* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
When I got a call from the Foundation asking me if I could put together then go head a course in journalism in Bangladesh, I started off needing a day to
confirm, just so that I could take a breath and reflect on it. I had images of a country that most often comes up on the news when entire villages are flooded away every year as rains swell the mighty river Ganges, on whose delta it’s situated.
"But that's just during monsoon," I said to myself as I agreed the next day to lead the course, my first. After I accepted the role, I Iooked up the climate
and realised I was going during... the middle of monsoon! I took an additional deep breath.
But upon arrival any anxieties were fast put aside.
For the Foundation's first solo outing into Bangladesh, fourteen
journalists gathered at a training center just outside the capital
Dhaka for a week of training, collective brainstorming, bonding and
other spontaneous cultural exchanges. And it only rained an hour or so
a day.
After a hair-raising drive from Dhaka that took in all the sights, sounds – and, especially, anarchic driving - of the capital, copy critic Andrew Dobbie and I eventually got to the center late at night, to find the staff had kindly set aside dinner for us. This was the first instance in which we got to appreciate the locals’ amazing, thoughtful hospitality.
The group, whom we met over breakfast the next morning, was a diverse bunch from all quarters of Bangladesh, now mostly residing in the country's media center, Dhaka. They ranged from those with general news and regional beats to financial reporters, a healthcare specialist and even a television presenter.
Some have been writing for English-language papers, but many others
had only written in Bengali and are looking to pick up skills and
advice that could help them move into more international roles.
We went into the week with basic exercises aimed a strengthening the
basic building blocks of journalism that are news judgement and story
structure. We also spent half a day looking at - and often discussing
with each other - how to write proper headlines.
As we continued to drive through the course, representatives from I-PAG, the local NGO that helped bring the course about, sat in on some of our sessions. They witnessed long, informative and often lively group discussions and
debates on issues as interesting and important as journalistic ethics,
what constitutes libel, and the use of loaded words.
As trainers, we were impressed with how fast and eagerly the attendees
learned from us. I found myself being occasionally caught out when the handed out correction to an exercise for example seemed to clash with a lesson I’d given the previous day. I felt proud they’d listened and taken it in.
While these were all productive for the participants, it soon became
clear that while during the day we did the training, as the evening
kicked in we'd all keenly meet up for more exchanges, in the other
direction.
On the first night, several students offered us a spontaneous walk in
a local nature reserve. The next night, they invited us among them for
"a musical evening," as they all sang local songs, out in a tranquil
part of the BRAC gardens by a pond; and invited us to take part. We
did what we could, with Scottish-born Andrew in
particular excelling with a memorable rendition of a Rabbie Burns love
ditty.
Other nights involved outings, guided by our students, into the
local town for ginger tea or rowing a boat onto the local pond at
twilight. This gave us great sightings of birds - and giant bats -
as our attendees sang as they rowed and explained to us the meaning of traditional Bengali rowing songs.
The meals were absolutely delicious - partly because the BRAC CDM
center where the training was held has its own chicken farm. They were
also a great time for the participants and trainers to more informally
get to know each other, discuss the lessons picked up that day and
answer any questions. The chefs at the center excelled themselves at
great food, and the course participants also made suggestions as to
what the trainers should try, which the chef was always able to
deliver for the following meal.
The teaching part all ended with Andrew putting in a heroic 12-hour marathon copy-clinic at which he went through the individual writing of each and every participant in a series of 1-on-1s. It was long not because of a low level, but because of their keenness to understand and discuss every point he’d made, and Andrew’s thoroughness.
The week will be remembered most for having provided a
spectacular cultural exchange, with the trainers learning as much
from the attendees about local culture, views and humanity as the
trainees in turn took in about international standards of journalism.
We were all - trainers and attendees alike - left hoping this
course in Bangladesh would be followed by others.
