PRESS RELEASE
MRCG to Engage the Media and Communities to Change the Narrative on Transitional Justice (TJ) Issues in Sierra Leone.
(Freetown: 01 August 2024). The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) has embarked on a collaborative project entitled “Engaging the Media and Communities to Change the Narrative on Transitional Justices (TJ) Issues in Sierra Leone,” with funding support from the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF).
With The Legacy Fund’s support, the MRCG is committed to a long-term project for the next 24 months (August 2024 – July 2026), with the major focus on increasing public awareness of existing TJ mechanisms and changing the narrative on TJ issues across Sierra Leone, raising public knowledge about the Africa Union-Transitional Justice Policy (AU-TJP), and raising the awareness of residents in two communities in Mile 91 and Komrabai Ferry on TJ issues to prevent conflict and provide an enabling peaceful environment.
The MRCG, in 2020, with support from the ATJLF, conducted a baseline study of media institutions (including editors and station managers) and some local and national organizations to gauge knowledge of TJ issues in Sierra Leone. The findings of that study formed the basis for conducting regional training for journalists/reporters to popularize TJ issues. In 2022, the MRCG additionally engaged community stakeholders in Mile 91 and Komrabai Ferry; where the Peace Monument was refurbished with support from the ATJLF.
This year, the major project activities that the grant will be utilized for will include media advocacy for a National TJ Policy Framework in Sierra Leone, working on a course module on ‘Media and Transitional Justice’, regional training of journalists on TJ issues, production of stories on TJ issues, media series on the AU-TJP, and community engagements on TJ.
The MRCG was established to strengthen democratic dialogue, consolidate peace, and ensure development through professional, independent, and sustainable media based on the right to freedom of expression and speech. It comprises ten media organizations, policy-making bodies, and academic institutions in the country.
For further information, contact the Head of Programs at mrcgonline@gmail.com and on +23276224684 or +23274556477
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