NAWOJ, KATDICT Forge Partnership to Strengthen Digital Skills and Cybersecurity for Women Journalists
From Mu’awiyya Bala Idris Katsina
The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Katsina State Chapter, has initiated a strategic partnership with the Katsina State Directorate of Information and Communications Technology (KATDICT) to enhance the digital capacity, cybersecurity awareness, and professional competencies of women journalists in the state.
The partnership proposal was presented during a courtesy visit to the Directorate, where NAWOJ identified key areas of collaboration, including artificial intelligence (AI), social media management, mobile journalism, digital storytelling, cybersecurity, digital fact-checking, and online safety.
Speaking during the meeting, the Director General of KATDICT, Naufal Ahmad, welcomed the initiative and reaffirmed the Directorate’s commitment to supporting the professional development of women journalists.
“When you have women and information or technology in the same sentence, it is something that I am always happy to be a part of,” Ahmad said.
He assured the association that its requests for capacity building, digital security training, and social media protection would be incorporated into a structured and sustainable partnership.
The Director General also encouraged members of NAWOJ to adopt a “pay it forward” approach by sharing the knowledge gained from training programmes with other journalists to expand the impact of the initiative.
Ahmad stressed the critical role of the media in shaping public opinion and called on women journalists to amplify the voices of women and young people, noting that their perspectives remain underrepresented in public discourse and policymaking.
Expressing concern over the increasing misuse of artificial intelligence to create misleading images, videos, and other digital content, he urged journalists to strengthen their skills in identifying misinformation, disinformation, and AI-generated materials while upholding the highest standards of professional ethics, particularly as the country approaches another politically sensitive period.
He emphasized that combating misinformation requires public awareness, professional responsibility, and effective enforcement of existing laws.
Earlier, the Chairperson of NAWOJ, Katsina State Chapter, Hajiya Fatima Sanda Kaita, said the visit was aimed at establishing a long-term institutional partnership with KATDICT that would deliver sustainable benefits for women journalists.
She requested specialized training on the practical application of artificial intelligence in journalism, including research, transcription, translation, content creation, fact-checking, and productivity enhancement.
Kaita also sought capacity-building programmes in social media management and digital storytelling across major digital platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
She emphasized the growing importance of digital fact-checking and information verification as journalists increasingly contend with manipulated, misleading, and AI-generated content.
The NAWOJ Chairperson appealed to KATDICT to include members of the association in relevant digital skills programmes organized or supported by the Directorate.
She assured the Directorate that NAWOJ would leverage its media network to promote digital literacy, responsible technology use, online safety, and public awareness campaigns against misinformation, in support of the Katsina State Government’s digital transformation agenda.
Both NAWOJ and KATDICT expressed confidence that the partnership would create lasting opportunities for capacity building, innovation, and professional excellence. They agreed to nominate focal persons who will develop a roadmap and identify priority programmes for implementation.
