Joseph Kobla Wemakor wins prestigious awards on migration reporting

The Executive Director of Human Rights Reporters Ghana, Joseph Kobla Wemakor has been honored with prestigious awards on migration reporting at a colourful event organized in Accra on Wednesday May 8, 2019.

At the event organizers and partners also launched a Training Manual, Mobile Application and Database of Migration Stories.

Astute journo, Joseph Kobla Wemakor was one of the 10 winners awarded on the day. The competition was for migration stories only.

As a passionate journalist interested in migration-related stories and human rights issues, he brought to bear his vast experiences in the field and produced captivating migration related stories as a result of coming into contact with migrants who shared their horrendous experiences with him.

His stories brought to bear many critical through the true life stories he shared in his write up which was declared one of the best.

Joseph continues to challenge himself as a journalist to bring to the knowledge of our society, intriguing stories on social issues which always catch the attention of policy makers.

The gentleman is cut out for greater heights and awards. In 2016, he won the enviable ‘Campus Clique Awards' at its maiden edition held at the Ghana Institute of Journalism(GIJ), Accra Ghana.

International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) Network of Journalists, Media Migration Network (MMN), Coalition of People Against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (COPASH) and UNFPA Media, Communications and Advocacy Network (MCAN) can attest to the quality that Joseph brings to bear on his job.

The competition Joseph  took part in was the brain child of Media Response, an NGO, with support from FMM West AFRICA, IOM, European Union(EU) among other donor partners which was used to reward hardworking reporters or journalists who report on migration and free movement of persons.

This media contest received entries from twenty (20) journalists across the country after it was opened on Friday July 27, 2018.

Currently Mr. Joseph Wemakor is the Executive Director Human Rights Reporters Ghana, an NGO in Ghana working to ensure school children, parents, school owners and the general public are well informed, educated and armed with the best knowledge available on kidnapping, Teenage Pregnancy and the Abuse of Tramadol.

He is leading his team to champion kidnapping issues which have become an albatros on our necks in Ghana.

Joseph doubles as the Deputy Head of Media and Communication of the PLO Lumumba Foundation – Ghana Chapter. He rose to this rank through hard work and dedication to social issues that confront African youth today.

He is the Senior Greater Accra Regional Coordinator for the Inter Tertiary Excellence Awards 2018(ITEA) as well.

Present at the event were representatives from the Media Response, the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Information Service Department (ISD), the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Ghana Independence Broadcasters Association (GIBA) as well as the  Minister of Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and some staff of the ministry. Also present were a high communities of donor partners including IOM Chief Mission, Ghana EU, FMM West Africa, ECOWAS Commission, Ghana Immigration Office and the National Population Council(NPC).

The excited Joseph Kobla Wemakor believes this award will motivate and challenge him to even do more.

Many of his stories can also be read on his powerful blog at ghananewsone.com  where he is the Editor-In-Chief.

His works (migration related stories) such as I prefer Kpakpakpa movement to Europe via the Sahara Desert than be enslaved with poverty in Ghana: 21-year-old desperate migrant, Death on the Sahara Desert: Touching story of a Ghanaian migrant and Rural-Urban migration in Ghana: A mixture of virtues and faults are some of his publications which can be accessed online.

Joseph who plays advocacy roles with the aim of relieving the plight of female head porters in the country (Kayayei) also did a feature story titled Meet Abudu Salah, the Kayayei who scored six A's and two B's in WASSCE which was not only published by many online portals across Ghana and beyond but received a great public attention including the office of the Vice President of Ghana.

His stories are also published by online news platforms such as Ghanaweb.com, Newsghana24.com 3News.com, ghanamigrationstories.org myjoyonline.com, among others.

Other honorees for the day include GTV's Akua Oforiwa Darko, Peter Quaye Adator of TV3, Zadok Kwame Gyesi of the Daily Guide Newspaper, Priscilla Sedinam Djentuh of Ghana News Network(GNN) and Julius K. Satsi of the Ghana News Agency(GNA).

The rest are Jemila Akweley Okertchiri of Daily Guide Newspaper, Francis Bucknor-Baffoe of GBC and Nicholas Fianklu of GN TV.

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