Dhaka — The Facebook Journalism Project has come up with a new training program for more than 1000 journalists in Bangladesh. The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) and the Center for Communication Action Bangladesh (C-CAB) is associated with this project.
Titled Facebook Fundamentals for News, the program will be delivered digitally through mobile skills partner BigSpring.
The mobile curriculum is available in both Bengali and English. The training will cover topics such as online security, use of Facebook, and how to use video appropriately on the platform. Participation in the program can be done through mobile and website.
Anjali Kapoor, Director, News Partnership, Facebook Asia Pacific, said, “We are committed to supporting world-class quality journalism and providing tools and training to journalists. Before starting this program we consulted with the news community and our Asia Pacific region partners. They have identified that in order to use Facebook more effectively, journalists need to collaborate on basic skills.
“We hope this program will help journalists adapt to the digital environment and make their community more aware and committed.”
Jain Mahmud, executive director of the Center for Communication Action Bangladesh, said: “We welcome this initiative of Facebook. This new curriculum will further strengthen the social media skills and reporting base of our journalists across the country.”
Dilrukshi Handunetti, executive director of the Center for Investigative Reporting, said: “This partnership will give us the opportunity to train the next generation of journalists. Such initiatives will help us to support the work of local journalists and newsrooms. In doing so, they will work to empower the community by presenting ground-breaking news in more detail. ‘
Bhakti Vithahalani, Founder and CEO of BigSpring, said, “We are delighted to bring this mobile platform to enhance the digital skills of Bangladeshi journalists. Users of BigSpring's platform can connect with the learning community to enhance their skills through smaller content. Our platform is mobile usable and multilingual, and it's very easy to use. This will help Bangladeshi journalists to continue their important work. We are proud to be a part of this effort. ”
Journalists will be able to register for the program on iOS and Android phones. Earlier, the Facebook Journalism Project has taken various initiatives to enhance the reporting skills of Bangladeshi journalists. It also includes the recently launched Reuters Digital Journalism course.
