Nepal Investigative Multimedia Journalism Network (NIMJN) organized the first "Safety and Fact-checking Training for Nepali Investigative journalists" from August 16 to 18, 2020.

In the three days long virtual training, national and international journalists and experts trained journalists on safety, stress management, fact-checking, multimedia tools, collaborative and investigative reporting.

24 journalists (9 female and 15 male) affiliated with various media outlets from 16 districts participated in the training. Journalists participated from Bajura, Banke, Bhaktapur, Dhadhing, Gorkha, Jhapa, Kailali, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Panchthar, Parsa, Rolpa, Rukum, Rupandehi, Siraha, and Sunsari districts using zoom, a virtual video conferencing platform.

Speaking at the inaugural session on the first day of the training, Rajneesh Bhandari, Chief Editor, and CEO of NIMJN stressed the training would be highly beneficial for journalists who are doing investigative stories on COVID-19 in Nepal.  

“We aim to enhance the understanding and skills of journalists on personal safety, stress management, fact-checking and collaborative investigative reporting while doing stories during the pandemic and other emergencies,” Bhandari said. 

Mahendra Pandey, Senior Manager, forced labor and human trafficking, Humanity United highlighted about the importance of safety, mindfulness, and self-care while reporting during the pandemic. He said he is happy to work with NIMJN.

During the training sessions, Dr. Navindra Raj Bista, M.D., assistant professor of Tribhuvan University, spoke on the safety of journalists during COVID-19; and, senior journalist/ writer Hari Bahadur Thapa talked about the investigative reporting issues while reporting COVID-19. 

Amantha Perera, Asia-Pacific Coordinator for the DART Center for Journalism and Trauma talked about self-care for journalists. Prof. Dr. Umesh Arya, a senior trainer from the Google News Initiative India Training Network, discussed on various approaches and methods of Fact-checking using the easily available tools. Umesh Shrestha, editor, Nepal Fact Check discussed Fact-checking in Nepal during the Pandemic. Vikrant Pandey, founder, Fight Back Nepal discussed the importance of situational awareness while doing investigative stories during the pandemic.

In the training, NIMJN’s chief editor Rajneesh Bhandari shared available online multimedia tools that journalists could use while reporting the pandemic and on the importance of collaborative reporting. 

As a part of the training, a mini anapana meditation- an introductory session to Vipassana was organized for journalists. 

Feedback from participants:

“I found this training to be of international standards and it was my first virtual training that I participated in the safety and fact-checking training. I learned new things on fact-checking, and I felt that meditation is important to manage stress,” Renuka Giri from Rupandehi.

“I learned about Zoom which was new for me and the content was very useful and  I am more confident to do collaborative reporting. During this pandemic attending such type of training and sharing with friends made me refresh,” Bhim Lal Shrestha from Gorkha.

“This training was fruitful, good, and systematic and will help us guide in daily reporting during this pandemic,” Dhanbir Dahal from Kathmandu.

“Safety for journalists during the COVID-19 session made me aware of COVID-19 pandemic and also about safety tools that need to be adopted while reporting,” Prakash Singh from Bajura. 

The second training will be held on September 21-23, 2020. NIMJN’s Safety and Fact-checking program is supported by Humanity United.

///

Participants: