From March 4 to 8, 2013 the Central Bank organised the second economics training for local journalists, with support of the IMF and Reuters. The first economics workshop for journalists was in January 2011.

Due to Suriname’s prudent macroeconomic policy and the start of financial sector policy reforms, both local and international reports on the status of the economy are coming in, for example the upgrades by three different rating agencies. The higher intensity of news articles and thus a need for comprehensive economic reporting became evident. Evaluation showed the economics training was helpful in upgrading the economic reporting skills of participants.

Experts from the Central Bank of Suriname educated the journalists on the main macro economic indicators and how to interpret these statistics; they spoke about the role of the Central Bank, its supervision and the legal aspects. Moreover the speakers gave an overview of Suriname’s macro economic situation and outlook.

International experts from Reuters and IMF explained the role of journalists in economic news reporting as well as how to write comprehensive economic reports for a news outlet. Reuters went into detail about public finance and reporting on currencies, governments bonds and debt crises. The IMF explained their role and gave an economic outlook for the Caribbean and Suriname.

The Central Bank committed itself to further educate key stakeholders on economic subjects. The Financial literacy program is one of the examples of a broad based education program for society. Also, the Central Bank will engage journalists in future activities in a more accessible manner.