Eleven journalists from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, and Thailand gathered on the first day of the Training Workshop on Cybersecurity Reporting, a collaborative project of USAID, DAI, ITU, and AIBD. The workshop is funded by USAID’s Digital Asia Accelerator (DAA) as part of the US Government’s Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership.

Mr. David Staley, DAI’s Project Director for DAA, welcomed the participants and provided information about the activity. He also invited the journalists to introduce themselves and share their experiences in journalism.

Ms. Atsuko Okuda, ITU Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, sent a remote message highlighting the challenges of connectivity and emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity awareness and journalism.

Representing Ms. Philomena Gnanapragasam, Secretariat Director of AIBD, Mr. Nabeel Tirmazi thanked the participants, their respective governments, and their organizations for endorsing this activity and the consultants for their valuable contributions. He mentioned that this is the third installment of the joint collaboration, and AIBD will continue organizing similar activities related to journalist safety and upskilling them to make their respective audiences aware of cybersecurity issues.

Mr. Philip Victor, a renowned regional cybersecurity consultant, stressed the importance of knowing cybersecurity issues for journalists and how to write stories with precise context. Mr. Philip Victor and Mr. Qishin Tariq are the consultants for this workshop.

The journalists were engaged and enthusiastic about the upcoming days, which will equip them with the skills and tools necessary to become dedicated cybersecurity reporters for their media organizations. The programme will culminate in creating an Asia-Pacific female cybersecurity reporter network to further promote a safe and secure online environment.