– Vietnam launch to follow later this year
– 12 journalists and editors from across the country will participate in this 3-month long training
– All training to be held online
Yangon, Myanmar – Today, WAN-IFRA Women in News’ (WIN) Leadership Accelerator programme kicks off in Southeast Asia with the inaugural programme in Myanmar. The 3-month long (July-September 2020) career training for women journalists and editors will include sessions on media management, financial management and gender balance in content. With COVID-19 changing the way news organisations operate, the programme will help women journalists acquire new skills and build their capacity for more successful careers.
The launch in Myanmar builds on WIN’s successful Leadership Accelerator which has been offered in 12 countries across Africa and the Arab Region. This is WIN’s flagship leadership development programme funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
More than 600 women journalists and editors have benefited from the programme since it first launched 10 years ago. Participants in the programme receive:
– Certified media management training
– Professional skills training
– Gender balance and sexual harassment training
– 1-1 coaching to create a 3-year career roadmap
– Facilitated group mentoring with peers
“We are excited to be bringing the Leadership Accelerator to Southeast Asia starting with Myanmar. Newsrooms around the world have been under intense pressure with increasing digitisation, decreasing advertising revenues and increased competition for readers/viewers. This programme will equip some of Myanmar’s leading women journalists to address these challenges and ultimately build a stronger and more representative business,” says Melanie Walker, Executive Director, Women in News.
Typically held in-person, this year’s training has moved fully online over concerns from the spread of COVID-19. Similar trainings will be organised in other countries in the region respectively throughout the year 2020.
“Women are being disproportionately disadvantaged from COVID-19 – a trend which also includes women journalists. As such, the training comes at a particularly important time for many of their careers not only because of the skills that we are teaching but the 1:1 coaching we offer. We are hearing from women across all industries how much pressure COVID-19 has put on their homelives and careers. We are looking forward to creating a space for our participants to share their experiences and build much needed support systems,” said Jen Teo, Director, Southeast Asia, Women in News.
Journalists who are attending the training work in more than 11 media organisations. The training is provided by a group of local qualified trainers and who have expertise in areas including: media management, media laws, human resources, data analysis, gender balance in news content, dealing with sexual harassment in newsrooms, financial management, and management and leadership.
