AMECEA: Catholic Communicators in AMECEA Region Trained on SIGNIS Project Application
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Communicators across the region of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) have been refreshed on better ways for application of SIGNIS projects owing to the fact that the quality of most proposals from the region went down and do not fulfil SIGNIS requirements.
At an online session that brought together over 60 communicators from the region, AMECEA Social Communicators Coordinator Fr. Andrew Kaufa reminded participants on the need to first of all understand well their projects prior to submission for screening.
In this case, the cleric encouraged media practitioners to work in collaboration and share their projects at diocesan level so they can critic and strengthen each other’s projects so as to meet competitive advantage.
During the online meeting held on Wednesday, August 9, Fr. Kaufa highlighted some key concerns for consideration while requesting for funds from the non-governmental organization whose mission is to engage media professionals and support Catholic Communicators to help transform our cultures in the light of the Gospel by promoting dignity, justice and reconciliation.
Since SIGNIS have specific areas to fund in the communication field, participants were reminded to always focus on media projects dealing with production, media equipment and trainings related to communications. In addition, the projects must be result oriented and eventually lead to change.
According to Fr. Kaufa, SIGNIS project proposals follow the “See, judge and act,” framework which is derived from Pope John XXIII’s 1961 encyclicall document Mater et Magistra on Christianity and Social Progress, “as a way of reading and analyzing what is happening in reality and responding to the signs of the times.”
On his part the AMECEA’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) officer Mr. Bernard Mberere took participants through the requirements for the SIGNIS’ project online application portal, reminding them that the projects must fit in the regional, national or diocesan pastoral strategic objective.
The refresher training was organized in view of SIGNIS opening the online project application portal in September, 2023.
