This operation is part of the Media for Democracy and Good Governance in the DRC project, initiated by the UK Government Department for International Development ( DFID ) and coordinated by FCI (France Coopération Internationale). It aims to help journalists from private TV channels to hone their professional skills and contribute to upgrading the standard of televised newscasts.

To select the journalists participating in these workshops, CFI chose to leverage the private TV channels (as media undergoing rapid development in urban areas of the DRC) and to call on the ANEAP (DRC association of private audiovisual companies). Furthermore, to ensure the lasting impact of this project, executives from the TV channels will be involved throughout the training course to brainstorm possibilities of developing this type of reporting.

By building this training project around the theme of the economy, CFI intends on the one hand to develop a training process rooted in matter-of-fact reality and on the other to prompt the trainee journalists to work on vital issues for the country (development, resource management and the rebuilding of the Congolese economy). At the end of the course, the journalists should have all the elements to handle these subjects at their fingertips. Their output (reports on the economy and investigative TV magazines), as well as the new professional skills acquired during the course, shall contribute to developing freedom of expression and communication of varying opinions, broadcasting pertinent, top-quality news, and shall provide citizens with greater insight into the topics covered.

The trainees who produce the top three magazines during the training workshops will have the satisfaction of knowing their work will be made available to CFI’s African TV partners.