individual media practitioners in all areas of the media (managerial, editorial, advertising and technical) to work on attachment in another media institution to learn new skills and develop existing ones. This includes both full-time employees and freelancers. Individuals who are involved in human rights organisations in a media capacity are also considered. During the year under review a total of 14 media practitioners benefited from this programme. Networking The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has for the past five years been monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation in Liberia, with particular reference to attacks on journalists. From July 22 to 23, 2002 the MWFA held an international meeting of Human rights organisations, civil society and other prodemocracy advocates from Liberia with their counterparts from West Africa and beyond. One of the aims of the meeting was to outline a concrete programme of actions that the organisation could undertake, in collaboration with others, to enhance the effectiveness of monitoring abuses in the country and encouraging peaceful and democratic means of pressuring the government to respect human rights in Liberia. Article 19 and MISA were represented by Mr John Barker and Luckson Chipare. MISA’s regional secretariat was consequently approached by the MWFA, via the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), to assist the MWFA in the following ways: • Training: MISA was asked to assist in training and infrastructural support. A training workshop with media monitors and MFWA correspondents from Liberia and Somalia from March 17 to 19 in Accra, Ghana was conducted. The focus of the training was to train the MFWA and its Liberia correspondents to produce accurate and effective action alerts. MFWA and its Liberia correspondents were further informed about how MISA operates as a network. This component focused on building MFWA’s on-the-ground capacity to produce quality action alerts on free expression cases in Liberia and the rest of West Africa. The anticipated result of this work will be increased and more cohesive coverage of Liberian free expression cases, and a more coordinated, centralised system through which Liberian cases are collated. • Information dissemination / infrastructure In terms of infrastructural collaboration, it takes the form of joint MISA/MFWA alerts, issued by MISA on its alert system. This would ensure international exposure of MFWA alerts, as they would 34