By Laudia Sawer
Tema, Sept 9, GNA – Members of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Tema Regional Branch, have received two days of intensive training in using Artificial Int
The programme, which is an initiative of the African Diaspora Central Bank (ADCB) in collaboration with the Vanuatu Trade Commission, Ghana, and the Knowledge Web Centre, was supported by the Centre for International Maritime Affairs Ghana (CIMAG) and the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA).
The training was aimed at building the competence of journalists in AI prompt engineering to enhance their work and contribute towards projecting Africa globally.
Dr. David King Boison, the Chief Executive Officer of Knowledge Centre, said the training of the journalists formed part of the ADCB commitment to empower youths across Africa with AI skills for free under the AI Africa Training project.
Dr. Boison, who is an AI expert and the team lead for the project team lead, noted that it costs the ADCB $250 to train one participant, adding that it was a gift from the ECO-6, which is made up of African descent in the Diaspora, to their fatherland.
He said all Africans needed to embrace AI technology as it is essential for the economic growth of the continent, indicating that the AI Africa Training Project is aimed at equipping Ghanaians and other Africans with skills in AI as part of a broader strategy to prepare the continent for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
He explained that it formed part of a broader objective to foster economic growth and financial inclusion across Africa, adding that it was closely connected to the promotion of the AKL Lumi currency of the Eco-6, designed to support economic activities within the African Diaspora and across the continent.
He noted that each unit of the AKL Lumi is backed by solar energy equivalent to four grains of gold.
He encouraged companies, traditional leaders, individuals, and countries to take advantage of the interest-free loans and grants the ADCB is offering to Africans to establish and expand their jobs to create employment for the youth and create wealth for the continent.
Mr. James Faraday Odoom Ocran, an AI trainer with Knowledge Web Centre, stated that AI is no longer a futuristic concept but rather a vital tool for many institutions, including journalism, as it is revolutionising the way news is gathered, processed, and disseminated to the public.
Mr. Ocran, who is also the head of the Human Resource Management Department of the Ghana Education Service (GES) Gomoa East, said AI could be used to enhance reportage, provide data-driven articles, transcription interviews, fact-checking information, and curate content, noting that it could also enhance the way news is consumed by making it more accessible and personalised.
Mrs. Dzifa Tetteh Tay, the GJA-Tema Regional Chairperson, commended the organisers for partnering with the GJA to organise the training for the media personnel and appealed to other corporate institutions to emulate the example to help empower the media in diverse fields.
Mrs. Tay said the knowledge acquired would help journalists to cross-check their facts, create more visuals, speed up their data analysis and summary, and present accurate work while meeting deadlines.
She commended the National Executive of the GJA for inspiring the Regional Executives to take up such initiatives, which will improve the work of journalists, especially at a time when many media houses have not been helpful in training their staff.
GNA