LETSAI, CBM train journalists, CSOs, others on disability issues

By Richard Elesho

Media professionals have been tasked to promote inclusivity, while discarding the use of derogatory and discriminatory language in their reports on persons with special needs. The charge was given in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital recently at a 2-day training engagement on disability law in the state.

The engagement, which brought participants from Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, journalists, and people with disability, PWDs, was organised by the Learning Through Skills Acquisition Initiative, LETSAI, in conjunction with Christoffel Blinden Mission, CBM, a global youth-led non-profit humanitarian organization.

CBM Head of Communications, Grace Olowei encouraged journalists to churn out stories that focus on the strength of PWDs rather than their challenges, noting that such can motivate others. She further urged the media not to be sensational but factual and empathic in their reports.

“We must be deliberate in our reports, conduct interviews with people you are reporting, and let them be heard through your reports. Use your mediums to draw attention to the plight of PWDs in a way that will promote inclusiveness in the formulation of public policies.”

Olowei underscored the importance of appropriate and dignifying words, noting that a good report will focus on the person first before touching on the challenge. She also urged journalists to embrace the use of various social media handles to enhance the reach of their reports.

She recommended that media practitioners should cultivate good working relationships with newsmakers and their sources to facilitate access to information and eye witness accounts.

Another resource person, Aduga Frederick, cautioned journalists against using languages capable of reinforcing discrimination, urging them to familiarise with disability law and issues related therein.

Aduga admonished journalists to avoid stereotypes and the temptation of the’we versus them’ narratives explaining that no one is completely free from disability. He listed accidents, birth conditions, heredity, natural disasters, and occupational hazards among causes of disability.

He also called for a change of attitude towards people with disability bearing in mind that anybody can lose ability at any stage in life.

Participants committed to a change of attitude at the end of the interactive engagement.