon said.

"What we now know about CHOGM is that they are not a single issue meeting. The benefit we get from you is that each one of you can talk about various issues taking place during CHOGM such as the business, people’s youth, foreign affairs ministers meeting," McKinnon said.

"Many international organisations allow themselves to be occupied very much by the same things from day one and they keep on doing them, but it is very important for us to do different things," McKinnon said.

The journalists attending the workshop themed: "Covering the MDG Story, the Challenge of Poverty and Development," were from Barbados, Jamaica, India, Malawi, Swaziland, Britain, Fiji, Zambia, Namibia, Sierra Leone and Trinidad and Tobago.

Lusaka Press Club chairman Shapi Shacinda is the main course leader.