Media safety guide for high-risk environments

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A new edition of the ‘Safety Guide for Journalists: a handbook for journalists in high-risk environments’ is available. The guide says that violence against female journalists is a “double attack” on their sex as well as their profession. Throughout the guide there are practical tips for women in the field. 

The 130-page guide compiled by Reporters Without Borders in association with UNESCO offers essential information and practical advice for journalists to assist them before, during and after an assignment in dangerous areas. This publication comes in a context of developing threats against media professionals, with more than 700 journalists killed in the past decade for reporting the news. In 2015, more than 105 journalists were killed, while many more were threatened, imprisoned or kidnapped for simply doing their work of bringing news and informing to the public.

The latest edition was launched on 5 February 2016 at the conference News organizations standing up for the safety of media professionals in Paris.“The Guide is an important body of knowledge and experience acquired over the years by journalists, news organizations and groups that campaign for freedom of expression,” according to Guy Berger, Director of the Division of Freedom of Expression and Media Development at UNESCO.

The Safety Guide for Journalists contains a wide range of essential information to enhance the safety of journalists. It stresses the importance of well-prepared planning before taking assignments in dangerous missions and gives essential tools for journalists. The guide is useful for all those who work in news and information and who report from hostile environments, such as conflict zones, violent demonstrations, riots and terrorist attacks.

The first edition of the Safety Guide for Journalists was produced in 1992. Since then, it has been updated and translated into several languages and widely distributed. The new version, available in Arabic, English French and Spanish and, addresses new threats and challenges to an increasingly dangerous profession. The newly added chapters highlight the issue of digital safety, a growing worry for journalists, and elaborate on safety precautions for those covering natural disasters or epidemics. They also address the problem of sexual violence, aimed particularly at female journalists.

Journalists and news organizations are essential actors for the exercise of freedom of expression, making them targets for those who want to impose tight control on public debate and citizens’ right to information. With the new edition of the Guide, Reporters Without Borders and UNESCO continue their work within the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. Aimed at creating a free and safe environment for journalist and media workers, the UN Plan of Action was adopted the in April 2012 and confirmed by the UN General Assembly in November 2013. The publication of the new edition of the Safety Guide for Journalists was supported by Sweden

The Safety Guide for Journalists – A handbook for reporters can be accessed online in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.

Source: UNESCO.

 

 

12th IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival

The IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival will be held from 3 – 5 March 2016, in New Delhi. Curated by Umadevi N.Tanuku and Aradhna Kohli, it showcases works by women directors of Asian origin, and shows work ranging from animation, to documentary, experimental, short fiction and fiction features.

It is held every year around International Women’s Day

The festival was launced in 2005 and has grown in strength and popularity with film makers coming from all over the world to participate. The festival has travelled to many Indian cities and selections have been screened at other festivals like Birds Eye View Film Festival 2011, London, International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala 2011 and Vasakh Festival, Lahore 2012.

This year, films from Bangladesh, Iran, Israel, Japan, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Turkey, the UK and Vietnam will be shown. The general program selection is available here. The festival also includes an audio component called Soundfiles. 2016 selection here. Entries for Soundfiles have been on the rise,since it was established three years ago, which clearly recognises the importance of radio. The festival also provides a platform for showcasing art, and invites artists to host exhibitions.

 

 

 

 
 

Another Milestone for Elisabeth Kirkby

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By Nonee Walsh

Long serving IAWRT member Elisabeth Kirkby has passed yet another milestone in her full and productive life, celebrating her 95th birthday with her family, north of Sydney, Australia, on January 26th 2015. Lis has forged several dynamic careers since the 1940’s, as an actress, broadcaster, politician and farmer and she recently completed her doctoral thesis

Lis kirkby has been a member of the IAWRT since the early 1960’s and served on the international board from 1972 and as President from 1976 -1980.

Lis’s radio career began In Malaysia, where she lived during the uprising dubbed the ‘Malayan Emergency’, rising to become head of the Talks and Features Unit of Radio Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. Some IAWRT members were fortunate to be on a tour of Kuala Lumpur with Lis in 2011, when she pointed out the balcony where, in 1957, she worked on the radio broadcast of the handover of power from the British. Lis also pointed out the site of a theatre company she helped establish, and reminisced about using the equipment now housed at the Radio Malaysia Museum. 

In 1965, she was employed by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, when it had only just begun to allow married women to remain in the workforce. Lis worked in the Schools Division, and as a light entertainment producer. In 1966, she became the first on air presenter of a daily women’s programme, ‘Morning Call’. Lis says “The programme was fully-scripted, remarks were not permitted and the interviews were devoted to cooking, children’s health, books and sometimes a discussion with a prominent woman. Current affairs, politics were banned”. However, political activism has always been a part Lis’s life. Lis opposed the Vietnam War and Australia’s involvement, from the 1960’s, and was an early member of Australia’s second-wave feminist organisation, the Women’s Electoral Lobby, as well as numerous other women’s and human rights groups.

Lis became a household name in Australian in the 1970’s with role of Lucy Sutcliffe in a high rating soap opera called  Number 96 . It was a programme about daily lives, but was ground breaking as it dealt with sexuality, breast cancer, reproductive issues and homosexuality. (My parents considered it to be too riské for me to watch – I had to find out at what was happening from high-school friends).

She continued theatre and television acting and entered politics. She was the Australian Democrats New South Wales state leader for many years, elected to the New South Wales Parliament upper house, serving from 1981-1998, and for several years part of a group which effectively held the balance of power over government legislaton. She campaigned to decriminalise homosexuality, to improve workers’ rights, conditions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and to establish equal rights and opportunities for women. 

After that Lis became a sheep grazier in a town called Temora and served in local government. In 2012 she was awarded the national Medal of the Order of Australia, for “…service to the Parliament of New South Wales, to the community of Temora, and to the performing arts.

Between 2002 and 2014 Lis completed her bachelor of arts and then doctoral studies at The University of Sydney, becoming Australia’s oldest university graduate. Dr Kirkby’s PhD thesis, was entitled Will we ever learn from history: the impact of economic orthodoxy on unemployment during the Great Depression in Australia. Of her thesis, she said: “I am more and more involved in this thesis as a matter of putting forward what I believe are principles of social justice, and it is not some airy fairy idea of total equality. There’s no such thing as total equality, but a progressive society has to be fair, and it is not fair when a financial firm in New York can make a profit that is greater than the gross domestic product of a small country.” Thesis is Available here

Speaking to Sydney University staff after that latest achievement, Lis said “It really is infuriating that people assume you can’t do something because of your age.” See TV report here.

IAWRT wishes Lis well for the future, and as she says “there is always something to do”, we are in no doubt that we will be hearing from her again soon. 

Sources

Sydney University

N.S.W. Parliament

The story of IAWRT 

Wikipedia

Give voice to the voiceless; afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted

ilang quijano MOM

Name: Ilang-Ilang Quijano

Location: Philippines

What do you do?

I am a journalist-filmmaker working in alternative media in the Philippines. I sit on the National Council of Altermidya (People’s Alternative Media Network), a national network of independent and progressive media outfits and institutions. Right now, I am involved in multimedia production (all stages of production from conceptualization, scripting, shooting and editing) and write feature and opinion articles for the Altermidya website. I am also involved in Altermidya’s training programs on video for social change, community radio, and citizen journalism. I am also a documentary filmmaker.

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

I started in journalism writing for our student publication at the University of the Philippines, Manila. As a student journalist, I co-wrote an article with my father, a doctor, on the effects of aerial spraying of pesticides in a community in Southern Philippines. The article was published in a national newspaper, and we got sued for libel. Click for more details. The case got me interested in writing about social issues. My first job was in 2002 as a reporter for Pinoy Weekly, a start-up weekly print newspaper that catered to marginalized communities of workers, urban poor, migrants, indigenous peoples, women and youth.  As it was independent media, I got to write freely on human rights, the environment, land rights, women’s rights, public policy and other pressing social issues. I eventually became the Executive Director of Pinoy Media Center, the publisher of Pinoy Weekly, and also ventured into documentary filmmaking, multimedia production, and citizen journalism training. 

I received my Master’s degree in journalism as a fellow of the Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism. I am a past director of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. More recently, I studied documentary filmmaking through the Goethe Institute in Manila and Jakarta and got to participate in various film festivals in the Philippines and abroad. Right now I am also a board member of the IAWRT -Philippines Chapter. 

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

The work is satisfying because you see and feel the enthusiastic responses of communities whenever we report or highlight their issues and concerns, which are mostly misrepresented or underreported by the corporate mainstream media. You become part of their empowerment. The most challenging thing is always the lack of income — as sustainability is always an issue in independent and non-profit media. Threats of harassment and censorship are also very real in the Philippines, and always a challenge, especially for alternative media practitioners.

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

I like the editorial independence and freedom in alternative media to report on issues that matter, and in ways that can lead to empowerment and social change. I like the fact that I can be enterprising, choose my own stories, and even contribute to other news outfits or look for other producers and partners for documentaries I’m interested in doing. The multimedia landscape is also very exciting—the technology to create powerful documentaries, web series, and other multimedia works is now more accessible, and there is a wide variety of forms that one can use, and experiment with, for storytelling. 

What I do not like about the media industry is that in general, it does not pay well for independent journalists or even for its own employees. (That is why we work, not just on press freedom issues, but for the welfare of journalists as well.) I also do not like the fact that producers and editors are also frequently looking for content that “sells” and not necessarily content that matters.

What are your long-term goals?

My long-term goal is for the alternative media in the Philippines to flourish even more, especially in the provinces where it is badly needed by poor or marginalized communities. Personally, my goal is to train and educate more independent media practitioners and to help in establishing alternative media outfits. I’d also like to produce or direct more compelling and creative documentaries, and to write more narrative and investigative reports on issues that are close to my heart.

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

My advice to students is to be enterprising in their stores and not be inhibited by the traditional news beat system, or reporting solely within the confines of the corridors of power—which mostly manipulate the news agenda. Go to non-traditional news sources, seek out communities and people in their daily lives, and find out how public policies or social phenomenon affect them. Always be critical. Get to know the people you are covering as intimately as possible. As much as possible, give voice to the voiceless; afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. For women journalists, my advice is that every issue affects women in special ways: find out how and you will have a story, most likely one that can only be told by a woman.

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

There is this quote that was used by student publications during the period of Martial Law in the Philippines; I think that it is still relevant today: “In the midst of a deafening cry for change in a society beset with inequalities, journalism cannot find a neutral sanctuary. Either it contributes to the prolonging of the night, or helps in the ushering of a new dawn. After all, to write is already to choose.”

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

Aggressiveness, compassion, creativity and critical mindedness

Links to your media projects

Documentary: “Heart of the City” tells about the life-and-death struggle of Manila’s urban poor settlers whose homes are about to be demolished.
Watch here:

Documentary Trailer: “Daughters of Cordillera” tells the story of Piya, a young activist, who visits her hometown in Bontoc, Mountain Province, to reconnect with her indigenous roots. Watch here:

Various AlterMidya multimedia productions. Watch here:

An opinion piece on human rights reporting published by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility. Read here:

An investigative narrative report on a mining-affected community published in Pinoy Weekly. Read here:

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Gender Mainstreaming Launch – Tanzania

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By IAWRT-Tanzania Chapter

The Report on Gender Equity and Social Justice in Public Media, compiled from monitoring by chapters of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT), has shown that women and girls are not engaged fully as sources of information or in decision making bodies at different levels compared to male counterparts. 

The Report on Gender Mainstreaming Monitoring in the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) further said that the gender inequality gap that exists between men and women denies women’s rights to enjoy different opportunities, including wages.

At the official launch of the report in Dar es Salaam, the guest of honour and Executive Director of the Tanzania Media Women’s Association (TAMWA), Edda Sanga (pictured with head of IAWRT Tanzania Rose Haji Mwalimu) called on the government to abide by the Beijing Platform Declaration on the advancement of women and the South African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development, to ensure women are engaged at all levels of decision making bodies in order to bridge the existing gap and enhance the development of the country.

Sanga however, called on women themselves to be aggressive and united, to ensure that the gender equality agenda is pushed through by a common voice. Those who are already at top of the ladder should ensure they get down and uplift the status of others, especially those at grass roots level.

Rose Haji Mwalimu said women also need to be self-aware and value their contribution to the community. She said a failure to do so will reinforce the existing gender gap between men and women. Despite the burden women carry and the contribution women make in the community they have been denied their right to hold top positions at workplaces and do not access media information.

As a way forward, participants to the launch came up with a collaborative strategy to popularize the report nationally, internationally and in the local community. One strategy is to circulate the report widely to different stakeholders, to include the report in different workshops and seminars and to translate the report into Kiswahili for the community to understand the relevance of the contents to them.

Another strategy is to hold discussions in and around electronic media and to use social media platform as well as the existing websites of partner organizations like TAMWA and others to publize the report.

Such engagements will influence journalists to be more engaged with gender issues so they can mainstream gender into their daily undertakings and influence media owners and media decision makers to create interest in gender issues. (Pictured left Razia Mwawanga, IAWRT – Tanzania Treasuer Chapter and director of the programme, leads discussion).

The Tanzania workshop also included the screening of the ‘Reflecting Her’ an IAWRT produced documentary on reproductive health in a number of countries.

The workshop is part of IAWRT’s ongoing project on gender mainstreaming, which includes holding fact-based events aiming to inform media parctitioners, to reverse the lack of progress in making gender issues central to media output. Workshops continue at the local level and in global forums, principally through side events at the Commission on the Status of Women. 

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

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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.

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