Capacity building of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan.pdf

B. PRESENTATION
1. PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:
South Sudan experienced a prolonged period of war, beginning in the North in 1955 and ending after the
signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005. The war led to the suppression of the mass
media industry in South Sudan by the North. After the CPA, the media began to develop in South Sudan
without undue Government harassment, and currently the country’s mass media industry is in its formative
stage. Freedom of expression exists in law and practice, however there have been cases where journalists have
been arrested and harassed by security forces whilst carrying out their professional duties. When such incidents
have occurred, the Union of Journalists of Southern Sudan (UJOSS) has risen to the occasion and secured the
freedom of the journalist or journalists concerned.
At present, Sudan has state-run, private and community mass media houses, offering print, radio and TV
services. In terms of human resource development, Juba University currently provides training in journalism
whereby working journalists can advance their professional skills. However, the majority of Sudanese
journalists live far from the University and are unable to benefit from the training it provides. There exists
therefore a need to build the professional capacity of journalists at State level, where they are situated.
In January 2011, the Southern Sudanese voted for independence from Northern Sudan. This decision ushered
Southern Sudan into a state of transition. UJOSS will play a key role during this period of change for the new
nation, in attempting to help heal the rifts between North and South Sudan. Due to their shared history,
geographical proximity and migration of people from North to South and vice versa, the two have always been
interdependent at various levels. UJOSS must also play a proactive role in the peace-building process of the
inter- and intra-tribal conflicts among the various Southern Sudan tribes during this time.
With globalization occurring rapidly, UJOSS must move quickly to seize this critical moment in Southern
Sudan’s development process and professionally provide, disseminate and highlight the necessary information
and direction required. This can only be done by journalists who have been equipped with adequate skills and
provided with the necessary know-how in order to facilitate the process.
Due to the prolonged period of war, many journalists in the country currently lack the necessary training, skills
and expertise that is required of their profession. UJOSS with the assistance of development partners will take
the challenge of building the capacity of journalists in Southern Sudan, and raise their standards to the level of
their counterparts in neighboring countries with vibrant mass media industries, such as Kenya. This project will
attempt to provide the solution of filling the skills and expertise gap of the journalists of Southern Sudan to
enable them to carry out objective journalism of a high standard.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE TARGET GROUP:
The target group consists of 150 journalists of South Sudan, working in private, public & community mass
media organizations.
3. DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE:
The project will contribute to the development of democracy and respect of the rule of the law in Southern
Sudan by enhancing the news gathering and reporting capacities of the media organizations in the country.
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