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More than 20 journalists from the Pacific including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu will attend a four-day workshop that will enhance their skills to produce media reports on urbanization and informal settlements, the United Nations Development Programme's ( UNDP) Pacific Center said Friday.
The Pacific is one of the fastest urbanizing regions in the world, with an estimated 800,000 to 1 million islanders living in informal settlements. Such settlements have become a permanent features in the Pacific, in particular, in and round the urban and economic growth centers of Melanesia, which includes Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
According to a statement from the UNDP Pacific Center on Friday, the workshop will provide an opportunity for journalists to familiarize themselves with all the aspects of urbanization and housing in Melanesia. It will include presentations on urbanization, policy responses, as well as presentations by the Fiji Housing Authority and the Ministry of Local Government, Urban Development, Housing and Environment. It will also include hands- on training on rights-based reporting so that journalists can give a voice to those at the margins of society and foster an informed discussion when they report on urbanization and its challenges.
The workshop is part of a project implemented by the UNDP Pacific Center in partnership with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, and the University of the South Pacific's Journalism Program, with the support of the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme. The project aims to enhance the role of media in raising public awareness and facilitating an informed public debate on housing and urbanization as key development challenges in the region.
The workshop starts on Monday and ends on Thursday.
