Disability-Inclusive Election Reporting Workshop Held in Dhaka's Baridhara, 20 Journalists Take Part

A day-long workshop titled 'Disability Inclusive Election Reporting' was held on Monday (November 2) in Baridhara in the capital. Twenty journalists from mainstream media took part in the workshop, held at Hotel Omni Residence.

The workshop was organised by the Bangladesh Society for the Change and Advocacy Nexus (B-SCAN). It was held under the 'Promoting Disability Inclusive Election Observation' (PDIEO) project, with support from the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD).

The training covered how to properly present in the media the voting rights, participation, accessibility and political representation of persons with disabilities in the electoral process. Disability-inclusive and rights-based journalism was the central theme of the training.

According to the organisers, the aim was to identify newsworthy issues concerning the electoral participation and rights of persons with disabilities. It also focused on building journalists' practical skills in searching for information, verifying it and producing responsible reports.

In light of new general guidance relating to Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the workshop discussed selecting news ideas and editing news headlines. Selecting inclusive photographs and analysing case studies on electoral accessibility were also part of the programme.

Participants practised verifying information and evidence relating to electoral accessibility. They also practised identifying the relevant authorities and investigating questions of rights and accountability.

Interview exercises were also held, aimed at including persons with disabilities in news reports as rights holders and as experts drawing on their own lived experience. Special emphasis was placed on the interviewee's consent, dignified language and appropriate choice of words.

Attending for B-SCAN were Executive Director Salma Mahbub, Programme Director Iftekhar Mahmud, Programme Coordinator Mahfuzur Rahman Rakib, Programme Assistant Coordinator Upama Saha and Admin Officer Ruma Aktar.

For the EPD, Project Director Anastasia S. Wibawa and Programme Manager Roksana Haque made important contributions to the workshop. The sessions were conducted by media analyst and researcher Nazia Afrin Monami and Rabeya Baby, reporter and editor of the women's section of the Daily Ittefaq.

The closing remarks were delivered by Simona Kamolini, a delegate of the European Union (EU).