CLOSED: Training opportunity – Covering mining in Uganda

WHAT? Training of mid-career journalists on covering mining in Uganda.

WHEN? Monday 10—Friday 14 October 2016

WHERE? African Centre for Media Excellence, Kampala

WHO? Mid-career (with minimum experience of three years in the newsroom) journalists already covering mining or are interested in reporting the sector. Only 20 places are available.

FACILITATORS:

Experts from Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines, Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, mining companies, civil society, artisanal miners, etc.

WHY?

Uganda’s mining sector is on the verge of take-off. Much of the country has been mapped for potential mineral occurrences. The Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum now holds an annual conference to lobby for the improvement of the sector. And the government is in the late stages of revising the mining legal and regulatory regime. We at ACME believe this is the right time for media to strengthen its reporting of the sector so as to effectively track policy, events, trends, and players. Therefore, with funding from the Natural Resource Governance Institute, ACME has organised an intensive five-day residential training on the state of the mining sector in Uganda. The training includes a day’s study trip to a small-scale and artisanal mining community in Mubende District. A knowledgeable and active media is critical to having a well-managed mining sector that is environmentally sensitive and improves the livelihoods of all Ugandans.

By the end of the training, participants will have primarily gained:

• An understanding of key policy issues and guiding principles relating to the regulation of the mining sector.
• An understanding of the effects of mining on the environment and community livelihoods and how these can be mitigated.
• Knowledge on artisanal and small-scale mining and the importance of their formalization and regulation.
• An ability to distinguish between low and high value minerals and why Uganda is better off focusing on developing the low value minerals.

HOW TO APPLY:

Send us only two (2) sets of documents. The first document is a letter indicating who you are (bio-data), your job title and media house, how long you have worked as a journalist, whether you have covered extractives (i.e. oil, gas, mining) before, and why you would like to participate in this training. The second document should be two (2) samples of your best journalistic work (stories that show depth, analysis, and interpretation are particularly welcome).

DEADLINE: Send the two (2) sets of documents to info@acme-ug.org with a copy to hanena@acme-ug.org before close of business on Monday, 3 October 2016.

Questions? Call 0772 575 140