Cultural rights and heritage, and the media
The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU) is conducting workshops and exposure visits
with media actors to increase their appreciation of cultural rights and heritage in Uganda. As part
of these engagements, CCFU recently held a training for the media actors in Eastern Uganda’s
Pretoria Hotel in Mbale in June. The Training is the 4 th , following other trainings in Nebbi (West
Nile), Kampala (Central) and Fort Portal City (Western Uganda).
As part of the meetings, journalists interact with various heritage and cultural rights elements,
discuss cultural controversies, interrogate cultural biases and stereotypes and discuss the
potential contribution they can make in cultural rights and heritage promotion. Increasingly,
participating journalists have produced articles and media stories on topics they discuss during
these engagements.
Background
CCFU has been promoting culture as vital for human development that responds to our diverse
identities and has taken on initiatives that seek to promote the appreciation of cultural rights and
cultural heritage. The Foundation, among other stakeholders, has therefore provided evidence-
based knowledge, but its dissemination has been limited partly because of limited involvement of
the media.
CCFU has engaged media actors and conducted trainings to influence media reporting on the
notion of cultural rights and heritage, and in some cases facilitated media personnel to develop
stories related to various themes on cultural heritage promotion. Previous trainings have been
conducted at national level and have been attended by journalists and editors, especially those
interested in cultural rights and heritage issues. Notable facilitators including Dr. Jimmy Spire
Ssentongo from the Uganda Martyrs University, Charles O. Bichaci from Nation Media, Benard
Tabaire from the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) and CCFU.
