The regional training on ‘Communicating Food Safety’ commenced today, August 6, at the MI Residential Training Center in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Twenty-eight science correspondents and media professionals from the four partner countries—Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam—are participating in this safe food course.
In an effort to raise media awareness and interest in covering food safety issues in the region, the course targets to enhance the participants’ understanding of prominent regional and local food safety issues as well as existing initiatives to address these concerns in the region. The training brings presentations and discussions on topics like food safety messages, stakeholder and information needs analysis, and risk communication to provide journalists best strategies on how to tackle food safety concerns in the GMS as well as offer new perspectives in positioning food safety stories to the public.
Mr. Sudam Pawar, Director of MI’s Innovation and Technological Connectivity Department, welcomed the participants on behalf of MI Executive Director Dr. Watcharas Leelawath. “It is critical to enhance the knowledge and awareness on food safety issues in the national, regional and global levels,” Mr. Pawar said, relating it to the important role of the media in fostering an enhanced culture of safe food in the region. He also explained that food safety must be ensured throughout the food value chain—from production, processing, distribution, and consumption. In closing, Mr. Pawar remarked on the multi-perspective expertise that the three resource persons of the training bring and the rich platform for knowledge exchange and information sharing.
The one-week training course offers a blend of communication and food safety expertise delivered by food safety experts from New Zealand’s AsureQuality Ltd., Food and Agriculture Organization-Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and GIZ Thailand. The training is part of a series of regional training programs under the PROSAFE Project supported by the New Zealand Aid Programme.
