Nepal Investigative Multimedia Journalism Network (NIMJN), conducted the third of its six trainings on ‘Reporting on Human Trafficking and Human Rights using Multimedia Tools’ for journalists in Janakpur, Nepal, with support from Australian Aid. A total of 20 journalists from all over the Madhesh province gathered in Janakpur for the two-and-a-half-day training from December 12 to December 14, 2023. 

The residential training consisted of sessions ranging in topics from introduction to investigative reporting and ethics of journalists to anti-trafficking laws, stories of survivors, use of online and digital tools, and safety of journalists. NIMJN also invited guest speakers for two of the training sessions, which included a local advocate, Rinku Yadav, and district program coordinator of Peace Rehabilitation Center, Rina Kumari Chaudhary, to share their knowledge and observation of the current status of human trafficking in the Madhesh province and the local efforts being put into fighting against it. 

The training also included a lot of interactive group work where the participants came up with their investigative story ideas, formed hypotheses on them, and discussed how they could be realistically pursued. They also each made a one-minute video to utilize the mobile journalism skills they had learned during the training, which was showcased on the last day of the training.

Overall, the participants comprised 9 female and 11 male journalists from various media outlets. After the training completion, they can apply for the NIMJN Human Trafficking Reporting Fellowship, under which 2 journalists from Madhesh province will have the opportunity to produce an investigative multimedia story on human trafficking and human rights under the mentorship and editorial support of NIMJN.

Here are some excerpts from participants regarding their experience in the training:

"After this training, I have come to know about the differences between human trafficking and human smuggling. Along with that, I have also gotten to know about various legal provisions related to it. We also learned about online tools that can greatly help in reporting of these issues. The media houses have been unable to make journalists aware of such a sensitive issue. In this regard, NIMJN organized this relevant training to empower journalists, which I have found to be very encouraging and satisfactory."  - Suryanarayan BK, Yatra Daily Media (Translated from Nepali to English)

“Looking at the changing trends in journalism lately, we must also upgrade ourselves. The multimedia training conducted by NIMJN along with the human trafficking and human rights training has been very fruitful for me personally.”-Lalita Sah, Gorkhapatra / mysanchar.com/ news24 (Translated from Nepali to English)

“I learned how human trafficking happens and how widespread it is in Nepal. Along with that, as a journalist reporting on such a sensitive issue, I now understand how to ensure my own safety, what relevant laws and policies exist, and what ethical guidelines journalists should follow. Hearing the stories of survivors made me realize what factors I should consider when covering this topic in the future. Additionally, I gained knowledge on effectively using multimedia for reporting. This training gave me insights into ethical reporting practices, legal provisions, safety measures for journalists, multimedia storytelling techniques, and the real-life impact of human trafficking.”- Nilisa Verma, eshilalekha.com (Translated from Nepali to English)

The rest of the trainings will be conducted in the remaining 3 provinces of Nepal (Bagmati, Karnali, Lumbini) in the upcoming months.