The Digital Journalism Academy (DJA), an eight-month online programme conducted by Digital Turtles in association with the Australian Government, held its mid-programme in-person workshop at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo recently, bringing together 30 participants for a day of expert-led sessions and practical training.
The workshop marked the completion of the first half of the DJA curriculum, in which participants progressed through six foundational sessions covering journalistic identity and craft, verification, news judgement, and ethics. Its combination of institutional backing and industry-led instruction reflects the
programme’s core design principle: that rigorous journalistic craft and practical digital fluency must be built together rather than taught separately.
Speaking on the necessity of the in-person session as part of the programme, Executive Director of Digital Turtles Mr. Janeeth Rodrigo said, "We feel that such in-person practical training is important, especially when creators are given exposure to ethical journalism, podcast production, and video content creation in a digital era.
The Digital Journalism programme aims to equip them with such skills, and at the end of this programme, we hope that 30 young digital journalists who are responsible, ethical, and inclusive will create content that will reach a wider audience in Sri Lanka.
Ms. Sharini McEwen, Acting Deputy Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, addressed participants on the Australian Government's rationale for supporting the DJA and the role such programmes play in equipping the next generation of journalists.
Mr. Kumar Lopez, Chief Executive Officer of the Sri Lanka Press Institute, delivered the keynote address, examining the challenges confronting the media in the age of artificial intelligence and the enduring relevance of traditional journalistic values to the industry’s future.
The day’s programme included trilingual breakout sessions on content creation and mobile journalism, led by working professionals Pavithra Peramuni Arachchige, Sivanantham Virushan, Janitha Harshana Mendis, Joy Ferdinand Jegarthan and Kalani Kumarasinghe. Drawing on their own newsroom and content creation experience, they led sessions titled “From Concept to Creation” and “Mastering Mobile Journalism”
Participants then rotated through a series of hands-on production masterclasses. The Digital Turtles production team introduced the fundamentals of podcast set-up before participants produced a five-minute podcast of their own.
Ms. Bushra Dole, Editor-in-Chief of Anthem, conducted a mobile video editing masterclass, demonstrating how accessible content production has become through applications such as CapCut.
Mr. Janeeth Rodrigo followed with an interactive masterclass, equipping participants with practical strategies to navigate social media algorithms. Ms. Uthpala Pathirana, Executive Director of Digital Turtles, brought the workshop to a close with an overview of forthcoming Digital Turtles programmes.
With the foundations now in place, the DJA moves into its second half, built around a capstone requirement – each participant will plan, produce and complete an original news documentary, supported by dedicated planning sessions and a further round of online sessions with guest speakers.