The Secretariat of State for Media and “Lembaga Pers Dr. Soetomo” (LPDS – Press Institute Dr. Soetomo) establish cooperation in the area of journalism aiming to train Timorese journalists.
The signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretary of State for Media, Nélio Isaac Sarmento, and the Chairman of Lembaga Pers Dr. Soetomo, Bambang Harymurti, formalized this cooperation in a ceremony that took place last February 24th, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“The Government of Timor-Leste considers the development of media as a determining issue, in which we include the capacity building of human resources in the area of journalism”, stated the Secretary of State for Media.
Nelio Isaac Sarmento also stressed that the Government of Timor-Leste is committed to the development of media in all aspects in order to facilitate the dissemination of quality information for the public to have an active participation in the national development process, exerting social control and contributing to social cohesion.
The Secretary of State believes that cooperation with LPDS supports the Government of Timor-Leste in area of media and at the same time, strengthens the relationship between the institution and the media, including the population of both countries.
The President of the LPDS, Bambang Harymurti, on the other hand, said that the institute will contribute with quality training, which reflects the current needs of the media in Timor-Leste.
Bambang Harymurti further added that the LPDS has qualified people with experience in training and other skills, enough to achieve the purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding.
The signed Agreement prevails for two years and may be renewed, and the training focuses on areas, such as electronic journalism, press, online, and offers a curriculum based on the current need for journalism training.
The training, which will take place in Jakarta and Dili, will be financed by the Human Capital Development Fund, allocated to the State Budget for 2014.