Indigenous Peoples Issues in Nepalese Media

Khim GhalePresident, Association of Nepalese

Indigenous Nationalities Journalists Nepal

Introduction

• Nepalese Indigenous people– 37.8 percent of total population of 25 million.– 59 communities (population is 10–16 million)

• Association of Nepalese Indigenous Nationalities Journalists (ANIJ) – Common forum of Nepalese indigenous nationalities journalists.

– Established in August 9, 1999.

– 38 district chapters and over 400 members

– Main objectives:• To advocate and publicize the human rights of indigenous peoples guided by

the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and its provisions. • To provide professional leadership and protect rights of indigenous

journalists

Key issues of Nepalese indigenous peoples:

• Political:– Restructuring the state on the basis of ethnic autonomy– Proportional electoral system for the election of constitution assembly

on the basis of ethnicity– Fully proportional representation in all government agencies on the

basis of ethnicity– Secular state (declared but not implemented)

• Cultural:– Accept the indigenous cultural property (including traditional knowledge,

indigenous intellectual property and the media) – Promotion of multi-lingual system for official purposes (mother tongue,

national and international)• Economic:

– Access to pubic services and policy making– Right of self determination for use of natural resources, land rights– Equitable distribution of resources

Projects/Activities• Advocating issues related to indigenous peoples• Organizes interaction on topics on indigenous people's issues.• www.indigenousvoice.com (now it is www.janajati.com ) was created in

2004, which focuses on news and views coverage Indigenous People's issues.

• Training for indigenous journalists • Publishes a monthly wall newspaper for neo–literate and semi-literate

indigenous peoples. • Award feature service and writing fellowships for indigenous journalists in

the mainstream media.• Provides consultation to indigenous peoples and journalists to establish

community FM radio stations. • Organize orientation on media literacy for indigenous (political) leaders. • Conducts media coordination programs for indigenous organizations. • Conducts media monitoring programs and interact with various government

agencies, Federation of Nepalese Journalists (umbrella organization of Nepali jouranlits) and other concerned stakeholders for formulating policies in favour of indigenous journalists.

• Run a weekly radio program on socio-economic and political issues of indigenous peoples and their rights.

Issues and challenges:• Basic characteristics of Nepalese media • Mainstream media are not familiar with the indigenous people's

issues• Lack of pluralistic approach in the media• A single community (Brahmin-Chetris-- not indigenous community)

has monopoly in terms of media ownership, communicator and contents

• No influential alternative media (community papers and other communication means)

• In figures:• Of the total, 21.31 percent ownership in Nepalese media belongs to

indigenous nationalities• Only 12.6 percent journalists in the news room are from the

indigenous nationalities community.• Media contents on and about indigenous peoples in mainstream

media are less than 10 percent.

Lesson learned/ Our Experiences:

• ANIJ is a common platform for indigenous journalists from both mainstream and alternative media.

• It is necessary to have different strategies to make voices of indigenous peoples to be heard and printed in mainstream and alternative media

• The mainstream media plays a vital role to influence the government agencies and policymakers, while the alternative media plays important role to make aware a particular community like indigenous peoples to their rights.

• Considering that it is most important to participate and take journalism as profession in the mainstream media, our training programs and network mainly focus on how to make journalists from the indigenous community capable for the mainstream media. In order to make familiar with the mainstream media environment, we conduct orientation and interaction with editors and program directors from time to time.

• On the other hand, it is important to build professional skills for the alternative media persons in terms of news writing, presentation, investigation and other communication skills.

• Presently we are working how to use electronic medium such as FM radios to advocate indigenous people rights to a broader extent. That's why ANIJ is running a weekly radio program and being transmitted through 14 different FM radio stations.

• In my country, literacy rate is very low and people's access to other means of media such as newspaper, TV and neo-media is very limited. Under this circumstances, we found that community radio can play a pivotal role to raise issues of indigenous peoples. Often the cases are that when the local radio raise the issues of indigenous peoples, then the reporters of mainstream media do the same.

At last but not the least:

• Indigenous peoples continually remain marginalised from the mainstream development process and are often deprived access to media and other tools of ICTs. IPs are hardly touched by media and tools of information communication technologies

• So, it calls for an urgent need of retrospection in ongoing development efforts in order to involve indigenous peoples, particularly from remote and rural areas, into the process of e-inclusion.

• Address to the barrier of language (ICT & media) will also ensure better accessibility for indigenous peoples to media and ICTs.