The Center of Journalists in collaboration with The Gambia Press Union, Foundation for Legal Aid Research and Empowerment (FLARE) Monday 23. January began a five day intensive training on Election Reporting for Gambian Journalists as 2012 National Assembly Elections is just in the corner.
 Speaking during the opening ceremony, Alieu F Sagnia, ICFI Country Director said the training is a second to the first held in September 2011 prior to the Presidential Elections.

‘’The ICFJ Gambia Project has lined up series activities for implementation over the project period, including two Election Reporting Workshops. Come Friday, when this workshop ends, we would have a total of 40 journalists (reporters and editors) trained in Election Coverage and Reporting. I’m sure you will agree that it is relevant to do training Election Reporting, knowing that we are now in the Elections Season, so to speak, in The Gambia,” Sagnia said.

The ICFJ Gambia is a partnership project involving GPU, FLARE, Sagnia said, adding that they have carried out series of activities since their start in The Gambia. “In October and December 2011, we held management workshops for six media houses.”
For Sagnia, the workshops are meant to help the media houses produce and have in place a Strategic Plan as well as developing an action plans for their organisation. “We started with the print media, but now intend to work with four radio stations next time we have such a workshop,” he revealed.
Sagnia went further to reveal ICFJ’s intention in complementing of the U.S’s good work building the capacity of the media in The Gambia by funding the training of the printers who will operate the GPU printing press.
He promised that ICFJ Gambia Project will continue to work with the GPU, to boast the capacity of media practitioners on the country Gambia, adding that they have did by working with the GPU-GAMES Diploma in Journalism Program to train staff of community radio stations, during a workshop held in June 2011.
“Trainings such as Investigative Reporting; Citizen Journalism, and Online Journalism are in the pipeline coming for Gambian journalists to grab and we are working with FLARE towards that,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Ahmed Alota The GPU administrator tasked the participants to make t good use of the training saying that the training will indeed help in uplifting the morale of Journalists by equipping them with first hand information on election reporting.
‘’I am convinced that at the end of the training, you will gain a lot and you will also put it into practice as Journalists.
Madi Jobarteh of FLARE also gave similar remarks calling on Journalists to be proactive in their work since the public rely on them in getting information. He also described the training as important as it will give opportunity to the journalists to report accurately during elections.
Herb Fraizer, the lead trainer and consultant from USA also call on the participants to be active and do all what they can as the training is an important mean for them.