Friday, August 10, 2018

“Stop The Stigma”– Albinos Beg



“Stop The Stigma”– Albinos Beg                             
The Executive Director for Ghana Association of Persons living with Albinism, Mr. Newton Kwabla Katesku has called on government and the public to help stop stigmatisation against Albinos and people with disability.

According to him, they are being discriminated against in different forms which has had negative effect on them. He said those who stigmatise against them must be dealt with since the laws of the country are not made to defend sections of the citizenry.

 He said this in an interview with Kwabena Obeng Akrofi on Ark in the morning on 13th June which has been proclaimed as International Albinism Awareness Day. This is the first year Ghanaians living with Albinism are celebrating this day as a group.

It is a day proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) to spread information about albinism and to avoid mobbing and discrimination of albinos.

The International Albinism Awareness Day aims to increase the global attention to human rights.

Albinism is a pigmentary abnormality which leads to an extremely light hair skin and eye colour. This year’s theme is “Shining Our Light to the World.”

Mr. Katesku said dealing with discrimination against albinos does not mean allowing politicians to control their lives rather it's time they all join hands work towards it to achieve its aim.

He bemoaned the notion that albinos are means of money making when used as rituals saying people with such mentality must be do away with it since it is not good.

 He stressed that if people with albinism are unique and their body parts are means of getting money, their parents will not be lavishing in poverty.

Mr. Katesku has appealed to the public to work hard to earn a living instead of focusing on them to be used for rituals.

By:Vivianna Mensah/Ghana/107.1 Ark FM 
(A trainee under Penplusbytes' Deliver! Project media training on reporting GESI/PWDs issues)

Friday, August 03, 2018

Anti-corruption Conference offers Fellowships



Anti-corruption Conference offers Fellowships
The 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) is seeking candidates for its Young Journalists (YJ) Initiative.

Selected journalists will attend the conference from October 22 to 24 2018 in Copenhagen, Denmark, to report on the event and to generate awareness around anti-corruption issues through various channels including the IACC blog, Facebook, Twitter and Vimeo.

Applicants are expected to meet the criteria listed below:

You work as a journalist, with solid experience reporting on social issues, and are skilled in one of the following areas:
·         Broadcast Journalism
·         Digital/Print Journalism
·         Photojournalism
·         Social Media
·         Video Editing
You are passionate about fighting corruption and keen to learn more about Transparency International (TI), the IACC Series and the issues we work on.

Candidates must be fluent in English and under 35 years old by 24 October 2018 and based in/or holding a citizenship from a country where Denmark provides official development assistance (ODA).

Fellows will receive travel, accommodations, registration, mentorship and journalism opportunities.

The deadline is August 15.

For more information on how to apply, click here.