WIN FOR LIMKO JOURNOS

Limkokwing University (Botswana) and World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WANIFRA) this week signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Gaborone. The MoU forms the basis for cooperation between the two parties in order to create a better understanding of how media houses operate and also to provide mentorship among selected female Journalism students who aspire to join the media industry. The programme which is called Future Leaders Initiative is part of the Women In News programme which operates in a number of media houses in Botswana. Participants or WINners as they are often called, have agreed to share their experiences with the upcoming journalists who are still in school as a way of giving back to their community. WIN Future Leaders aim at mentoring females studying Journalism so as to smoothen their entry into the industry. Around 200-250 young women will benefit from in-classroom training in various skills such as communication, presentation and digital storytelling. Limkokwing Vice Chancellor Gape Kaboyakgosi said the event marked the parties’ longstanding commitment to one of the cornerstones of the philosophy of the university, being the primacy of industry readiness training. “Industry readiness to us is not a by-product of teaching and learning. Rather it is a deliberate outcome of measures put in place to ensure that students emerge from our campus with solid foundations in terms of technology, analytic skills, temperament and all round ability to contribute immediately upon joining the labour force in any of the economic sectors, whether private, public or non-governmental,” he said. WIN Future Leaders National Mentor Yvonne Mooka, who is also The Midweek Sun reporter appreciated the institution for agreeing to partner with the organisation in investing on female Journalism students. She said that the marriage will give students a glimpse of the media and what to expect. “For a long time, the media industry was male-dominated. As WIN, we are changing the status quo because we believe women too, can lead and succeed in the industry,” she said. She challenged students to have a heart of service explaining that journalists are not celebrities but servants of the people using their power to be the voice of the voiceless and to safeguard democracy. The Weekend Post publisher Tryphinah Dongwana-Kenalemang shared her story of how she rose in the industry. She encouraged students to be driven by passion and hard-work if they would like to succeed in media. Kenalemang said that a media practitioner should be vision-oriented. “It takes vision to make it in the media industry. If you don’t have a vision, you won’t enjoy it,” she said. Speaking on behalf of Limkokwing Director of Academics Onalenna Phambuka, Journalism lecturer Kesolofetse Njirayafa emphasised that the partnership would empower students to become better future media practitioners.