HOME	SEPTEMBER 04th, 2004

SEPT 04

Journalist Linda Straker is among twelve media practitioners participating in the 2004 Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalists' Fellowship Programme from September 6 to October 16 in the United States (US).

The Fellowship is formerly known as the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) Training Programme for Broadcasters and Journalists from Developing Countries.

Straker, who is a reporter with WEE FM Radio, is expected to report on the 59th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) as a temporary correspondent. The invitation to the journalist to attend the exercise was made available by the Media Workers Association of Grenada (MWAG).

She and the rest of the group will be briefed by representatives of different Departments of the UN and its specialised agencies. They will also learn more about its programmes and funds, as well as visit some US media organisations as Cable News Network (CNN) Headquarters in Atlanta as well as the Carter Center.

The journalists will then travel to Washington, DC for another media briefing, this time by representatives of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They will then be given the opportunity to spend a week-end as a guest of an American family in Rochester, New York which is sponsored by the Rochester chapter of the UN Association of the United States.

Straker told GRENADA TODAY that she is excited about the opportunity given her to be exposed to the working of this august body such as the UN. She believes that she will learn a lot from the experience and has promised to put what ever knowledge she gained over the next six weeks to improve on her career.

The journalist is scheduled to leave the island on Monday for New York and is expected to return on October 16. This is the 24th consecutive year that the DPI has sponsored the Programme.