In May 2019, Taboom Director Brian Pellot designed and led a four-day journalist and activist media engagement workshop on LGBTQI+ Rights with the Thomson Reuters Foundation and Hivos East Africa. The workshop included 10 journalists and 10 activists from Kenya and Uganda. On the final day, journalists and activists came together, putting their interview skills to the test.

Brian designed this course to promote accurate narratives of LGBTQI+ people and issues in the media, moving journalists beyond myths, clichés, and incendiary language. We targeted reporters, editors, directors of media houses, news agencies, columnists, talk show hosts, and other media professionals to change the dominant and stigmatising narratives against LGBTQI+ people in East Africa. Our aim was to create a platform through the training where journalists and activists could share and learn how to publish incisive pieces that promote dialogue and debate about LGBTQI+ inclusion. The workshop also built on our common goal of ensuring fair, accurate and impartial LGBTQI+ reporting, news and content.