By Kingsley I. Ilechukwu, Correspondent Lagos
Phone maker, Tecno, has shown its commitment to the training and capacity building of ICT journalist in the country as it lent its support to a training workshop organised for ICT journalists under the aegis of Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Lagos.
The 5-day Capacity Building Training, which is at the behest of NITDA, with full support from the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, was meant to equip ICT journalists with requisite skills to effectively report the fast-evolving trends in the global ICT field and further sharpen their skills in reporting.
Tecno, in supporting and sponsoring part of the training, acknowledged the need for a continuous skill upgrade for ICT journalists as trends in the Information and Communications Technology sphere globally evolve.
The training covered areas such as New Technology trends, Digital Literacy, Emerging Technologies, Cybersecurity and journalism as a social engineering tool, among others.
Tecno’s support is in line with the phone maker’s corporate social responsibility and quest to partner with corporate organisations to better equip media stakeholders.
NITDA’s intervention is part of the implementation of the Agency’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2021-2024) which is also in line with application of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS). The policy document promotes the use of digital technology to expand and diversify Nigeria’s economy, especially as it pertains to employing digital literacy and skills strategy.
Other firms that partnered with NITRA for the training included marketing communications firm- CMC Connect; one of the world’s leading communications companies Hill+Knowlton Strategies; a financial technology company Global Accelerex and Zinox Group. The sponsors acknowledge their intervention is critical in the media industry, especially as ICT evolves.
According to the Chairman of NITRA, Chike Onwuegbuchi, the training formed part of his administration’s empowerment promises, and enabled NITRA members to further sharpen their skills and be well-equipped to deliver in reporting new technologies such as AI, machine learning, Cloud deployment, Fintech, among others.
NITRA is planning to institute the training for its members as a quarterly event.
