KATHMANDU: A two-day training workshop on narrative journalism began today in Kathmandu. Jointly organized by Media Action Nepal, Newsreel Asia, and the High Commission of Canada in India, the workshop brought together 51 mid-career and senior journalists from across Nepal, including 26 women participants.
The organizers highlighted the strong representation of women in the training programme, emphasizing its significance in promoting inclusive journalism practices.
Inaugurating the workshop, Geoffrey Dean, Deputy Ambassador of Canada to Nepal, reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to promoting freedom of expression.
“We are happy to support Nepali civil society organizations on various fronts and hope this initiative will help you explore the many dimensions of storytelling,” he said.
“Since we live in an information age, journalists like you have a tremendous opportunity to shape public opinion—something essential to democracy.”
Dean noted that the workshop aims to address the growing need for journalists to connect with their audiences through compelling narratives. Citing neuroscientific research, he explained how storytelling can effectively capture attention and improve information retention in an era of information overload.
“The onus is on you, as journalists, to tell your stories in a way that engages readers and viewers long enough to fully grasp their context,” he added.
Harshita Rathore, Founding Editor (Video) and Director at Newsreel Asia, emphasized that news media is currently facing institutional and financial difficulties.
“Narrative journalism offers solutions to many of the problems emerging in today’s media landscape,” she said. Rathore also outlined the workshop’s goals, while the opening storytelling session was led by Vishal Arora of Newsreel.
The training covers critical aspects of narrative journalism, including sessions on scripting and storytelling formats by Vishal Arora; visual grammar, composition, and cinematography by Surabhi Singh; and techniques for shooting high-quality footage and sound by Arora. The session on the art of interviewing was conducted by Harshita Rathore.
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