OSCE Presence in Albania assists Albanian Public Broadcaster in establishing Training Academy for young journalists
The OSCE Presence in Albania is making further progress in its efforts to help the Albanian Public Broadcasting Service (Radio Televizioni Shqiptar - RTSH) establish a training centre for young RTSH reporters and journalism students.
From 7 to 9 September 2021, the Presence trained seven renowned RTSH editors and managers to be future trainers at the training centre. The event was organized together with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Training Academy.
This train-the-trainers course was developed and conducted by EBU’s training manager, Frederic Frantz. Participants learned cutting-edge teaching skills and knowledge transferring methods to enable them to successfully deliver trainings to RTSH employees in general, and young journalists in particular.
Bledar Zaganjori, RTSH Director of News and Current Affairs, emphasized that: “the training courses held recently regarding mobile and constructive journalism were very much needed and well received”. He added that after more than a year of online training, they want courses to be in person and journalists and technical staff to have a hands-on approach during classes.
In addition, the OSCE Presence in Albania is assisting the Public Broadcaster in finalizing the short- and mid-term training plans for its staff. On 10 September, the Presence facilitated a roundtable discussion with top RTSH management on developing a training strategy and drafting the training plans for the next two years.
This strategy will pave the way to a functional and efficient RTSH Training Academy. The Presence has provided the Public Broadcaster with technical equipment, such as cameras, editing programmes, lighting sets, microphones and tripods to be used for new programmes and training purposes.
The assistance to RTSH provided by the OSCE Presence in Albania is part of a two-year programme of professional capacity-building for RTSH, organized in close co-operation with EBU within the framework of the “Media in Focus” project funded by the European Union (EU). The project’s aim is to strengthen RTSH through capacity-building for journalists and assistance in producing new flagship programmes.