Orientation workshop for Young Women Journalist held in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: UNICEF Odisha in collaboration with South Asian Women in Media (SAWM) India, a network of women journalists in South Asia has launched the Young Women Journalist Mentorship Program 2022. To mark the occasion, a two-day orientation workshop was held in Bhubaneswar on the 3rd and 4th of September on the theme ‘Working Women and their Children’.

The workshop aimed to empower the young women journalists, build their self confidence, hone their reporting & writing skills and connect them with mentors for guidance. As many as 16 young women journalists from tribal, rural and underprivileged communities across the state were selected as mentees to be mentored by four senior journalists of Bhubaneswar under this initiative.

The selected young journalists will be supported with guidance and financial aid to travel to remote district and report stories from the field.

Ranjana Chopra, Principal Secretary MSME, Govt. of Odisha who attended the program said, “This is a welcome step taken by SAWM and UNICEF. Women are excelling in all fields including media. Across all sectors, there is a need of much stronger representation of women. The mentees in the programme will have a great opportunity to interact with senior journalists and learn from them and make a mark for themselves in journalism in Odisha.”

Sharing her experience and encouraging the young women, Jagi Mangat Panda, Co-founder and MD of OTV said, “Every career has its own challenge so is in journalism. But you need to be focused on your goals and should not be distracted by any means.”

“Being a journalist, you should always bring both sides of the story with strong narratives” she added.

Tanaya Patnaik, Head of Radio Television and Digital Wings of Sambad Group encouraged young women journalists to step forward to learn, go to the field and grow.

Enlightening on the guidelines while reporting on children, Radhika Srivastava, Communication and Advocacy Specialist UNICEF Odisha said, “While reporting on children, every journalist should follow the ethical guidelines and cover children issue with sensitivity. Through their stories, journalists can ensure voices of children, especially from poor, tribal, underprivileged and marginzalised families are heard”.

Monideepa Bannerjie, an independent journalist shared her experience in journalism and the hurdles she has come across to be in the profession for 40 years. She talked about the unequal job conditions the women journalists are facing these days and risking their lives for this profession.

In this workshop, the young women journalists have shared their experiences and challenges they are facing in the field.