Governor Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa of Delta State has given approval to the hosting of the third edition of the Delta State Strategic Communication Workshop, Delstracom.
The programme is aimed at building the capacity of political appointees and media partners in the state.
The Executive Assistant to the Governor on Communications (Eacgov), Chief Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, a lawyer, confirmed the governor’s approval in a statement on Monday in Asaba, the state capital.
The Eacgov said this year’s workshop with the Theme: “Trends in Media Politics – Content And Deployments in Elections,” will focus on effective uses of both conventional and new media in the new normal occasioned by multifaceted challenges created by the global outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
Oghenesivbe whose office is saddled with the responsibility of managing the workshop, further disclosed that the 2021 state communication workshop will dwell extensively on creative writing skills development, effective management of propaganda and counter-propaganda in electioneering media politics, effective communication of government policies, programmes and achievements through the traditional and new media platforms and networks.
He said participants shall be organised into sizeable groups in compliance with Covid-19 protocol, and assigned critical tasks on how to effectively and profitably use the YouTube, Instagram and live Facebook broadcast to reach highly heterogeneous target audiences.
The Eacgov disclosed that participants shall also be subjected to article writing competition as a means of grading their skills and intellectual creative writing skills, saying that knowledge acquired will enable participants to create jobs and wealth, and become stakeholders in the media and communication industry.
Okowa’s EAC further stated that first, second and third winners of the article writing competition will receive instant cash of N100,000, N50,000 and N30,000, courtesy of NewsRazor Communications-NG Ltd, a corporate citizen and emerging brand in news broadcast in Nigeria.
“The office of the Executive Assistant to the Governor of Delta State is most delighted to announce that the Platinum governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, has graciously approved the third edition of Delta State Strategic Communication Workshop, with the Theme “Trends in Media Politics: Contents and Deployments in Elections.”
“The Theme is deliberately crafted to sharpen the skills of participants, particularly political appointees that have been assigned specific roles in communication and media management in the office of the governor, and by extension our media partners in the state.
“Participants are expected to attend the workshop with personal laptops or iPads, so as to substantially benefit from the tasks of generating content and deployment of processed news, articles and interviews via conventional and new media with emphasis on YouTube, Instagram and live Facebook broadcast.
*Facilitators for the third edition have been carefully selected to do justice to the Theme of the capacity building workshop, while renowned public affairs commentator and Convener of the Midwest Agenda, Dr Pedro Obaseki, will be speaking on the topic ” Propaganda in Party Politics and Governance: Challenges and Solutions.”
“Article writing competition will be held at the Workshop, and winners shall receive an instant cash reward of N100,000, N50,000 and N30,000 in the order of first, second and 3rd winners categories. Award certificate to be presented to the winner by Secretary to Delta State Government, High Chief Patrick Ukah.
“The three days workshop will hold from 26-28th October 2021, at Orchid Hotel, Asaba, the Delta state capital.
“Participants are to contact the office of the EACGOVDELTA, Governor’s Office, for free registration in two categories namely; serving political appointees in the Governor’s office and media partners; Journalists, popular bloggers and visible social media influencers based in Delta State.
“Delstracom, an annual Communication workshop since 2019, is an integral part of the Okowa’s administration human capacity development for effective and efficient dissemination of government policies, programmes and achievements under the Stronger Delta mantra,” Oghenesivbe said.