Female journalists in Greater Kabale have been urged to remain steadfast in their professional practice.
The call was made during a workshop organized by Climate Women Media Action in Kabale Municipality that sought to empower female journalists on climate advocacy and enhance their reporting to focus on accurate and factual news about climate issues.
The call was made by the executive director of Kigezi Women in Development, Ms Florence Tumuheirwe, who warned female journalists against engaging in activities that may harm their profession reputation.
She advised female journalists to reject any inappropriate advances from male colleagues while working in the field and serving Ugandans on airwaves.
Tumuheirwe further called on journalists to remain self-driven, committed to their profession and to avoid any actions that might undermine their careers, despite the challenges they may face.
“I want to urge and inspire the female journalists to stand out, when you are like a female journalist or even a reporter make sure that you also capture and grab the opportunities," she said.
"Don’t relax when they say that there is a disaster, you fear thinking that such stories are only for female journalists."
Hedwig Arinaitwe, director of Climate Women Media Action, said the training was important for female journalists to grasp the boons in artificial intelligence (AI) and data visualisation.
Arinaitwe said the decision to train female journalist arose from the noticeable absence of their voices in climate story telling.
“We choose to train female journalists on AI and data visualization because these are currently key aspects in journalism in the world that everyone is advancing to technology," he said.
"We decided to train female journalists because female voices are missing in climate story telling and coverage because we discovered that every time there is climate story being told, a woman is interviewed as a victim, you will not find specialists in climate change or science who are women and journalists are voices of community.
"When we empower female journalists on climate science reporting, we know that climate change affects women compared to men.”
