Afghanistan photo exhibition online opening

Event date: 25 August, 2021 – 14:00 | Norway

Where there is a War, there is still Life

In these very disturbing times for Afghanistan, the JMIC of Oslo Metropolitan University are opening a very special photo exhibition, presenting 46 photos from 27 Afghan photographers/photojournalists under the title: “Where there is a War, there is still Life”. 

The exhibition shows a wide range of examples of how life has been in Afghanistan during the last 20 years, a life that is now under severe threat. It was organized by Afghan Photographers Association (APA) months before the last events.

The exhibition will be opened at 2 pm 25th August by the Norwegian State Secretary from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jens Frølich Holte, followed by the Afghan Ambassador, his Excellency Mr. Youssof Ghafoorzai. Other speakers are Rector Nina Waaler at OsloMet, and Knut Olav Åmås, Director of the Free Expression foundation. Open for the public from 1530 pm.

The opening will be streamed. More information:   https://www.oslomet.no/en/about/events/afghanistan-save

Toxic Avenger Club meetup

0816 toxic avengers

Event date: 18 August, 2021 – 09:00

TrollBusters is hosting the Toxic Avenger Club first meetup on August 18, at 9 AM EST on Zoom. This is a follow-up to the “With Liberty and Inclusive Technologies for All” discussion. Sharing of experiences with online harassment in this safe space is expected.

This is a one-hour meetup to share strategies and get the support needed in relation to online harassment. 

Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_dh2-GuOTCZYE-jAjYAaP9YMs07xd…

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Defend press freedom and freedom of expression

IAWRT World Press Freedom Day statement 2021

The International Association of Women in Radio and Television gathered for an online protest on World Press Freedom Day 2021 to respond to so many human rights violations worldwide that put the lives of journalists at risk.

Our network has not been exempted from these violations. Here are some inhumane acts that some of our members have experienced

·       On December 10, 2020, journalist and IAWRT member Malalai Maiwand, and her driver, were killed in Afghanistan.

·       On the same day, Lady Ann Salem, our Communications Officer was arrested on possession of firearms and explosives trumped up charges. After almost three months, she was released after the court dismissed the charges as baseless and inconsistent.

·       Journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, IAWRT Philippines member is still in jail since February 7, 2020, arrested in a similar fashion and detained on similar charges as Icy was.

·       Several IAWRT members are working in countries reeling from war or grappling with the pandemic, both conditions have impeded or have been consciously used to restrict their duty of finding out and reporting the truth

With the steep rise in the attacks on journalists and a weakening in regulations protecting freedom of expression, indeed, women journalists and media workers, are in a very difficult situation.

The harassment of journalists not only affects media practitioners but shortchanges citizens who depend on the media to provide a critical service in society – denying people to access to truth which is a very sad reality.

A recent study by UNESCO, on online violence against women journalists, also shows that the majority of women journalists surveyed had experienced online violence relating to their work. Online violence against women journalists is used to silence independent voices, spread disinformation and undercut fact-based journalism.

In addition, more than 1,000 journalists have died due to COVID-19 according to the Press Emblem Campaign in April this year. Many of these deaths came as a result of a lack of protective equipment and unsafe working practices.

We stand with these struggles of journalists especially women journalists who, at the same time, continue to fight for their piece of airtime, for their spot in newsroom leadership and for women’s voices to be heard. We would also like to recognize the work that they have done and been doing as women journalists-truth tellers.

IAWRT joins all journalists and media workers from all over the world, to call for urgent measures to counter continuing threats and crisis worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We pray for the day when journalists are reporting the news and not making the news, for COVID-safe newsrooms, and general safe environments for media practitioners.

https://fb.watch/co72Q4buHd/

17th IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival in its online edition

Instagram landscape 17th IAWRT AWFF

Event date: 5 March, 2021 – 07:00 to 7 March, 2021 – 07:00

The IAWRT Chapter India is happy to announce the 17th IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival in its online edition to mark the International Women’s Day. This edition of AWFF 2021 will be held from 5th to 7th March 2021, facilitating a digital space for showcasing films and discussions during the prevailing conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The festival programme includes fiction, non-fiction, animation and experimental films made by filmmakers from Asia and of Asian origin from India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Malaysia, United States, Finland, Belgium, and Iran. The festival also features conversations around the films to generate dialogue and reflection on ideas and form, making room for filmmakers, across the globe, to share their process. This is strengthened by two Masterclasses – on editing in films with the award-winning editor, Jabeen Merchant and, on sound in films with the renowned sound practitioner Amala Popuri, which focus on questions of craft and practice, and how women practitioners respond to challenges in their work. A special feature of the festival is films by first-time women filmmakers to showcase how the young experience the world.

To facilitate worldwide viewership, each film will be available for a 48-hour window of free streaming via the festival’s online Screening Room. Discussions with the filmmakers and Masterclasses will be live streamed, and are free and open to all. 

We invite you to tune in to the film screenings and conversations. 

Register and follow the Festival’s website for updates!

Festival Schedule!

This year, the experiences of living through the pandemic have shaped the underlying thread of uncertainty that runs through the voices and practices that the programme presents. This year’s programme of 33 films encourages viewers to look towards the challenges facing the world as they manifest in individual and collective lives, and draw from the stories of hope to imagine new possibilities. The films present both the inner lives of characters as well as larger structural issues to reinforce our abiding belief in the inextricable link between the personal and the political.

– Deepti Khurana, Festival Director

The COVID 19 pandemic has shown that in a globalised world, erecting walls and barbed wire fences cannot bring about protection. And so, the need to dismantle enforced segregation and instead build solidarities, is not just a moral imperative but a practical one. As creative media practitioners, we turn to the arts to help us do that, and our festival this year draws attention to this, both in the form that it has taken as an online festival and in the films that are being screened. We continue to strive towards building networks through artistic practice and highlight common ground with women filmmakers from across Asia. For IAWRT India, the Asian Women’s Film Festival is not a festival of what are commonly termed “women’s issues” but one that focuses on women’s perspectives of the world, on questions that are of concern to everyone. 

– Samina Mishra, Managing Trustee

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