A total of 21 scribes drawn from different media houses in the county are undergoing training aimed at building their capacity to report on children’s rights.

Chrystel Intaramirwa, Plan Rwanda’s Child Rights coordinator, said that the trainees will in turn train 60 children and youth in Gatsibo District, in basic media skills to enable them (children) to advocate for their rights through media.

She also revealed that Plan Rwanda will set up a Youth and Children Media Club that will be equipped with computers, cameras and internet connection.

She explained that this will help the youth and children to keep learning and engaging with media outlets to advocate for their rights and promote reconciliation.

Briefing participants on media and contemporary issues, Lama Mugabo, one of the facilitators, pointed out that children and youth constitute 60 percent of Rwanda’s population. This, he said, calls for their empowerment to freely express their views and tackle the enormous challenges facing them.

Grace Mugabe, another facilitator, urged scribes against sensational reporting as it creates false alarms and can lead to loss of credibility.

The 10-day training of trainers, which started on Wednesday at the Rwanda Red Cross headquarters in Kacyiru, is being sponsored by Plan International, under a project called Promoting Rights and Reconciliation through Child Media.

It is being carried out by experts from Consultants for Effective Training (CET), a Kigali based consultancy firm.

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