Gambia: DoIS Trains Communication Officers On ATI Law in Local Languages

11 May 2023
The Point (Banjul)
By Jankey Ceesay

The Department of Information Services (DoIS) under the Ministry of Information recently convened a two-day training for communication officers from various Ministries on Access to Information Law (ATI Law) in local languages.

The training held at Khamsys in Bijilo, is part of the sensitisation and popularisation of the Access to Information Law using language techniques initiative. The event was supported by UNESCO through The Gambia National Commission for UNESCO Participation Program.

At the opening, Ebrima Njie, Deputy Director at the Department of Information Services, reminded information officers of their crucial role in the application and implementation of the ATI Law; hence the need for them to understand their duties and responsibilities per the legislation.

"Communicating in local languages is paramount because you the communication officers deal with different kinds of people and part of those are not English oriented therefore, you should make best use of this training to help in the implementation of the ATI Law and the decentralisation of information."

Speaking on behalf of the Information Minister, Isatou Davies Ann, noted that information should be seen and treated as public good owing to the fact that it allows individuals to know their rights.

"The law empowers both the citizens and the government to mutually create an atmosphere of trust and credibility by promoting culture of transparency and accountability."

She noted that for the aforementioned to materialise effectively, there is need to build the capacity of stakeholders in the information value chain. "We therefore, thank UNESCO for their continuous partnership to complement the efforts of the government," she said.

Also speaking, Lamin Jarju, a Senior Programme Officer, UNESCO, NATCOM, said the training would henceforth create a link between communication officers and communities to be able to deal with data collection among others.

He thus advised them to utilise the knowledge gained and be ready to share it with their colleagues who were not part of the training.

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