A section of journalists in Rwanda have launched a body dubbed “The Rwanda Journalists for Sustainable Development (RJSD) to provide assistance and advice to young journalists by promoting professional journalism, employment and sustainable development among them. The launch follows the receipt of legal documents from the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) for non-profit organizations operating in Rwanda. The body, created in 2019 by journalists from the Rwandan and international media with an aim to help Rwandans access to information and achieve sustainable development in general. Celestin Ntawirema, a spokesman for the organization, said that young journalists needed advocacy and assistance due to different constraints they face. “In Rwanda we know that journalists who are already popular are the ones dominating the media houses. There are other upcoming journalists in this profession who find it not as easy to get work in media houses as they don’t have needed experience,” he said. He said the initiative seeks to create the experience among those young journalists and assist them to become more professional. “We will train them, increase their knowledge to the international level with a view of bringing them into employment that will lead them to sustainable development,” he noted. Ntawirema added that there are still a large number of journalists pursuing journalism in Rwanda, though a majority of them are not practicing what they have learned as they lack guidance. “It is still difficult for them to get a good job which would lead them to sustainable development because of lacking that knowledge on the market,” he said. “Those who do this work should be reminded of the general principles and ethics of journalism both in Rwanda,” he said. The body, he said, is planning to work with the government, private sector, and other partners, to train those journalists and increase their knowledge to work better. “Other activities planned include working with universities and schools of journalism, media, and communications, as well as secondary schools in order to help the students in these schools to increase the knowledge they need today and help them get into professional journalism and sustainable development,” he added.
