The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) facilitated a one-day capacity- building training workshop for journalists on Friday with the aim of strengthening their skills.

Officially opening the workshop, GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally called on journalists to be responsible in their reporting, stating that journalists hold important “powers” which “can break governments”.

The workshop, which was held under the theme ‘Promoting Democracy Through Journalistic Excellence’, included working sessions with interactive, as well as evaluation exercises which saw participation from two dozen-odd journalists from state and private media houses in the country.

The sessions were facilitated by Training Coordinator Dr Paloma Mohamed and Trinidadian media consultant Wesley Gibbings, who both described yesterday’s workshop as being successful, enabling practicing journalists to discuss various topics about the profession and guiding principles which could improve their journalistic skills.