The United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the Union of the French-speaking press of Djibouti (UPF-Djibouti) has conducted a press week for students in Djibouti and Balbala State high schools.

The press week was organised to enable high school students to better understand the media and the press in order to promote the right to participation in Djibouti.

Data from the United States Department of State 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Djibouti shows that the country’s government did not respect freedom of expression, including for the press and arbitrarily harassed journalists in the country.

Additional data from Freedom House rated Djibouti as ‘not free’ in its 2021 Freedom in the World study of political rights and civil liberties worldwide, with the country earning 24 out of a possible 100 points.

30 students from the Djibouti State High School were also taken on a guided tour of the Radio Television of Djibouti (RTD) were they discovered the different facets of the profession.

‘High school students will also benefit from initiation workshops when writing a press article, elementary concepts and journalism genres’, UPF-Djibouti President, Kenedid Ibrahim Houssein, said.

‘This will allow them to discover the loopholes of the profession and the rules that govern this profession while demonstrating a critical and analytical mind’.

The UNICEF representative in Djibouti, Melva Johnson, reiterated the importance of the participation of adolescents and young people in areas that concern them through various media.

‘This initiative [press week in high school] is a new opportunity offered to them [high school students] as part of the promotion of the right to participation in Djibouti’, Johnson said.

The press week was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFOP).

Source: UPF-Djibouti

Photo source: UNICEF Djibouti