JONGLEI – As the world’s youngest nation prepares for elections expected to take place in 2024, enhancing civic political space and the safety of civil society actors was the focus of a four-day training facilitated by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan in Bor.

Keeping everyone who wants to engage in the build-up to elections safe and able to play their democratic role by informing fellow citizens of the content of political debate will be key in ensuring that the scheduled elections can be conducted in a free, fair, and transparent manner. A total of 28 people, eleven of them women, with journalists, human rights defenders and other civilian stakeholders among them, benefitted from the recent workshop tackling these issues.

“As a media practitioner, I have learnt about data protection and security which will guide me on how to inform and educate people during this critical time,” explained Achol Kur Marial, a journalist.

She and other participants were also informed about the national media laws and the necessity to abide by them.

“This training showed us how we can protect both ourselves and the information we collect, and respecting media laws and ethical guidelines is part of that,” concluded Majak Kuany Alier, a representative of the Jonglei chapter of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan.

The workshop is in line with the mission’s mandate to build institutional capacity across the country and to support the government in its preparations for elections, as requested.