By Lamin Darboe
Information Officer, MoBSE
At least 20 government information officers on Wednesday, 2 June 2021 started a 15-month long training programme on migration communication at the Sir Dawda International Conference Centre in Bijilo.
The training is organised by the Department of Information Services in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Gambia office.
Director of Information Services, Aisha Davies declared the 15-month training opened on behalf of the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure, Amie-Njie-Joof.
In her opening statement, Mrs Davies reminded that government information officers were appointed in 2019 and 2020 to promote government development agenda by providing credible information about their respective ministries, policies and programs, among others.
“To ensure greater output of government information officers, it is important that their capacities and skills are built on diverse areas to enable them communicate authoritatively on various aspects of national development,” she said.
The PS went on: “It is in recognition of this fact that the ministry in collaboration with IOM, Gambia Office, initiated this 15-month training programme through the ‘Strengthening Communication on Migration in The Gambia’ project, which is geared towards building the capacities of government stakeholders on migration.”
She explained that the training is informed by a capacity needs assessment that was conducted by a consultant with the active participation of the various institutions.
She expressed the ministry’s appreciation of IOM’s commitment to the partnership and in general and its contributions to migration governance in The Gambia.
Mrs Davies also expressed the ministry’s commitment to working closely with the IOM Gambia Office and other relevant partners to make sure that the project is a total success.
Miko Alazas, media and communication Officer at IOM Gambia Office, expressed his delight that the training is finally happening after a long planning and preparation process.
He noted that the objective of the training is to enhance the knowledge of government information officers on migration and strengthen their technical communication capacities.
He affirmed that the training will be sequenced in phases over a duration of 15 months.
