Ghanaian broadcast journalist and child and youth rights advocate receives UN RAF certificate

“As a young journalist, the fellowship [Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism fellowship] has helped me a lot, especially in my area of expertise, (media advocacy for children and youth rights and responsibilities). The programme helps you know the right places to get information and inform people about the good works of the UN”, Mavis noted.

Mavis Naa Korley Aryee is a 26-year-old Ghanaian broadcast journalist and youth and child rights advocate. She is one of twenty-two participants of the 2022 Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism fellowship programme (UN RAF). She hails from Teshie, Accra and is very thrilled to have participated in the UN RAF prgramme held virtually at the UN 77th General Assembly from 12 - 30 September, 2022.

“The fellowship has exposed me to a lot about the United Nations because we interacted with directors of different departments and agencies on critical issues such as climate change, UN disarmament, peacekeeping, and human rights” she stated when she visited the United Nations Information Centre in Accra to receive her certificate of participation.

The UN RAF programme is an annual training program for journalists all over the world to get all the hands-on information to help comprehend better the efforts of the UN on global issues including human rights, disarmament, disinformation, global health, climate change, and refugee concerns.

Resolution 35/201 of the UN General Assembly established the Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship in December 1980. Formally known as the DPI Training Programme for Broadcasters and Journalists from Developing Countries, the programme was renamed in 2003 in memory of Reham Al-Farra, a 29-year-old Jordanian public information officer who died in the bombing of the UN building in Baghdad on August 19, 2003.

Due to the COVID-19 protocols and travel restrictions, the RAF Fellowship went virtual for the second time in 2022. Participants came from Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Argentina, Sri Lanka, Belarus, Cameroon, Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Chile, Ecuador, India, Moldova, Jordan, Algeria, Afghanistan, Malawi, Nigeria, Brazil, Yemen, Azerbaijan, and Panama.

The fellows created 50 news pieces for the program in eight different languages based on their areas of interest and expertise. On the final days, the fellows gave presentations of their work and discussed their future plans motivated by the fellowship, which included covering the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in Egypt in 2022. The RAF fellowship, however, is hopeful that the 2023 program would be held in person at the UN headquarters in New York once more.

As a UN RAF Cohort, Mavis will use her platform to promote better understanding of the UN in Ghana.