UYO
Participants at Chinese language training sessions organised for staff of the Ministry of Information and Strategy and others have expressed their excitement over effort at repositioning the ministry for global relevance.
The commissioner for information and strategy, Comrade Ini Ememobong, while declaring open the training programme on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, said the development was targeted at broadening the scope of engagement for participants, thus harnessing available manpower in the state civil service for global relevance.
Ememobong said, “The safest people to interpret for government are the civil servants, and the ministry in which such people should be domiciled should be the Ministry of Information.
“Therefore, considering the fact that such legal documents may be written in foreign languages, there must be quality control to that translation in order to ensure that government interests are protected at all times, and that can only be guaranteed by the civil servants,” he maintained.
The commissioner urged the participants to wholeheartedly embrace the opportunity in order to justify the enormous investment made on them by the ministry and to also make the state proud when the opportunity comes.
In his welcome address, the regional manager of JuuldamTraining Academy and lead training consultant, Dr. Anthony Akadi, explained that the acquisition of foreign languages would enable learners to be more open-minded to the culture and natives of the languages, which would in turn promote trust in business dealings and other engagements.
Akadi said, “It doesn’t matter what languages you are currently speaking, multilingualism is a major feature in economic development and a major driver of job creation and also a veritable source of countless breakthroughs.
“Akwa Ibom has become an investors destination, therefore any deliberate attempt at investing in lingual training for government employees is a good strategy to eradicate communication barriers during international procurement, contract signing and project execution,” he espoused.
The training consultant assured participants of international best practices, and expressed the optimism that the beneficiaries would at the end of the training draw value to the state government.
Similarly, a Chinese language facilitator with the academy, Dr. Idongesit Etim, allayed fears about the complexity of acquiring Chinese language among students.
She described it as misconceptions that should be disregarded.
“Like every other languages, learning and understanding the Chinese language requires concentration, patience and the presence of mind, and I hope the students would have the passion and flair for the language because it makes teaching and learning a lot easier,” she said.
Also speaking, one of the beneficiaries of the training, an information officer covering duties at the Ministry of Works and Fire Service, Evelyn Ibanga, expressed happiness over the training, especially in view of the career prospects of officers at the end of the exercise.
She thanked the commissioner for information and strategy for the opportunity, and promised to make the best out of the exercise.
The training which is at no cost to the participants is fully sponsored by the Ministry of Information and Strategy, and will last for 60 days.
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