Selected journalists are undergoing a three-day intensive training under the European Union-Enhanced Maritime Action in the Gulf of Guinea (ENMAR) project.
The training is being organised by the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute (GoGMI), with funding by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France.
Ms Emmanuelle Lécuyer, the Public Diplomacy and Visibility Officer for EnMAR, said the maritime sector was important because about 80 per cent of trade took place on the maritime route and in Ghana, the sector generated about one billion US dollars.
Ms Lécuyer noted that the security in the shipping route was exposed to piracy and crime, indicating that in 2022 Ghanaian authorities recorded about 60 kilogrammes of drugs intercepted, in addition to the country losing about 200 million US dollars to foreign ships operating illegally under legal cover.
Selected journalists are undergoing a three-day intensive training under the European Union-Enhanced Maritime Action in the Gulf of Guinea (ENMAR) project.
The training is being organised by the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute (GoGMI), with funding by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France.
Ms Emmanuelle Lécuyer, the Public Diplomacy and Visibility Officer for EnMAR, said the maritime sector was important because about 80 per cent of trade took place on the maritime route and in Ghana, the sector generated about one billion US dollars.
Ms Lécuyer noted that the security in the shipping route was exposed to piracy and crime, indicating that in 2022 Ghanaian authorities recorded about 60 kilogrammes of drugs intercepted, in addition to the country losing about 200 million US dollars to foreign ships operating illegally under legal cover.
Air Vice Marshall Frank Hanson, the Board Chairman of GoGMI, said the Gulf of Guinea required the utmost attention in the country’s national development, adding that it was several times bigger than West Africa and far richer than any continent.
“It is our Wall Street, IMF, and World Bank combined. Yet, paradoxically, it remains the least spoken about in the public sphere. Our journalists, policymakers, and even communities rarely give it the attention it deserves, even though it is the very foundation of our trade, security, and sustainable future,” he said.
The GoGMI Board Chairman reiterated that the training was designed to equip the journalists with the knowledge, tools, and perspectives to cover maritime security and safety with accuracy, depth, and urgency, while shining a light on the vast opportunities that the Blue Economy presented.
The GoGMI Board Chairman reiterated that the training was designed to equip the journalists with the knowledge, tools, and perspectives to cover maritime security and safety with accuracy, depth, and urgency, while shining a light on the vast opportunities that the Blue Economy presented.
Mr Albert Dwumfour, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), stated that the works of journalists mattered profoundly in promoting issues of maritime, adding that too often, maritime issues were treated as technical matters for specialists and remain hidden from the public eye.
However, when journalists make these issues visible and explain the human cost of illegal fishing, the risks of piracy, or the promise of a thriving blue economy, they could do more than just inform, he said.
Source: myghanadaily
