Regional Programs: Training
Child Rights .
Public Health (in particular HIV/AIDS) . Environment
. Gender and Social Justice . Archive
Regional Training Courses
20.
Dominica, November 1994
Theme(s) Ecotourism in the Caribbean.
Length 3 days.
Target Group
Journalists from the English-speaking Caribbean, representing all media.
Objectives
To build the capacity of Caribbean journalists to report effectively on environment and developemnt issues.
To increase their understanding of ecotourism development in the Caribbean.
Context
Part of the Panos/CERN 3-year capacity building programme. OECS became involved as part of its goal of training journalists from their member states to report on the environment.
Participants
18 journalists of 17 media houses from the English-speaking Eastern Caribbean, Guyana and Barbados: 4 print, 2 TV, 9 radio, 2 radio & TV, one Govt.
Female/ Male Ratio: 8/10.
Working Methodology and Activities
Lecture-style presentations and panel discussions, with a practical exercise and a field trip to the Emerald Pool and the Carib Territory. There were 5 resource persons. Participants were required to produce a 250 word story, based on the workshop experience, for review at the end of the workshop.
Introduction to basic environment and development concepts, and to ecotourism (Day 1). Various aspects of ecotourism in greater detail; and field visits (Day 2). Writing stories and a round table discussion on emerging ecotourism trends and issues, and the role journalists in ecotourism development in the region; presentation of CERN; evaluation (Day 3).
Documentation Used
Info included: ENCORE, whale watching, NRMU, OECS-GTZ natural resources management, paper by Conservation International and Car. Park and Prot. Area Bulletin on Ecotourism.
Results
Workshop was well attended, and the mixture of senior and junior reporters made good group forming process. Four participants dropped out at last minute.
Journalists became very aware of the issues of ecotourism and good stories were produced.
Network of CERN members in the Eastern Caribbean was expanded.
Evaluation by Participants
Workshop agenda was tight, and participants complained about the lack of free time.
Workshop was considered very useful, with adequate presentations. People felt their objectives were met.
Lessons Learned and Recommendations
Many suggested a week-long activity, rather then three days. Panos should experiment with that format.
Presentations should make more use of audiovisual tools.
Review of individual products by experienced journalist is very important (feedback on content and style) and should be allocated sufficient time.
Panos/CERN should work with the same journalists over a period
of time, in order to build a cadre of competent, committed journalists.
20. Dominica, 21-23 November 1994. CERN/OECS/CCA/Panos
media workshop on ecotourism in the Caribbean.
This workshop was a joint activity of Panos, the Caribbean
Environmental Reporters Network (CERN), the Natural
Resources Management Unit of the Organization of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS/NRMU) and the Caribbean Conservation
Association (CCA). The workshop topic was suggested
by CERN, whose members had identified ecotourism as
one of the issues about which they wanted to gain a
deeper understanding.
On the first day, representatives of the institutional
partners in this workshop provided a great amount of
information to the participants, regarding basic environment
and development concepts as well as ecotourism issues.
Time was devoted to ecotourism definitions and distinctions,
a hallmark of any meeting on this topic. Through a practical
exercise, participants explored the missing link between
environmental information and journalism. Aspects that
came up in the dicussion included crisis versus issues
reporting, analyses and feature writing, news gathering
and eco-babble.
Various dimensions of ecotourism in the Caribbean
were examined on the second day, including economic
aspects, socio-cultural aspects and ecological aspects.
The Dominica experience was studied in more detail during
the field trips. The Dominica Superintendent of Parks
facilitated a visit to one of the main ecotourism attractions
in the island, the Emerald Pool. Subsequently, participants
met with local experts and resource persons at the Council
House on the Carib Territory.
Day 3's programme was modified to allow participants
more time for writing. The review session was a central
element where journalistic feedback and critique was
provided. An oral and written evaluation was done.
In the scope of the Panos/CERN programme, two strategic
options were discussed: (a) the programme could sensitize
as many journalists as possible throughout the region;
(b) the programme could work with a small number of
reporters over time in many activities, in order to
build a cadre of competent, committed journalists. During
this workshop, the latter option was most supported.
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