Facebook Journalism Project partners Centre for Investigative Reporting on digital literacy initiative

Monday, 21 September 2020 00:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

300 Sri Lankan journalists to be trained in 2020

Singapore/Colombo: Facebook Journalism Project and the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) have announced a partnership to train over 300 journalists from across Sri Lanka.

The three-week long training program titled ‘Facebook Foundations for Journalists’ is conducted online, with each weekly training session covering three hours of demonstration-led discussions. The sessions will be conducted either in the Sinhala or Tamil language.

The training will include sessions to support journalists in Sri Lanka to understand safety features for journalists and how to use the platform for effective storytelling. It covers Facebook best practices for journalists, Facebook Community Standards, online safety for journalists, and building communities on Facebook.

Facebook’s Director of News Partnerships for APAC Anjali Kapoor said, “We are proud to partner with CIR to support the capacity of Sri Lanka’s news community and to support the news ecosystem so they can continue their important work.”

“As people, including journalists come to Facebook every day, we believe it is important to learn the basic safety features, best practices and various policies including community standards. As engaged communicators, journalists should at least possess a general understanding of online safety and how to respond to hate, disinformation and the mechanisms of flagging questionable content for action,” the Centre’s Executive Director Dilrukshi Handunnetti said.

The Facebook Journalism Project works with publishers around the world to strengthen the connection between journalists and the communities they serve.

CIR is Sri Lanka’s first dedicated centre promoting excellence in investigative journalism within Sri Lanka and the South Asian region, and focuses on both skills enhancement and developing investigative story content.

Those who are interested in the training can apply online by completing the application form below: https://cir.lk/category/opportunities/