From 15th to 18th
December 2015, Penplusbytes, in partnership with Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), will hold an intermediate data training
workshop for 25 journalists and Civil Society Organisations working on
extractive data in Ghana and beyond at the New Media Hub in Accra.
The training, which comes off of NRGI’s “Catalyzing Open Data for
Extractives (CODEX)” programme, is expected to advance the skill set of
participants’ in data cleaning, data organization, data visualization (online
and offline) and infographics, story design and presentation.
NRGI’s introductory CODEX training, held for some selected journalists in
Ghana in the first and second quarters of 2015, focused on data journalism
training which helped build the capacity of participants with new set of data
analysis skills, introducing them to new datasets, potential data points, and
data presentation in extractives. As an outcome, participants gained basic data
analysis skills such as data scraping, data organization, and graphical
presentation using excel.
The intermediate Open Data training for Journalists and CSO’s is however
aimed at further equipping participants with enhanced skills and tools useful
for publishing data driven stories that spark informed debates as well as
contribute to better reforms in the extractive sector.
Kwami Ahiabenu, II, Executive Director of Penplusbytes, said the programme
is necessitated by the recognition that good management of extractive resources
and revenues requires informed, responsive, and dynamic media to provide
necessary oversight and inform the public about critical oil and gas issues. He
added that, “the lack of data and the requisite skills for analyzing them
impacts negatively on key industry players – media and Civil society – and
their ability to play an effective oversight role of the industry with their
inability to tell the right story behind data.
The training participants are drawn from media organisations such as the
Multimedia group, Daily Graphic, Daily Guide and the Ghana News Agency. There
will also be the participation from CSOs such as the Africa Centre for Energy
Policy (ACEP) and the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
(GHEITI) whose membership include the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Chamber
of Mines.
On his part, Samuel Bekoe, Regional Associate at NRGI, said participants
at the training’s end, will gain advanced skill set appropriate for organising
different extractive data, analyse, and use visualizations and infographics to
communicate complex information to the understanding of citizens. “The
workshops priority is in particularly strengthening participants’ skills and
help leverage their extensive knowledge and experience for improved extractive
sector governance,” he said.
ABOUT
Penplusbytes is a leading organization in Africa working in 3
areas: governance and accountability, new media and innovations as well as oil,
gas and mining. It consists of a network of media organizations and journalists
interested in using ICTs to effectively advance high quality journalism.
The Natural Resource Governance Institute is a non-profit policy
institute and grant-making organization that promotes effective, transparent
and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources for the public
good. Through capacity building, technical assistance, research and advocacy,
the NRGI help countries to realize the development benefits of their natural
resource wealth.
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