Conferences
The value of IAWRT as a forum to share ideas during times of crisis came to the fore at the regional meeting in Moldova. With the theme ‘The Global Financial Crisis - Its effect on women and media', the conference in Chisinau brought together media women from a range of countries to discuss different solutions to a variety of problems. After a welcome by local member Alina Radu, IAWRT President Olya Booyar set the scene with an overview of how the GFC was affecting women and families in a range of developed and developing societies. And her call for media women to tell the stories of the crisis from a women's perspective was reinforced by speaker after speaker throughout the day.TV and radio journalists, documentary makers and even a Member of Parliament recounted stories of the difficulties women face in the media in Moldova even before the GFC. Aneta Grosu, from the Association of Independent TV Journalists which co-hosted the conference, spoke of how government policies and the entrenched dominance of men in media and politics made it hard for women to get their voices heard. Participants from Africa, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region found common ground in sharing their experiences and some possible solutions. The conference was also a chance for local Moldovan media women to see the work of IAWRT and network both formally and informally. See the attachment for a full report on the conference. |
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IAWRT had three representatives at the 53rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting in New York in February 2009. Elizabeth Roxas (Philippines) was funded by IAWRT, our principal sponsor FOKUS funded Racheal Nakitare (Kenya) and Bandana Rana (Nepal) was funded by the Asia-Pacific Forum. This year's priority theme was "The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including care-giving in the context of HIV/AIDS". Of special interest to the work of IAWRT, the conference also examined addressing violence against women (VAW) and ways the media can deliver stories of women's development worldwide. Members can read Racheal Nakitare's report in the attachment. |
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IAWRT executives and members joined national and international development organisations at a forum in Norway in calling for greater progress on the rights of women to peace and security. The forum "Women in the Land of Conflict" ended with the issuing of a joint Statement of Solidarity and Action aimed at the United Nations, governments and donors, the media and women's organisations and other activists. In line with one of IAWRT's main goals, the statement included a call for the media and other information providers to "transform the dominant images of women from passive victims to active agents of peace and social transformation". The forum at Voksenaasen, Oslo, Norway, from 23 -25 November 2008, was jointly organised by IAWRT's principal sponsor FOKUS (Forum for Women and Development), Networkers SouthNorth and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its goal was to highlight the theme of women and gender in conflict and-post-conflict situations and the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. See the attachments for the forum agenda and a copy of the final Statement. |
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IAWRT Secretary Gunilla Ivarsson has called for the building of more partnerships between media NGOs (non-government organisations) to provide greater media focus on issues such as human rights. Gunilla represented IAWRT at the United Nations' 61st DPI/NGO conference "Re-affirming Human Rights for all", held at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris for the first time to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration. She reports that, despite the attendance of almost 1,400 participants from the UN and more than 500 NGOs from 74 countries, there were only two or three with media backgrounds, making it difficult for representatives from organisations such as IAWRT to network with other media-related NGOs. "I feel we need to build more partnerships with other media-NGOs, not to exclude others, but maybe be more selective and media-focused," she said. "But on the other hand, persons I met were very interested in the media approach of human rights work, and also the need for NGOs to work more media focused." See the attachment for Gunilla's full report on the conference. |
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The IAWRT regional meeting in South Africa enabled members to work on growing the association and to further progress efforts to combat violence against women. Nineteen IAWRT board and other members met in Cape Town on 18 August 2008 to discuss how women in the media can work to combat violence against women. They heard a report from IAWRT's recent Bangkok regional seminar on VAW and formulated a number of policy positions and activities which IAWRT can implement as its contribution. IAWRT President Olya Booyar said the deliberations and discussions would go towards building a knowledge base for all members. "To that end,' she said, "IAWRT will take the recommendations from this meeting forward and together with the other workshops held on VAW, formulate a plan for the organization in relation to VAW and how IAWRT can help their members who are in the media to connect with each other, access more information and share their knowledge for the purpose of building good practice guides on covering VAW and related issues." The meeting also dealt with a number of important IAWRT organisational issues, including networking, chapter building and using the website to share knowledge. See the attachment for a full report on the meeting. |
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The IAWRT Regional Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal, in December 2007 was an opportunity for members and non-members to share experiences in working in the media in conflict-affected areas. Titled "Women Building Peace: Sharing Experiences and Challenges", one of the main objectives of the conference was also to develop strategies to enhance the role of women in building peace. IAWRT and conference partner Saathi Nepal - a non-governmental organisation working the area of violence against women and gender equality - brought together some 50 media women from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, South Africa, Cameroon, Kenya, Norway, Sweden, Australia and Nepal. During the three-day conference, they took part in panel discussion and presentations on topics such as women's participation in peace building, transitional justice, protection of women, women as mediators in conflict transformation and role of media in peace building. See the attachment for a full report on the conference. |
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The IAWRT Cameroon Chapter played a vital role in setting up a network of media women for peace in Central Africa, when they hosted a three-day sub-regional seminar and workshop in Yaoundé in January 2009. On the theme of "The role and status of media women in armed conflicts, internal disturbances and peace support and promotion operations in CEMAC zone", the workshop had the financial backing of the Embassy of Switzerland in Cameroon to support media women operating in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States (CEMAC). As well as reporters who have covered crimes perpetrated by highway robbers and other unrest experienced on a daily basis by people in the region, the workshop was also attended by young members of associations involved in peace promotion and environmental protection. The workshop took place under the technical supervision of the Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross for Central Africa and drew participants from public and private media in Chad, CAR and Cameroon. It was officially opened by M Jean Pierre Biyiti Bi Essam, Cameroon Minister for Communication, in the presence of His Excellency Etienne Thevoz, Swiss Ambassador to Cameroon and M Amadou Vamoulke, General Manager of Cameroon Radio and Television Corporation. As well has staging workshops, experience-sharing sessions and learning activities, the seminar concluded with a number of resolutions to:
See the attachment for a full report on the seminar. |
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Networking, training and the education of men on gender issues were the major themes of the IAWRT South East Asia Sub-Regional Conference in Thailand in June 2008. The conference "Violence against Women: Never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable - What role can media play?" was jointly organised with the Sub-commission on the Promotion of Equal Opportunity and Equity and the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT). More than 30 journalists, women rights activists and NGOs, media practitioners and academics discussed strategies and shared their experience in order to document good media practice and successful media initiatives linked to raising awareness of ending violence against women. The three principal conclusions were:
See the attachment for a full report on the seminar. |
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