Bunia, 15 March 2011 – The Ituri branch of the National Press Union (UNPC), with the support of the regional office of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO), organized a two-day seminar on the treatment of information during elections. The training was informed by the forthcoming Presidential and General November elections.

In the first part of the seminar, the Head of the local branch of the newly-formed National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) briefed the 20 participants on the current status of the electoral process.

The second part was devoted mainly to technical themes. Among the themes were information gathering, news writing and news dissemination; violations of the rules governing the press, professional ethics, issues around equality, equity and parity, and child protection during the electoral period.

During the third part, simulated interviews and political debates gave participants the opportunity to put into practice what they had just learned.

At the end of the sessions, the participants presented a memorandum pledging to use their new skills to contribute to peaceful elections.