PANGASINAN (9 January) -- THE Philippine Press Institute (PPI) has announced a training program for media practitioners on Avian Influenza, also commonly known as bird flu.

The new program, PPI said, follows the previous success of the Institute and the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) partnership in "bringing children rights and welfare to the fore."

The workshop, which is part of the Stay Bird Flu Philippines Communication Campaign, will include lecture-discussions on Avian Influenza and Pandemic Influenza, skills enhancement on writing about AI and bird watching activity (Olanggo Island for the Visayas and Candaba Swamps for Luzon).

Each PPI member-newspaper is entitled to one slot-representative who is currently a member of the paper's editorial staff. Participants are encouraged to bring binoculars (or telescope) and cameras for the bird watching activity.

The first workshop for members in the Visayas will be conducted from January 17-20 at the Marco Polo Hotel in Cebu City (formerly Cebu Plaza). January 17 is the arrival date for preliminaries.

The second workshop for members in Luzon and NCR will be on January 24-27 at the Holiday Inn in Clark, Pampanga. Shuttle service will be arranged on the 24th at the PPI Office in Intramuros for departure to Clark. Time of departure is 10 a.m. sharp.

Confirmation of participation for both Visayas and Luzon workshops shall be until January 10, Wednesday, of next week.