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But she's always wanted to come back home to share the knowledge. And it's needed because - you may not know it but most of the media practitioners in Belize have no specialized training - in fact, of the over 100 media workers countrywide, less than 5% of them have any journalism-specific training beyond certificate courses. And that's why in a robust, young democracy where the press is increasingly taking a leading role in shaping the public discourse, training is very necessary. This is just a start but as Monica Bodden found out, it's an important one.

Monica Bodden, Reporting
They are usually the ones holding the microphones, directing the flow of public information. But for this entire week things the roles are reversed in the world of journalism - as these media professionals are the ones being dictated to. They are in the classroom at a workshop called Dateline Belize. According to Holly Edgell, Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Missouri, the idea is to raise the quality of journalism in Belize.

Holly Edgell - Co-Coordinator of Dateline Belize
"Well I think that Belizean journalists are really dedicated; they are hard working; they have a lot of creativity and energy...many of them however don't have any specific skills training or overall training in journalism and so through some investigations on my part and talking with the folks here at UWI and journalists in Belize we were able to come up with some topic areas to begin with that people could really take a away today, tomorrow, the next day... take away and start using immediately. And so the other was also talk about some of the issues around ethical behaviours and standards and practices to raise the profession as a whole in terms of the quality of the journalism and also the pride and the purpose and the sense of unity among journalist to improve the profession overall."

The training caters to grizzled veterans and green newcomers, because in journalism there's always more to learn.

Holly Edgell
"I think that with journalism it's one of those fields - and doctors and lawyers out there will probably roll their eyes - but I think journalism is another one of those fields where must continue to learn throughout your career and if you are not interested in that, then, perhaps it's not the profession for you. So I think whether you already have a Masters Degree or PhD in journalism you can always benefit from continuing education, training, refreshing your skills. We have a few people here who were in journalism left the profession now they want to come back in, they haven't forgotten everything they knew but it's always good to refresh and get some new insights. I think that whether you have training, a four year degree, a two years degree, or you've done a year certificate somewhere, it's always beneficial to gather with your colleagues and really get some hands on training. Also it's a forum for talking about issues that maybe there is no answer to in any book. The answer is really in what's happening every day. "

All those participating in this one week workshop will receive a certificate from the University of the West Indies Open Campus Belize.

Tomorrow's sessions will be about Belizean Law and the Media and Investigative journalism Workshop instructors include Independent Journalist and Media Consultant, Janelle Chanona, Attorney Lisa Shoman, University lecturer, Silvanna Udz, along with many others.