Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 14, 2019 (SKNIS): Fifty young journalists, media workers and managers from St. Kitts and Nevis are currently participating in a three-day workshop (May 14 to 16) at the Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI) aimed at training the participants in the effective and proper use of social media.
The UNESCO sponsored workshop on the Effective use of Social Media by Caribbean Journalists is being hosted in partnership with the UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean, the St. Kitts and Nevis National Commission for UNESCO, the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus and the Association of Caribbean Media Workers.
The workshop will explore the possibilities of social media in the news cycle, examine if journalists use social media effectively, evaluate this effectiveness and help them to work together to build on the current UNESCO Public Media Alliance (PMA) Booklet, Social Media Guidelines for the Caribbean.
The training workshop is specifically supported through funding from UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communications (IPDC).
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, the Honorable Shawn Richards, noted that with the increase in social media usage around the globe, social media websites “have become an important platform for connecting and engaging persons.”
“As participants in this workshop, you would explore some of the key issues in dealing with the ongoing evolution of information and communication technology which has given rise to an abundance of social media that have transformed human communications and interactions,” he said.
Minister Richards stated that the impact of social media on society is far reaching and diverse with both positive and negative effects.
He mentioned that some positives of social media include opportunities for expression by marginalized groups, increased opportunities for collaboration for economic development and growth, and for social and political activism. However, some negative aspects of social media include risks of cyber security both physical and digital, privacy, morality and ethics, internet and social media overuse and addiction, and the challenges and opportunities raised by everyone having a voice.
“These issues are currently unfolding in our region and they require appropriate responses,” he said. “Today’s training session is one such response and it is intended to provide you with an interactive forum in which to share, explore and discuss concepts and issues related to social media usage for effective information exchange.”
The minister said that he expects the workshop would provide the participants with a good insight into the process of developing effective policies and frameworks for responsible social media use.
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