IAWRT India chapter head honoured

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The dynamism and innovation of Archana Kapoor,  the head of the IAWRT India chapter, has been recognised in the 2016 Devi awards. They are run by The Sunday Standard, a publication of the New Indian Express Group, to recognise hard work and achievement, against all odds. The annual awards honour 20 exceptional women from the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telengana. 

Archana Kapoor was nominated for her work in founding Radio Mewat, through a NGO which she established called SMART (Seeking Modern Applications for Real Transformation). It focuses on providing communications and technological tools to transform economically backward communities. The award-winning Radio Mewat, is a community station which services and informs an impoverished district about 70 km from New Delhi.

The Managing Trustee of the IAWRT India chapter was honoured for for her contribution to women’s empowerment through the  radio station. Read more about Archana’s work.

The ceremony was held on January 11, 2016 and the awards were presented by the External Affairs Minister of India, Sushma Swaraj.  IAWRT Vice President Ananya Chakraborti, also from India, says she is proud of Ms Kapoor. 

The IAWRT India Chapter elected Archana Kapoor, to lead its large membership in December following the chapter’ success in organising the highly stimulating IAWRT biennial in New Delhi, under the leadership of Reena Mohan.

Societies can’t be inclusive while half the world’s population is silenced

GAMAG gunilla

The President of IAWRT, Gunilla Ivarsson, participated in high level round-table discussions at the International Development Cooperation Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday December 7th  in the lead up to the first General Assembly of the Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG). ESP

As the President of IAWRT, a member of GAMAG’s International Steering committee, she was given the honor of making of one of the welcoming addresses to the historic General Assembly   Ms Ivarsson was on 2 panels, one was a dialogue on the successes and failures of actions aimed to equalise women’s access and participation in media and technology. She also presented the IAWRT’s Gender Mainstreaming report, and spoke about the way it is being used by members in Africa, Asia and the Middle East to promt understanding and action to reduce stereotypical representations of women, men, boys and girls in the media. (picture, left with Nadezhda Azhgikhina the Vice-President of the European Federation of Journalists)

The GAMAG General Assembly, ran from  9 until 10 December, ending on International Human Rights Day, releasing a call for gender equality in and through the media by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “We call for inclusive societies that give equal voice to all,” said Colleen Lowe Morna, CEO of Gender Links and GAMAG Chairperson. “This cannot be achieved as long as half the world’s population is effectively silenced.” 

“We have come together to forge a global movement on gender and media,” said Alton Grizzle of UNESCO, which has facilitated GAMAG and organised the Geneva meeting with the Greek Secretariat General for Media and Communication. “Better access, leadership and portrayal of girls and women in media is a critical stepping stone for equal rights,” he added.   

GAMAG was launched in Bangkok two years ago, bringing together some 700 media houses, training institutions, journalism unions, gender and media activists to promote gender equality within the media and Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), and in the content they produce, as essential for achieving fundamental human rights for women worldwide.

Christiane Amanpour, Chief International Correspondent for CNN and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Freedom of Expression, joined the International Development Cooperation Meeting on Gender and Media remotely to kick off the week’s events.  Said Amanpour: “On the very important platform that is media, women are simply not equally or even adequately represented, either in leadership roles or in media coverage.” Video message from Christine Amapour. (video includes Christiane Amanpour in conversation with Daniel Sieberg presented by News Lab at Google about her reporting career).

Over the past ten years, little has improved concerning the presence of women in media, according to Sarah Macharia who spoke on behalf of the World Association of Christian Communicators, an organisation that regularly monitors gender equality in global news media. The 2015 Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) found that women constitute 24% of news sources – the same as five years ago.  “Women remain invisible or underrepresented on traditional media based on almost every indicator we measure,” Macharia warned. “And this trend has replicated itself in digital media as well (see report).

“As the struggle for gender equality moves to online media, the challenges multiply,” added Cheryl Miller of the Digital Leadership Institute, reporting for the GAMAG working group on media, ICTs and gender.  “Under-representation of women in both media and digital sectors converges online, and the scope for urgent action grows,” said Miller. From promoting positive role models online to tackling cyberviolence, “the internet is a double-edged sword for women,” she said. “It needs to be wielded for their benefit.”

At GAMAG’s inaugural General Assembly, stakeholders committed to making 2016 a year of unprecedented action on key priority areas which include digital media, youth, advocacy and gender and media research.  In addition, four regional GAMAG chapters were launched in order to operationalise the “Geneva Framework” reached at the International Co-operating Partners meeting that preceded the General Assembly. 

Actions announced by GAMAG working groups included a set of gender equality principles and standards to be signed up to by media houses; gender sensitivity education for the media; a best practice community on gender and media, and an initiative to identify regional and local champions for gender in media like Amanpour.

Lowe-Morna underscored the urgency of GAMAG’s mission.  “Gender equality in and through the media is intrinsic to freedom of expression, democracy, good governance and transparency. We cannot hope to achieve the SDGs if this is sidelined.” GAMAG will be lobbying for gender and media indicators in the SDGs in the run-up to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting in New York in March 2016.   

The IAWRT Vice President Ananya Chakraborti will lead the planning for IAWRT’s upcoming side event at the CSW meeting, assisted by IAWRT board members, Violet Gonda, Bibiana Piene and Abeer Saady, more details soon!

(source: Guilla Ivarsson and GAMAG media statement)

 

 

Keep doing it, keep being curious, keep looking for truth

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Name: Iphigénie Marcoux-Fortier

Location: Montréal, Québec, Canada

What do you do?

I’m a documentary filmaker.

Why did this type of work interest you, and how did you get started?

After exploring the many possibilities of multimedia during my studies in communication, I became interested in documentary filmmaking, working in just about every key position — director, producer, DOP, soundperson and editor. In 2003, I co-founded the production company Les glaneuses, co-directing several linear documentaries before dedicating myself to BRIB, a project that allows me to explore more innovative narrative forms alongside a diverse team of creators. No matter what topic I set my sights on, my approach is informed by issues of cultural identity, community involvement and collective memory. I was involved for several years, as filmmaker-trainer, in a project that encourages cultural validation through the appropriation of media by Mapuche and Atikamekw indigenous communities. The project is collaboratively run by organizations and groups in Québec and Wallmapu (Mapuche territory).

What part of this job do you personally find most satisfying? Most challenging?

I like doing all that because I learn everyday about ways to live a better life – how to be a better person. I think by sharing that – it’s not just sharing a topic, but sharing a way of understanding life – it positively inspired other people whom, in their turn, in their own way of action, make the difference in constructing societies that better represent us. Every culture has its richness, and I belive in valuating that. 

What do you like and not like about working in this industry?

I’ve work hard to make my own way as an independant filmmaker, and I find it so enjoyable. I love the diversity of the projects and tasks, but also the incredible liberty that comes with it. I think the hardest thing is to learn how to create a good balance between this passion and life’s obligations.

What are your long-term goals?

I would like to keep creating/stimulating a large range of sisterhood/brotherhood between inspired and active human beings.

What special advice do you have for a student seeking to qualify for this position?

Don’t stop. Keep doing it. Keep being curious. Keep looking for truth. Keep spreading it. Keep finding ways to finance it.

Do you have any special words of warning or encouragement as a result of your experience?

I think this work is a commitment that never ends. You can take it as a warning or as an encouragement!

These are my strongest assets/skills, areas of knowledge, personality traits and values are….

I think one of the strongest value/felling that motivates me is the sense of community. And I think in our modern society, it’s a real challenge because everything is designed for the atomisation of individuals. I feel it’s the only thing that will make us stronger, that will lead to real changes. So I try to keep doing it in all spheres of my life. Let’s connect to each other as much as we can. 

Links to your media projects

http://lesglaneuses.org
http://facebook.com/bribapp

Progress in media gender parity grinds to a halt

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The Global Media Monitoring  Project 2015, reports little progress towards media gender parity in news in the last five years. “… the decade 2005 to 2015 has been one of stagnation” according to gender and media scholar, Margaret Gallagher. “There has been no change in women’s share of news-making roles in the traditional media (newspapers, radio, television) since 2010, and indeed almost none since 2005 [and] the new digital media (Internet and Twitter news) offer little comfort.”

The proportion of women heard, mentioned or seen in newspapers, TV and radio remains at 24%, exactly the same as in 2010. “GMMP 2015 reveals that the rate of progress towards media gender parity has almost ground to a halt over the past five years.”  

In political news, the figures are alarming, with a 3% fall in the rates of women in news, down to 16%. In terms of stories actually focussing on women, that remains at 10%. Economic news is least likely to focus on women, with economics at 5% and politics at 7% of stories. Science and health has shown a marked improvement, up to 35%, but those subjects have the lowest priority in the news agenda.

In Latin America, at least, the gender gap in news has shown a marked improvement up to 29%, compared to 16% in 2010.  

GMMP 2015 was collated from data gathered by volunteer teams in 114 countries who monitored more than 22 thousand stories published, broadcast or tweeted by 2,030 distinct media houses, as well as interviewing 45 thousand people. Click for summary report the full report or the background and history of the project here.

 

Gender and conflict sensitive Journalism

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A very practical hand book for reporting and monitoring gender sensitivity in conflict reporting has been released by Swedish women’s organisation called The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation. The compact 14 page booklet is very hands-on, providing a tool for journalists and others who want to understand conflicts in a larger context.

It provides a five point guide for thinking about peace journalism and a plan for practical conflict sensitive journalism. As well there are simple media monitoring tests, which could prove as useful for teaching, as they would be for journalists assessing their own work.

Kvinna till Kvinna (meaning woman to woman) began in response to the systematic mass rapes and abuse of women in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the early 1990s. It now supports over 100 women’s organisations in five regions afflicted by conflict: Central and Western Africa, the Middle East, the South Caucasus and the Western Balkans.

The hand book is available below, or can be downloaded in Swedish and English from Kvinna till Kvinna’s website, where there is a great deal of information and teaching resources available about women in war and conflict.

RadioAsia 2016 Conference

April, 25-27, 2016, Beijing China: Registration now open. This year’s event is themed “Let us Talk Radio”. With an insatiable quest for newer, highly mobile and more immersive experiences, radio content creators and journalists are adding new dimensions to the media landscape. Radio is riding a ‘Digital Wave’ wooing audiences across social media platforms, providing content on multiple mobile and stationary smart devices. . 

The Asia-Pacific Broadcsting Union conference will run on the 25th and 26th, and the ABU Radio Song Festival will be organised on the evening of 26 April in conjunction with RadioAsia. The Media2020 Conference will also take place in Beijing on April 27, 2016. The theme of Media2020 conference is ‘Taking the Media Forward’. Programme attached.

further information www.abu.org.my or contact Mrs Vijay Sadhu Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Tel: +603 2282 5962  Fax: +603 2282 5292 Email: [email protected]

International dialogue on gender equality in the media

The first International Development Cooperation Meeting on Gender and Media will be be held from 7 to 10 December 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Global Alliance on Media and Gender, a partnership involving over 800 media, civil society, academic, private and governmental organizations, incuding IAWRT, will also hold its first general meeting.

GAMAG is designed to be the global mechanism through which the gender and media section (J), of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPA) can be systematically implemented and monitored.

Women’s participation, their leadership and fair representation in media and technology are way below that of their male counterparts. After four decades of research and development actions, little change can be celebrated. The world famous actor, Geena Davis observed that at the present rate, it will take another 70 years to achieve gender equality in the media. This is more than four times the number of years agreed upon by the international development community to achieve the new sustainable development goals, by 2030.

The main aim of the high-level events is to initiate a dialogue about global development cooperation framework to achieve gender equality in and through media. The meeting will include various development actors such as UN agencies, funds and programmes, national and regional development organizations, governments, private sector and other international development organizations. Ministers, ambassadors, media, civil society, and development executives as well as leading experts will be in attendance.

Topics will include ingredients for a global development cooperation framework on gender and media, online media and youth, gender and media as a business and development model, and strategic linking between policy and research on gender and media.

The events are co-hosted by the Republic of Lebanon and the Hellenic Republic (Greece) and supported by close to 20 UN organizations. Both events will coincide with the International Human Rights Day, December 10. 

To register for these events please following the link: http://tiny.cc/IDCGenderAndMedia2015

.sourced from UNESCO media services.

€41,000 in grants available for investigative journalists in Europe

Money up for grabs for investigative reporters (applications from female reporters are especially welcome): CALL for ideas: Investigative journalists in Europe interested in privacy, the environment, finance or lobbying can apply for a by-subject cross-border grant with Journalismfund.eu. The application deadline is 25 November 2015.

Journalismfund.eu http://journalismfund.eu is an independent non-profit organisation that stimulates investigative journalism in Europe. One of the ways it does so is by giving research grants to journalists. For their next application deadline, which closes on 25 November 2015 at 11.59 pm Brussels time, they have €41,000 to distribute. The grants are only for stories focusing on

– surveillance and privacy;
– nature and the environment;
– economy and finance (public spending and public debt, corruption); or
– lobbying.

More information can be found here: http://www.journalismfund.eu/news/extra-application-call-subject-grant-application-deadline-25-november

 

Specialise in something you really enjoy

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Name: Valerie Lew

Location: Malaysia, and all over Asia

What do you do?

Produce and manage various type of projects, from corporate videos to tv documentaries

Why did this type of work interest you, and how did you get started?

Meeting interesting people in different part of the world always interested me. Being a trained sound engineer gave me the opportunity to be a location recordist to start with and it opened the doors of broadcasting.

What part of this job do you personally find most satisfying? Most challenging?

This job brings me insights into numerous interesting subjects, I gain more in-depth understanding of a variety of different areas due the intensive research work required. I am learning new things on every unique project, meeting numerous specialists in their own field.

The most challenging part of my job is to be able to calm people around me, when things do not workout as planned. 

What do you like and not like about working in this industry?

Can’t think of working in other industry, loving every bit of it!

What are your long-term goals?

Keep on doing what I’m doing while still can, does that count as a goal? I’m an organiser come improvisor, long term planning is not the sharpest knife in my pocket.

What special advice do you have for a student seeking to qualify for this position?

Think and act fast, make a decision and go with it, the world doesn’t wait. Specialise in something you really enjoy.

Do you have any special words of warning or encouragement as a result of your experience?

Learn to look at things in different perspective, stubbornness doesn’t help.

These are my strongest assets/skills, areas of knowledge, personality traits and values are….

Quick-wit, calm, technical, dedicated, flexible and level headed. 

Please also provide a photo and examples of your media projects or links to where they can be found.

One of my proudest projects on www.balithefilm.com and my company’s website www.gsproductions.com.my

Afghan radio station target of bomb attack.

Najiba

An independent public media company in Afghanistan, the Killid Group (TKG), has been targeted in a bomb attack on one of its radio stations in the city of Jalalabad.ESP

The Executive Director of the Killid Radio group, Najiba Ayubi, (pictured) says it was one of the network’s 11 provincial radio stations, which the group operates along with two national magazines. There were no casualties, however the station in the eastern province of Nangarhar, has been extensively damaged.

The group advertises its editorial policy as one which “embraces one main concept: Afghan ownership of Afghanistan’s process … a commitment to one principle: people’s right to be informed and to be heard.”

Najiba Ayubi, who led the entire Killid group for more than a decade, was a keynote speaker at IAWRT’s biennial in New Delhi, India, in September. There she described her pain about the disasterous and worsening situation for Afghanistan’s media, where scores have been killed and journalists work with the constant threat of bombing and attacks. She continues working in Afghanistan despite receiving death threats herself, and was a recipient of the 2013 international Women’s Media Foundation ‘Courage in Journalism Award’.   

She has told IAWRT that two explosions targeted Nangarhar Killid Radio early in the evening of October 10th.  “A caller to the head of the Jalalabad radio station introduced himself as a ISIS (Daesh) spokesman, and claimed responsibility for the attack.” However she says there is no confirmation of the caller’s identity or affiliation.

There have been a number of bomb attacks in Jalalabad in the past ten months, where there is heavy fighting between militants purporting to be from the Taliban and the Islamic State group. The United States has also launched drone attacks targeting what it believes to be militant strongholds for both groups.

The increasingly dangerous environment for Afghanistan’s media was given further confirmation in the following days, with Khaama press reporting that  the Taliban  is threatening to attack private TV stations, 1TV and Tolo in Kabul, for spreading “propaganda” against the Taliban.

“The bomb attack on the Killid radio station is one more example of how difficult it is for journalists to do their work today,” says Gunilla Ivarsson, President of IAWRT. “The situation for women journalists in countries like Afghanistan is especially difficult, with hundreds leaving the profession and even Afghanistan itself.”

 

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