Media Directors drawn from all Catholic media institutions in Malawi, on Tuesday 9th February, met in the Capital, Lilongwe at Catholic Secretariat to strategize and enhance their collaboration and networking when discharging their duties which is mainly to evangelize through print and electronic media.
Opening the workshop, the Director of Social Development at the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), Mr. Carsterns Mulume said following the new strategic plan which the Malawi Bishops approved, commissions or department
s under his directorate are supposed to be well coordinated and networked hence the reason the Social Communications department which is under this directorate called for the meeting.
Other Directorates under ECM are the Pastoral; and the Finance, Administration and Investment Directorate. In Social Development Directorate, commissions like the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM), Catholic Health Commission (CHC), Catholic Education Commission (CEC) and the Social Communications are under the umbrella of Directorate of Social Development.
“We definitely need the media to achieve our goal in the directorate. For example, if CCJP wants to advance its advocacy drive, it means the media has to be in the forefront. So too, if CADECOM which does a lot of development work across the country and needs to publicize its works for visibility hence the media plays a crucial role,” said Mulume who was formerly the National Secretary for the Catholic Development Commission (CADECOM) at ECM.
Mulume also emphasized on the need for collaboration and networking among the Catholic Media Institutions and therefore he urged the departments under his directorate to be available to support their own media institutions.
Fr. Andrew Kaufa, the National Social Communications Secretary said apart from enhancing collaboration and networking amongst Catholic media houses, the workshop was also aimed at finding ways on how the national communications office, media houses and the association of Catholic journalists in Malawi can work together.
“Already as the national office, we have had meetings with diocesan communication secretaries and this time around, we thought of bringing media directors alone, since these groups have different issues that ought to be handled separately as well,” he said.
Fr. Kaufa said soon his office will be meeting the Association of Catholic Journalists (ACJ) Executive Committee in Salima before meeting all Catholic Journalists, Producers and Editors in Malawi for an annual general conference.
During the workshop, Secretary General for the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, Fr. Henry Saindi who is also the former Director for Radio Maria Malawi communicated three issues that the Bishops resolved during their plenary early this year.
He said the Bishops would like to see complementarity among Catholic media houses, promotion of the identity of the Church and definition of the role of Catholic media.
“At least the Bishops would like to see Catholic media houses complementing each other by supporting each other like sharing programs, have joint transmission of Outside Broadcasting among others. On keeping the identity of the Church, the Bishops wants us to reflect on the Catholicity of our publications and programming, “he said.
According to Fr. Saindi, the Bishops also defined the Catholic Media as the one the one that supports the mission of the Church in Malawi.
Meanwhile, the director of Radio Maria Malawi Rev. Fr. Joseph Kimu commended ECM for organizing the workshop saying it will go a long way in meeting the objective of Church in the work of evangelization.
“This workshop will help us work as one and not as competitors. We need to collaborate more because after all we command the listenership in the country,” said Fr. Kimu.
Among the participants to the workshop were a Sister Luisa (Chief Editor, Montfort Media),Fr. Gamba (Manager, Montfort Media),Fr. Mpina (Director of Programs, Luntha Television),Fr. Robert Songa (Director, Tuntufye FM),Fr. Gabriel Jana (Radio Alinafe), Fr. Eugine Ngoma (Radio Tigabane) and Erick Ning’ang’a (General Manager, Likuni Press).
By Prince Henderson, ECM Communications Officer