Canada’s leading media development organization, Journalists for Human Rights, has launched a new project to train journalists and journalism students in South Sudan.

The two-year project will see Journalists for Human Rights trainers working alongside South Sudanese journalists to help strengthen media and increase reporting on human rights issues.

“It’s the first time that a project has actually brought together all of the media actors in the country,” said David De Dau, executive director of South Sudan’s Agency for Independent Media and the project’s implementing partner.

“The skills and the knowledge that journalists gain in terms of covering human rights issues in the country may actually hold the government accountable.”

The executive director of Journalists for Human Rights, Danny Glenwright, who launched the project in South Sudan, said they are excited to be introducing text messaging as a reporting tool that will help journalists in the capital share important stories with audiences across the country.

The organization says the initiative is supported by the United Nations Democracy Fund. It will also employ SMS technology to increase access to information in South Sudan.

The South Sudan project will get its official launch in Canada at Night for Rights, a fundraising gala for Journalists for Human Rights on September 25th at the Arcadian Court in Toronto.

Journalists for Human Rights trains journalists to report ethically and effectively on human rights and governance issues in their communities.