Improving relations between Afghan Parliament and media
20-07-2007 (Kabul)
During the training
© UNESCO
A one-month workshop entitled "Public Relations, Video Editing and Camera Training" for the public relations and photo departments of the Afghan Parliament Lower House (Wolse Jerga) and Upper House (Meshrano Jerga) has recently ended in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The aim of this training programme was to help the Afghan legislature improve its relations with the media and the general public, and enhance the quality of material provided by the Parliament to these two key audiences.
"Public relations are very important, especially in a country like Afghanistan where the media sector is still developing," says UNESCO’s Adviser for Communication and Information in Kabul, Jacky Sutton. "There is often confusion between public relations, media management and journalism, and this can lead to tensions between media professionals and public relations specialists. Managing the media is an essential skill, and training public information and public relations officers is vital to the overall development of the media sector as a whole."
The training was sponsored by UNESCO and the UNDP’s Support to the Establishment of the Afghan Legislature (SEAL) Project and implemented by Star Group, an Afghan communications company.
According to Jawaid Samadey from the SEAL Project, "this is the second time that video and photography training has been organized for the National Assembly photographers, and both of them proved to be effective and work-related. The technical and managerial staff of the information departments expressed the need for more training on video and photo management, particularly short orientation courses on the usage of the new professional editing equipment procured to them by the SEAL Project."
The participants congratulated the organizers for this initiative and said they greatly benefited from it. Ahmad Waqif Husaini, Star Group’s video camera trainer, was impressed by the desire of the participants to learn new technologies. Aminullah Amini, the information and publication officer of the Wolse Jerga, said he liked the interactive style of training. "I can honestly say that I gained more information in one month that I had gained in over one year of work experience!"
Karima Shirzai, an editor in the Lower House Information and Publications Department, requested more public relations and technical training, saying that it would help to raise the overall standard of professional work in Parliament.
"Public relations are very important, especially in a country like Afghanistan where the media sector is still developing," says UNESCO’s Adviser for Communication and Information in Kabul, Jacky Sutton. "There is often confusion between public relations, media management and journalism, and this can lead to tensions between media professionals and public relations specialists. Managing the media is an essential skill, and training public information and public relations officers is vital to the overall development of the media sector as a whole."
The training was sponsored by UNESCO and the UNDP’s Support to the Establishment of the Afghan Legislature (SEAL) Project and implemented by Star Group, an Afghan communications company.
According to Jawaid Samadey from the SEAL Project, "this is the second time that video and photography training has been organized for the National Assembly photographers, and both of them proved to be effective and work-related. The technical and managerial staff of the information departments expressed the need for more training on video and photo management, particularly short orientation courses on the usage of the new professional editing equipment procured to them by the SEAL Project."
The participants congratulated the organizers for this initiative and said they greatly benefited from it. Ahmad Waqif Husaini, Star Group’s video camera trainer, was impressed by the desire of the participants to learn new technologies. Aminullah Amini, the information and publication officer of the Wolse Jerga, said he liked the interactive style of training. "I can honestly say that I gained more information in one month that I had gained in over one year of work experience!"
Karima Shirzai, an editor in the Lower House Information and Publications Department, requested more public relations and technical training, saying that it would help to raise the overall standard of professional work in Parliament.
Related themes/countries
· Afghanistan
· Training of Media Professionals: News Archives 2007
· Access to Information: News Archives 2007
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