280826 BOUGAINVILLE WOMEN’S FEDERATION PARTICIPATES IN MEDIA AND CSO WORKSHOP

Representatives from the Bougainville Women’s Federation and local media houses completed a weeklong workshop today aimed at strengthening election reporting, anti-corruption tracking, and public accountability across the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

Held at the Kuri Village Resort from August 24 to 28, the training was organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through its European Union-funded Transparency and Accountability in Papua New Guinea (TAP in PNG) project. The initiative was delivered in partnership with the Media Council of Papua New Guinea and the Directorate of Media and Communications under the Department of the President and BEC.

The program brought together journalists from the ABG Directorate of Media and Communications, NBC Bougainville, the Post-Courier, and representatives Civil Society Organisations; the Bougainville Youth Federation, the Nazareth Centre for Rehabilitation, Haku Women’s Collective, New Impact, and a representative from the local faith-based organisations.

Over five days, participants completed intensive modules focusing on:

Electoral Integrity: Designing public awareness campaigns to foster transparent voting processes.

Financial Oversight: Utilizing "Follow the Money" techniques to trace campaign funding and public expenditure.

Ethical Reporting: Ensuring equal coverage for all political candidates and executing balanced debate moderation.

Information Security: Applying real-time fact-checking techniques to combat fake news and electoral misinformation.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Director for the ABG Directorate of Media and Communications, Ms. Adrianna Schmidth, emphasized the urgency of the initiative ahead of the upcoming Bougainville Community Government elections and the 2027 PNG National Elections.

"This training comes at a critical juncture for our region," Schmidth noted, expressing gratitude to the UNDP and European Union while urging participants to put their newly acquired investigative and ethical reporting skills into immediate practice.