Journalists in Latvia talk about Communication for Development

On 29th of November 2012 media representatives from all regions of Latvia were invited to participate in the National World Talks about Communication for Development. The goal of this event was to raise awareness and discuss with media professionals about communication for development, its essence, topics and methods.

The event was organised in close cooperation between the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation (LAPAS) and its member organisation Latvian Media Professionals Training Center. A total of 16 journalists took part in event, representing 15 different local print media - which is still one of the main information sources for lots of people, especially in the countryside. Invited guests were representatives from the Latvian forum for Latvian Farmer’s Federation and the Latvian Portage Association, who shared their experience working in development cooperation.

The participants were introduced to communication for development and development cooperation. There was an open discussion about inequality and poverty what led to talks about Millennium Development Goals and social dimensions of globalization, as well as about the differences in how news about developing countries are covered in Latvian media and abroad. There was a conclusion, that even for news from local communities, it’s possible to find a correlation with the the global scale and similar problems can be identified in Latvia, South-America and Africa. As said one of participants: “We are invariably connected.” There was a discussion on how to elaborate a good publication about development issues, how and where to choose information, ethics and format and how to deliver the story.

In the end of the day several participants revealed, that before this day they didn’t know a lot about global development issues, but now they see importance to link local level issues to a global context. This event took place within the framework of the EU-funded project “Baltic States – Channeling Information for Development”.

In the photo: participants of the event.

Information provided by Baiba Udrase, LAPAS