On 6th November, 2022 two delegations of lecturers from universities in Ethiopia and Somalia invited by Fojo Media Institute together with PAXPRESS through Rwanda Media Programme visited Mount Kenya University Rwanda (MKUR) school of journalism.
The team that was led by Anki Wood the project manager of Rwanda Media Programme arrived at 2:00pm and they were welcomed by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Edwin Odhuno and the School of Journalism Head of Department Mr. Festus Irungu.
On arrival, they were taken around the school facilities like the Library (where delegates from Ethiopia donated books on Ethnification and media polarization), Computer laboratory, the audio and video production studio for Journalism before meeting media students to go through their curriculum and discuss issues on the future of journalism.
Speaking to the guests, the Vice chancellor thanked Fojo media Institute for their collaboration with MKUR to boost media studies as its one of the pillars of the university in
Rwanda. “Rwanda is one of the countries in Africa that has highly transformed and its because of the role the media is playing in informing and educating the masses both locally and internationally“.
“When you look at the “Visit Rwanda” campaign, that’s the work of media therefore the importance of media can’t be over emphasized today as we live in a digital era and at MKUR we pledge to train professionals who will not only work in Rwanda, but also internationally“, he added.
Mr. Festus Irungu (far left) and the Vice Chancellor Prof. Edwin Odhuno (left) with some of the delegates from Ethiopia and Somalia
Rwanda Media Programme is one of the projects of Fojo Media Institute from Sweden. The institute that started media development in 1972 has over 30 media houses, went international in 1992 and is currently working with RBA (Rwanda Broadcasting Agency) and four universities from Africa with Rwanda, Somalia and Ethiopia as their favorite countries.
On behalf of the Ethiopian delegates, Mr. Maluta a retired journalist but teacher of Journalism and Mass communication at AAU took the students through the journey of media in Ethiopia from the time of Emperor Haile Selassie to date.
He also engaged in a discussion with students where they asked him questions on how to over come media challenges especially oppression and censorship from governments like that of Uganda.
“As journalists, you have to win the trust of the government and political leaders, you can only avoid oppression if you are professional, accurate and objective when writing and reporting stories”, Maluta told the students.
Together with PAXPRESS, FOJO media Institute is currently working with not only Mount Kenya University Rwanda, but also East African University Rwanda (EAUR), Institute Catholique de Kabgayi (ICK), and the School of Journalism (SJC) at University of Rwanda with an aim to strengthen journalism education in Rwanda thus the purpose of the visit.
