kl confererence report-final draft.pdf - the international

Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia, just north of the Equator. It shares a land border with Thailand in the north; while across the Straits of Johor in the south is Singapore. Across the Straits of Malacca to the west lies the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Malaysia is home to exotic, tropical islands with beautiful beaches, rainforests and national parks. Its crown jewel is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah—the highest peak in South-East Asia.

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The Tun Abdul Razak Institute of Broadcasting and Information (IPPTAR) evolved as a training institute under the Ministry of Information, Communication, and Culture and aptly renamed the Tun Abdul Razak Institute for Broadcasting and Information or IPPTAR in August 2008. IPPTAR is the only national institute conducting professional courses in the field of Broadcasting, particularly in program production and radio and television engineering in Malaysia.

ABU or the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union is a non-profit, non-government, professional association of broadcasting organizations, formed in 1964 to facilitate the development of broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific region and to organize co-operative activities amongst its members. It currently has over 200 members in 58 countries, including IAWRT, reaching a potential audience of about 3 billion people.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 21-24 November 2011

© International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) All rights reserved.

This conference report or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the publisher.

Printed in Manila, Philippines First Printing, 2012

Contents

Foreword from the President ..................................................................................................... v Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... vii Welcome Reception ..................................................................................................................... ix Day One ..............................................................................................................................................1 Opening Ceremonies ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Session 1—Women in the Line of Fire: Reporting from Conflict/War ....................................................... 5 Session 2—Social Media: Women Reclaiming the Space ................................................................................. 6 Session 3—Using Media to Engage Women in Governance ............................................................................ 7 The Great Debate ............................................................................................................................................................... 8

Day Two .............................................................................................................................................9 Session 4—Documentary Master Class ................................................................................................................. 10 Session 5—IAWRT Short Documentaries ............................................................................................................ 12 Session 6—Broadcasting for All: Focus on Gender .......................................................................................... 13 Session 7—Screening Award Entries ..................................................................................................................... 15

Day Three ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Session 8—Investigative Journalism ...................................................................................................................... 18 Session 9—Using Advocacy Tools to Create Social Movements ................................................................ 19 Session 10—Training Women in Broadcast Technology .............................................................................. 20

Annexes Gala and Awards Night ................................................................................................................................................. 21 Elected Board ................................................................................................................................................................... 23 IAWRT@60 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 24 International Participants ........................................................................................................................................... 26

v

President’s Foreword

The 34th Biennial Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia once again provided the perfect opportunity for women in electronic media to explore and advance on world stage through new and innovative paradigms experienced through emerging media trends. The theme, “New Paradigms: Media Women Responding to Change” was timely, befitting the technological changes being experienced through social media and the challenges posed thereof, where professional ethics risk being sacrificed at the altar of social media. Rather than shy away and/ or join the amateur’s bandwagon, this was the time for professionals to critically look at the opportunities provided by globalization and embrace this advancement with a view of injecting professionalism in the midst of Citizen Journalism. Media women do want to continue telling their stories through the new forms of communication and the conference provided the platform to learn new skills and share experiences. Identifying Malaysia (Asian Tigers) for the conference venue was not a coincidence. Malaysia is one of the fastest developing nations increasingly embracing and using new technology almost at par with the developed west. It is also on the forefront of recognizing women’s contribution to development hence the increase in women labor force from 30.8% in 1957 to 47.3 % at present. The Malaysian government has embraced the 30% women representation rule in top management of all corporate bodies and IPPTAR, our conference host, lead in this practice by example. The training session on broadcast technology by Radio TV Malaysia (RTM) gave participants an opportunity to understand what new technology can offer in electronic media. This was later capped by a visit to RTM to sample world-class facilities. Experiences from other countries such as Tunisia demonstrated how women are using social media to reclaim the space. They are using blogs, facebook, twitter, flicker, etc. to participate fully in governance issues. Participants shared filmmaking skills by viewing excerpts of films from Enforced Disappearances in Kashmir, Anti-Trafficking in India and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practices in Cameroon. So thrilling were some experiences in countries like Kashmir where freedom, especially of information and movement are restricted. Media women in Kashmir have to device new paradigm shifts in production to continue advocating for change. To cap these unique experiences, there were twenty radio and thirty-seven TV documentaries by women producers around the world, entered in the prestigious 2011 IAWRT Awards organized by Gerd Inger Polden. The session on Investigative Journalism by Margo Smit, Director of Dutch Flemish Association of Investigative Journalists in Netherlands, was particularly important for women journalists in conflict areas where freedom of information and expression are restricted. We thank the Norwegian Development Organization (NORAD) for its continued financial support through the women’s umbrella organization—FOKUS, that made it possible for the wide

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representation of members across the regions, IPPTAR for their kind hospitality and generous support extended by providing conference venue, facilities and accommodation for participants, conference facilitators who include Margo Smit (VVOJ), professional colleagues from Malaysia and Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) for sharing the progress made on Gender Guidelines for Broadcasters. I would like to register our deep appreciation to Madam Dato’ Adilah Shek Omar for her overwhelming support and personal participation throughout the period of the conference. We will not forget our able secretariat for the splendid planning and co-ordination of the entire conference. We were greatly enriched by the shared experiences, the expertise, the kindness, the rich cultures and the engagement through professional fun on the now familiar debates and tours of the IPPTAR and RTM facilities. We take with us fond memories of the 34th Biennial Conference. May I, on behalf of the board, equally extend our appreciation to all the members whose contribution makes IAWRT the formidable organization that it is today. We will all move in the spirit of the 34th Biennial Conference, embracing the opportunities, the transformation in technology brings and scaling up the positive images of women that we see and hear on media. Hongera! Racheal Nakitare

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Executive Summary

The 34th IAWRT Biennial Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 21-24 November 2011 with the theme “New Paradigms: Media Women Responding to Change,” brought together participants from Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania at the discussions on the media's pressing role in obliterating clichéd portrayals of women in various sectors through the social media which is now seen as a powerful venue to bring issues across terrains not covered by the traditional media. In her opening speech, the then IAWRT President Olya Booyar said that despite the breaking of glass ceilings by women in various fields, “ men still constitute an enormous 75% of people portrayed in the media around the world...while representation in some advanced societies may be getting on for 50/50, in others, women are barely visible on the pages of newspapers or in the broadcasting media.” This was given context by Tunisian film producer Khedija Lemkecher who talked about the notable absence of women in the reports of the international media during the February revolution. She said that though women bloggers were very active documenting the events that were unfolding in Tunisia, they were basically invisible in the international media. Marina Mahathir (Malaysia), columnist and advocate of ending discrimination on sexual orientation, said that although many women are already online, they shy away from talking about such issues since people online can be very vicious if they find ideas that do not conform to the mainstream point of view. She said it is like a default setting where women bloggers are vulnerable to attack and personal slurs if they do not toe the line. There are new challenges for women in media with the advent of the worldwide web. Grace Githaiga said, “Claiming of space in new media entails inserting women’s content into different media platforms.” This content should be consistent with women’s agenda/women’s movement. She urged that blogging, presence and activism on social media (link fests, audioboos, videos) should be heightened. Beyond that, what is passed on social media should be amplified on broadcast media to get to more people. On the topic “Using Media to Engage Women in Governance,” Rose Haji Mwalimu (Tanzania) said that participation of women in the 2010 elections in Tanzania helped in ensuring that elections were transparent, democratic, free and fair. The role of the community media was emphasized in promoting good governance. It is an indispensable tool for informing women of their rights, the gender-based violence present and the support programs available for them. The space provided by social media enables women who for many years, were unable to talk about their own stories, can now tell their stories in their own voices. In the session, “Documentary Master Class,” four women shared films that portray their struggles, which find resonance in other countries, as well. Iffat Fatima (India) on Enforced Disappearances; Madeleine Memb (Cameroon) on FGM or Female Genital Mutilation, and; Ananya Chakraborti and Kajal Singh (India) on Anti-Trafficking, showed that beyond these horrible situations, women are doing something about their conditions.

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Last year, a grant was awarded to women filmmakers on the subject of Violence Against Women. The five-minute short documentaries from Moldova, Canada and the Philippines were shown and Liz Miller (Canada) shared the impact of these documentaries in the specific countries. These short films were shown last year in Cameroon and in other countries. Liz said that the filmmakers underwent training on short documentary production organized by IAWRT last year in the Philippines. One of the highlights of the conference, Broadcasting for All: Focus on Gender, incorporated amendments to the gender guidelines for media organizations with the pilot organizations in countries where IAWRT members are, namely, Philippines Broadcasting Service, Radio TV Malaysia, Thai Public Broadcasting Service, Voice of Vietnam and Young Asia TV in Sri Lanka. The screening of awardees in film and radio clips were presented by the jury who had to wade through more than fifty entries for this year's awards. The technical aspects and the content of the film and radio documentaries were discussed, as these were new forms, which other countries may adopt to further their own advocacies. A master class on Investigative Journalism by Margo Smit, Director of VVOJ Netherlands, perked up the discussion on its importance in shaping the decision making process of ordinary people. “Investigative journalism is not something you just ‘do’, there is nothing random about it, it is you who has to do it for it will not blow your way, if done well it will change the way things are going and does not deal with frills and incidents,” she said.

This was given additional insight by Alina Radu (Moldova) who followed the story of 16 young women who were trafficked and who pursued the case until the conviction of the mastermind. She did this notwithstanding the threats she and her paper received.

Racheal Nakitare, IAWRT Vice-President (now the elected President), was interviewed about her views on the organization’s direction with regard to pursuing investigative journalism stories, which she strongly supports.

In the session Using Advocacy Tools to Create Social Movements, Cai Yiping (China) expressed how difficult it is to tread the fine line between advocacy and journalism. For Kim Thidakallianey (Cambodia), having very few models on successful women in leadership roles in their country is a challenge. Also, most of the media content is male dominated and if there are women segments, these programs are for entertainment, cooking class, beauty and fashion shows, rather than inspire women in leadership and governance. The last session of the conference was an extensive tour of the IPPTAR Training Center and the Radio TV Malaysia offices. The RTM Studios, with its long history of broadcasting in Malaysia has world-class facilities and more importantly, plays an important role in the history and progress of Malaysia. Women in media have come a long way. But for women to make a difference, they have to be equipped with the proper tools available in the present time. Olya Booyar phrased it so well in her opening speech: “I still believe gender mainstreaming is possible with three main ingredients for an effective remedy. The first is people entirely committed to ending gender bias in the media, both in the employment of women in all media fields and in their portrayal on our newspaper pages, radio bulletins and television screens...The second ingredient is a root-and-branch revision of the principles upon which our profession is based...The third ingredient for our remedy is the tools to help people break down entrenched systems of discrimination and break through the glass ceilings keeping women and girls in subjugation both in the workplace and in the public mind.” Indeed, the media landscape is changing. Not only are nations rapidly breaking barriers to pave way to a borderless world, nations are emerging from a conservative political and economic environment through the media, specifically, social media and women are up for new challenges as they respond to change.

WWWeeelllcccooommmeee RRReeeccceeeppptttiiiooonnn 20 November 2011, Sunday, 6:00 p.m. Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

On the eve of the conference, a cocktail reception was organized

to welcome the participants and guests from different parts of the world, to cool down

and relax from a long, yet exciting journey to Kuala Lumpur and rekindle memories

with old friends and colleagues in IAWRT.

IAWRT President, Olya Booyar, together with the local host, IPPTAR Director

Dato’ Adilah Shek Omar set the tone for another delightful four days ahead in the

looking forward event of the year for members—The 34th IAWRT Biennial Conference.

The IAWRT@60 Exhibit also spiced up the event as it celebrates the 60th anniversary of the organization paying tribute to the great women presidents who shared their time, skills and

talents in pursuit of the IAWRT goals and vision.

Day One

The 34th IAWRT Biennial Conference gathered 60 international participants

from 27 countries and around 30 local participants from media,

government agencies and non-‐government organizations

at the IPPTAR Conference Hall, Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia on 21-‐24 November 2011.

________________________________

Sessions

Women in the Line of Fire: Reporting from Conflict/War

Social Media: Women Reclaiming Space Using Media to Engage Women in Governance

Day 1, November 21, Monday

2

Opening Ceremonies

An astounding opening ritual rendered by a dance troupe dressed in stunning flamboyant colors mesmerized everyone inside the conference hall as it signals a warm welcome to the international participants and offers Malaysian hospitality.

After the entrance rites of the local officials together with the IAWRT President, follows the rendition of the Malaysian National Anthem. IPPTAR Director, Dato' Adilah Shek Omar, who served as the local host, warmly welcomed the guests, speakers and all the participants. She gave a bit of introduction of what IPPTAR does and the substantial work that it achieves in broadcasting locally and internationally.

EXCERPTS FROM

VARIOUS MESSAGES

“We have known for many years that the disease of gender bias is complex and therefore strong and varied remedies are

required. But perhaps many of us have been naive in thinking

effort and logic will be enough to change the world.”

“Gender bias in the media goes very deep and is manifested in all sorts of dimensions, so gender mainstreaming is required at multiple levels, in portrayal,

employment, in decision-‐making and in the basic philosophy of our profession, down to the very foundations of journalism ethics.”

-‐ Olya Booyar

“Message from the President”

_____________________________ “Today’s Opening Ceremony certainly marks another

significant milestone in IPPTAR’s efforts in global cooperation

towards the advancement of the broadcasting arena’s

challenges.”

“We are happy to work with IAWRT as the conference will

provide us opportunities to raise awareness and reflect our own national situation, with regard to participation of women in media

here in Malaysia.” -‐ Dato' Adilah Shek Omar

“Welcome Message”

The 34th IAWRT Biennial Conference 3

Dato Adilah was honoured that IPPTAR was given the trust to head the panel of jury for the Radio Award through Munira Murad. This marks IPPTAR’s recognition for its professionalism in radio programming.

Outgoing President Olya Booyar started her address by saying that while there have been some great initiatives in many countries, the overall picture of the worldwide struggle for gender equity remained gloomy.

That despite having more women working in the media, female representation simply wasn’t increasing at a rate that is to be proud of. If people steeped in old-fashioned gender stereotypes are still making the decisions on what to cover and how to cover it, progress will continue to be painstakingly slow. With this Olya proposed 3 main ingredients in achieving gender equality in the media:

1. To organize “Gender Champions” who are entirely committed to ending gender bias in the media, both in the employment of women in all media fields and in their portrayal on our newspaper pages, radio bulletins and television screens;

2. Root-and-branch revision of the principles upon which media profession is based. This included a call upon the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to amend its 60-year-old codes to state unequivocally that journalists must not only avoid facilitating gender discrimination – they must actively work to end it.

3. Develop tools that will help people break down entrenched systems of discrimination and break through the glass ceilings keeping women and girls in subjugation both in the workplace and in the public mind.

Alongside this, Olya concluded by giving credit to one of the most exciting initiatives on Gender Mainstreaming currently being undertaken by a number of organizations working in the Asia-Pacific region. This is based on a recently launched “Broadcasting for All: Focus on Gender” resource guide and associated materials that will help individual media organizations in the Asia-Pacific region tackle systemic gender bias once-and-for-all. The materials are currently being tested in six broadcasting

EXCERPTS FROM

OPENING ADDRESSES

“The theme for the 34th Biennial Conference, New Paradigms: Media Women Responding to Change is most timely as Malaysia is now in the midst of further transformation as we adjust to the demands and challenges of a globalised and

borderless world. Under the capable leadership of our Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak, we are navigating exciting times of change. Various initiatives have been put in place with the aim of steering Malaysia towards becoming an

advanced nation, in all senses of the word”.

-‐ Honorable Dato' Seri Utama

Dr. Rais Yatim Minister Of Information, Communication and Culture Malaysia

-‐ Delivered by

Deputy Minister Joseph Salang

_____________________________

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did

but people will not forget how you

made them feel . . .”

-‐ Honorable Dato’ Norhyati Ismail, Director General of Radio TV Malaysia


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Organizations in the Asia-Pacific region and will soon be rolled out to many members of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). Olya pegged much hope that this project will end discrimination. Otherwise, it will be a long, hard, slow road to gender equity in the media and the wider society. On behalf of the Honorable Minister Dato' Seri Utama Dr. Rais Yatim, Deputy Minister Joseph Salang delivered the message of the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture Malaysia. He started by expressing congratulations to the organizers, IAWRT and IPPTAR, in bringing together media professionals from around the globe and in strengthening such a great network. Deputy Minister Salang acknowledged that the theme for the conference, “New Paradigms: Media Women Responding to Change,” is most timely as Malaysia is now in the midst of further transformation as it adjust to the demands and challenges of a globalized and borderless world. Under the leadership of its current Minister, it has explored various initiatives that aim to steer Malaysia in becoming an advanced nation. Dato’ Salang also emphasized how women are factored in the recent 10th and 11th economic development plans in Malaysia. He said, “Women in Malaysia have always played a very decisive role in nation building. Comprising almost half of the population, the role of the Malaysian Women continued to evolve over time. Improvements in access to education and healthcare combined with changes in the economic landscape have spurred women out from the traditional domain of their homes into the labor market. From a marginal 30.8% in 1957, the female labor force participation rate has now increased to 47.3%.” He ended by declaring the conference officially open. Keynote speaker Dato’ Norhyati Ismail, Director General of Radio TV Malaysia, said that Malaysian Prime Minister YAB Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak emphasized in his 2012 Budget Speech that the “Government recognises the potential of women in leadership and managerial skills. Accordingly, the government introduced a policy to encourage at least 30% women on top management and decision-making position in the corporate sector.” This appreciates the role of women on national development in Malaysia and the increasing share in the economic pie for women in top management position in the public and corporate sector. Dato' Norhyati also shared her personal experience in working in the media for 34 years and how she walked up the ladder to being the first woman director of RTM. Although men still dominate the media industry, RTM gives equal recognition to knowledge, talents, capabilities, and experience of both men and women. It provides fair opportunities and tries to avoid gender bias. But there have been a lot of challenges along the way that led to success. These include winning the hearts of the people around you or trust building, confidence, taking responsibility for proving capabilities of women, and responding to a demanding environment. Therefore, it’s a pre-requisite to have a lot of patience, love of work, time management and sacrifice. As a way of moving forward, RTM will continue to be the main public broadcaster, leading reference point and source of reliable information, news, education, etc., provide quality entertainment, enhance global recognition and partnership and be a trend setter in Malaysia.


SESSION 1: Women in the Line of Fire, Reporting from Conflict/ War This session shared first hand stories of how women in the conflict/war areas were able to cope with their media/reporting work. Moderated by Olya Booyar with panelists from Tunisia and Iraq.

From Left to Right: Olya Booyar, Awaz Salim & Khedija Lemkecher

Khedija Lemkecher (Tunisia) talked about her project Women of the Spring, a film set in the aftermath of the Tunisian revolution on January 14, 2011. It presents portraits of six women in various situations “in a dimension of characters that are worthy, proud and important by way of what they have experienced”. These women, through the tableau of images that the camera captured will speak of themselves, of the past, of the present, of the revolution and also the future. They will speak in their dialect and, using their own unique expression they will take the audience into their world as it was impacted by the revolution. This shows Tunisian women in all their grandeur. One example cited was the mother of a martyr who will speak of herself, her children, her daily life and how the revolution has changed the course of her life, but not until the final image will we discover that she has lost her son. Khedija says his project is vital in the country where Islamist tendencies are trying to undo the achievements of Tunisian women. These extremists do not believe women should have a role in society. Hence, the necessity of making these kind of films. These portraits are important for all countries where women and their images are threatened, such as Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Iran, Irag, Yemen, Jordan, etc. Women in these countries at different levels are subjected to the same pressures and are victims of an ideological, philosophical, social and macho system. But despite the situation, they are still active and carry within them the seeds of a revolution that broke out in Tunisia and is spreading to every country in search of democracy, forming what is now called the “Arab Spring”. This film is dedicated to all “women of the spring.” Awaz Salim (Iraq) said that in countries where wars and conflicts happen, women are often victims. In Iraq, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs do not have the exact numbers of widows and orphans. The UN has pegged the number at 3 million but this could be low. Although life is difficult for the widows, the rest of the women are not living better lives either. She said that women continue to be subjected to violence by their husbands, brothers and fathers, suicide is still high, they get killed because they do not want to marry, or are accused of having bad morals. Some young girls in the rural villages still undergo female circumcision under the excuse of reducing sexual desires. Awareness campaigns in remote areas have been initiated and now, there are doctors and social workers helping educate the people. Religious leaders emphasized through


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mosques and in religious occasions not to exercise circumcision and that it is not legitimate in Islam. Research has been conducted, studies and printed stickers, posters, radio and TV programs on the risks of genital mutilation of girls. There were also several workshops, forums and seminars for women by advocacy groups everywhere against circumcision. There has been a lobby against women circumcision and there is now a move in the Kurdistan Parliament in Iraq to obtain legislation to prevent such activities by law. The media plays an active role in educating the community with the necessary cooperation among media institutions and civil society organizations and humanitarian organizations to warn of the seriousness of the issue and guide the community through organized courses of action. Awaz personally tried discussions on radio. She believes that the awareness and the issuance of the necessary laws for those who practice this phenomenon will cause a decline in the practice. This may also be the right move for the treatment of social problems and domestic violence experienced by Iraqis as well.

SESSION 2: Social Media, Women Reclaiming the Space In session two, Olya Booyar was joined in the panel by speakers from Malaysia, Kenya and Zimbabwe to talk about how women are reclaiming the space through social media.

L to R: Olya Booyar, Marina Mahathir, Grace Githaiga, and Violet Gonda

Marina Mahathir (Malaysia) said that although there are many women who are using the Internet and social media in the country, most of the subjects that they blog are about parenting, food, travel and other safe topics. They shy away from talking about women’s concerns since doing this is like a default setting for being lambasted in media—if you broach something that does not conform to the mainstream point of view, women become vulnerable to attacks, which could get very ugly and personal. Grace Githiaga (Kenya) said, “Claiming of space in new media entails inserting women’s content into different media platforms, content that is fully consistent with women’s agenda/women’s movement. Blogging is encouraged - presence and activism on social media with caution on privacy issues.” She stressed the point that whatever is passed on social media should be amplified on broadcast media to get to more people. Violet Gonda (Zimbabwe) agreed that the use of social media is rapidly increasing and the Arab Spring is a testament to the phenomenon. In Zimbabwe, a country where press freedom remains tightly restricted, sadly, women find it difficult to claim the space.


SESSION 3: Using Media to Engage Women in Governance

The last session of the day, Olya Booyar moderated the discussions on how media would help in engaging women in governance with panelists from Tanzania and Cambodia.

L to R: Olya Booyar, Kim Sokuntheary, and Rose Haji Mwalimu

Rose Haji Mwalimu (Tanzania) and Kim Sokuntheary (Cambodia) shared that although women comprise half of the population of their countries, they do not have a major role at the decision making level. The government is still dominated by men. Rose emphasized that the participation of women (especially from the marginalized rural) in democratic process depends on the level of knowledge about their rights, participation and responsibilities as citizens to promote good governance. This knowledge will only be realized by raising the awareness through access to information and full engagement on matters related to their lives. The initiative of using community media as a tool for promoting good governance is a response to the growing evidence of mainstream media’s failure to reflect accurately the role of women in democratic discourse. Community radio stations are good channel to disseminate programs for community learning: they are close to their audiences, can easily identify target audiences and integrate audience feedback. Community radio can contribute better to the promotion of good governance through strengthening the capacities of community radio stations. It is through this understanding that the community media network of Tanzania was established. In Cambodia, there is only one woman occupying a Ministerial level position, there are six women in the 60 Senate members seats; 24 women members of parliament (123 are men). But in every day life, women take on the role as head of the family and many are also running their own business to support their families but they do not have a voice in the decision-making process. Kim’s recommendations include producing programs that encourage debate on women's issues and women in governance; showing more women in leadership roles through documentary or TV and radio programs would help in filling the role model gap; encouraging women to join the media and to be given the training and job opportunities; and giving women inspiration to join the media as it is a powerful tool for advocacy. Kim shared that IAWRT-Cambodia encourages initiatives to ensure that women’s views and values are an integral part of electronic programming. Current members of IAWRT-Cambodia come from different environment in media sector such as: international and local NGOs (UNDP, CHEMS, WMC), TV station (CTN), Radio station (ABC Australia), electronic media and media freelancers.


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The Great Debate Restaurant Rebung Chef Ismail

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia The day was capped off with The Great Debate—Feminism is Finished Business. Move On? —A humorous take on the issue (although some would say it is a matter to be seriously pondered on) and a dinner at Restaurant Rebung Chef Ismail.

Gunilla coaching her team

Olya, The Moderator

Bibiana’s team—strategizing

The team against the proposition was the chosen winner, L to R: Gunilla Ivarsson, Violet Gonda, and Dato’ Adilah Shek Omar

The audience, in active collaboration and participation

Day Two

The second day of the conference was a showcase of IAWRT’s major projects

and activities—Anti-‐Trafficking (India), Half-‐Widows (India), and Female

Genital Mutilation (Cameroon) and how media productions can be powerful

tools for women’s advocacies. It also provided a glimpse of

some prospective work for IAWRT.

________________________________

Sessions

Documentary Master Class IAWRT Short Documentaries

Broadcasting for All: Focus on Gender Screening of Award Entries

10 Day 2, November 22,Tuesday

SESSION 4: Documentary Master Class With Racheal Nakitare (Kenya) as the moderator, the panellists for this session were Iffat Fatima (India) on Half-Widows, Madeleine Memb (Cameroon) on FGM, and Ananya Chakraborti and Kajal Singh on Anti-Trafficking. Excerpts of their films were shown followed by a plenary session where participants were able to ask questions about the films and shared their experience in filmmaking.

L to R: Racheal Nakitare, Ananya Chakraborti, Iffat Fatima, Madeleine Memb.

Half-Widows (Enforced Disappearances) Iffat Fatima raised two important points in relation to the implementation of the Half-Widows project, which looked at enforced disappearances. First is the relevance of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICCPED) to the film. Twenty-five countries are signatories to this international instrument against enforced disappearances. Although India is a signatory, it has not ratified the instrument and there is constant lobbying for them to do this. In India even torture is not a crime. Torture and enforced disappearances go together and can be complementary. It has been a constant battle; with the international instrument against enforced disappearances a very important aspect towards India's change in jurisprudence. The instrument is a major factor in the film as the accompanying manual looks at legal issues around enforced disappearances. In India, the issue of enforced disappearances is pushing legal issues and jurisprudence, i.e., the Armed Forces Special Power Act. At present, a lot of people are involved in reviewing the existing laws and making recommendations that best gives justice to the case. These initiatives will be covered in the Legal Manual that is being developed by the project. Second, the Kashmir situation is not known to the world stage. Due to Indian diplomacy and how the world order functions, as well as how media functions, these issues are pushed to the background and are not heard. India does not want any discourse other than its own to come before the international community. Indian pressure is very strong not to allow anything that is contrary to the information they want to give out on Kashmir. The Kashmir issue is also a very important issue in this area because of economic interests. India is a huge market with the resurgence of economies in the US and even Europe, so they are not interested in settling the human rights issue. The reality is that material concerns override some of the humanitarian issues.

The 34th IAWRT Biennial Conference 11 Female Genital Mutilation Madeleine Memb talked about the distribution and impact of the FGM documentary film produced by the project. Due to the sensitivity of the issue and strong images presented in the film, Madeleine’s team could not show it in the mainstream media. Instead, it is now being used as audio-visual material along with lectures for communication students of the University of Buea. This serves as a reference for future journalists on how to handle such topics. The documentary is also being used by the United Nations sub-regional Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa to convince their target audience to stop the practice of FGM. The Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Family is using the film to show in two neighbourhoods where FGM is practised so people can determine what they intend to do. “Involving men in the fight against FGM is our dream,” said Madeleine. Husbands and fathers are usually the culprits that pay for the cutting at whatever price. Madeleine also shared their difficulty in dealing with the anti-FGM group that asserts cultural rights on the issue. The strategy now is to place responsibility on the practitioners and instil in them the dangers of such practices on young girls and the need to stop it. Anti-Trafficking Ananya Chakraborti brought with her the main character from one of the short films who is a victim herself of trafficking, Kajal Singh. With confidence, Kajal responded to several questions raised from the floor with Ananya’s help in translating. On the relationship with the other girls at the centre, she said that she had a wonderful relationship with the other inmates in the home and it was largely their support for each other that enabled them to endure their time inside. She said she would never forget all the inmates in the home. She no longer lives there because after the project she was able to transfer to a working girls' hostel funded by the government and is now independent. On talking with journalist and being on film, Ananya said that while it was true it was not easy for her to tell her story, she is proud of how Kajal prevailed and was able to reach this far because of her [Ananya] and partly because of her own efforts. She felt that Kajal had no problem with the world knowing her story because she felt that people should know what girls like her go through in the homes. Ananya said that there are two phases in Kajal’s life that had transformed her. She wanted to thank Saanlap who helped her in her first phase of transformation and Ananya because of the job that she got and the confidence that she now had as a production assistant. Wherever she goes and someone asks what she does, Kajal says: “I'm a production assistant at Cinemawoman”. She said now she had her own identity so was very happy with that. “Who would not like to meet their parents?” Kajal said. When she was staying in the home she told them several times that she would like to meet her parents but nobody felt that this was something important. She said there might soon to be an attempt to trace her parents. “It is important for me to meet my parents at least once because I remember the love and affection they had for me,” Kajal said. “But if they reject me or if they have a problem with me it will not really affect me so much because I'm not in the streets anymore. I have a strong foundation and I'm on my own.”


SESSION 5: IAWRT Short Documentaries The session was moderated by Liz Miller (Canada) and began with a film screening of the five-minute short documentaries from Moldova, Canada, and the Philippines. These short films were shown last year in Cameroon and in other countries. Liz explained that at the onset, the filmmakers underwent a short documentary production training facilitated by IAWRT last year in the Philippines. After the film showing, she led a “murmur” exercise to initiate discussion. Each participant was given three minutes to discuss with the next person to her their impressions on the films. Liz then called on her co-moderator, Inge Von Bonninghausen from Germany. Inge split the participants into five (5) small groups and each group discussed the following:

1. What forms of violence are you confronting in your own communities that were not represented in the films?

1. What visual strategies have you used in your work to represent gender violence? 2. What advice would you offer to young journalists about representing gender violence?

After ten minutes, a member from each group presented on their discussion and the moderators summarized the results of discussions. Several groups mentioned the need to involve men in the discussion on violence against women. Additional Comments:

“From my experience I think it is difficult to find groups of men who are willing and ready to look at films like these.” “We must also include more subtle forms of violence like the status of widows, violence against small boys, and child labor. “ “In violence against women, the first thing we all think about is sexual violence, but there are other forms.” “If it is for young groups and students, you have to offer context “

Liz summarized the discussion mentioning that “the short docos have given young colleagues the chance to do serious work. I think it is a dream of young filmmakers—to have a mentor in doing documentaries who would be giving them feedback. We did the training before everybody went out to shoot. But then, we got the works back and it was a done deal and so one of the things that we would like to imagine is new ways to share skills. I think we are all in agreement that we care about the subject and we need to find the best ways to represent this. So thank you so much for this very helpful feedback. And, if you have an idea for a theme for the next phase, please let us know and please think of the short documentary that you will make if you apply to this program.”


SESSION 6: Broadcasting for All: Focus on Gender

Olya Booyar moderating the session with Evelyn Agato in the panel.

Olya Booyar, as one of the co-authors of the publication, led the session on Broadcasting for All: Focus on Gender session. This work enshrines gender guidelines for media organisations. The guidelines were launched at the Asia Media Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2011 through the cooperation of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD), the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and IAWRT. The guidelines provide a practical background and strategies for organisations, senior management, decision-makers, journalists, programmers and planners and for partnerships within organisations, between employees and individuals and groups in the wider community. The guidelines have two sections, one for the workplace and the other on content making. It has a business case, which talks about why having more women in the workplace is actually good for the business. Concerns that are measured within the workplace are language, gender sensitive policies and guidelines, strategic plans and the human resource (HR) policies in hiring practices, job advertisements, workplace behaviour, training and grievance handling. The guidelines also discussed development and networking opportunities specifically for women, particularly mentoring, coaching and development for women who are coming into broadcasting at the lower level to be able to retain them, train them, support them and offer opportunities to act up in higher positions and retain them there. It talked about reviewing leave provisions and broadening the flexibility in working arrangements. The other main point was monitoring relevant data from areas that need addressing. Monitoring is important because a lot of data is just not available. Broadcasters themselves gather data of all sorts about their audience but not about themselves or what happens in their own workplaces. It is not enough that there are policies at the country level; there should be policies at the organisational level. There was discussion about appointing of champions of gender diversity to lead actions to promote the focus on gender and demonstrate that gender mainstreaming has to come from the top. It has to be accepted and championed by the CEO because middle management will find it difficult to get the job done if they don't have the authority or the power to do it.

14 Day 2, November 22,Tuesday On production, gender mainstreaming talks of avoiding stereotyping of roles for women and men. When you stereotype women, you actually stereotype men, and it is important to remember that it goes both ways. This guidelines talk about introducing greater diversity in talent and techniques for better programming. The Broadcasting for All: Focus on Gender project is now on its second phase where possible ways are being explored on how the gender guidelines will be implemented and adopted. Initially, there are six pilot broadcasters in the Asia-Pacific region, Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation; Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS); Radio TV Malaysia (RTM); Thai Public Broadcasting Service; Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and Young Asia TV in Sri Lanka. IAWRT members lead four of these. Proposed Action Plan Evelyn Agato, the contact person from PBS, shared the result of the implementation workshop conducted for the six pilot organisations from 27-28 September 2011 at IPPTAR, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, facilitated by Olya Booyar. The pilot case study groups will implement action plans developed at the workshop, assist in monitoring and evaluation and serve as champions for the project in their respective media and countries. In the course of the project, pilot organisations are provided with mentors who will assist in: • Co-designing a customised action plan and timeframe for the organisation; • Providing a range of tools and resources; • Devising ideas and giving support and encouragement; • Facilitating forums and workshops; • Helping with monitoring and evaluation processes and feedback. Five issues were agreed upon during the workshop in programming, language, awards, sources and resources and management and administration. The following were some of the suggestions: On programming • Avoid stereotypes by using success stories of women who excel in different areas, diverting

attention from dependence on men in terms of economic, social, educational needs etc. • Recognise women’s service as a way of being a leader. Recognise women’s role such as child

rearing and household activities as work not as obligations. • Get male perspectives by involving male employees on issues concerning gender as

interviewers, writers, researchers, etc. • Make testimonial programs showing human-interest stories, which discuss gender successes in

their own field of endeavour or expertise. On Language • Avoid offensive words and phrases that may connote dual meaning to the audience, as these can

cause problems from cultural perspectives. A list of references may be developed in respective countries.

• Use non-judgmental language and meaning in the workplace. • Exercise sound editorial judgment on gender issues and concerns.

The 34th IAWRT Biennial Conference 15 On Awards It was highly recommended that each country should have a process to give recognition to women media personnel involved in promoting gender issues. On Sources and Resources • On staffing, give equal assignments to both women and men in the coverage of all types of

stories. • On sources and representation, set-up a database of all experts and authorities on the subject of

gender to give balance to program presentation. • On monitoring, form an advisory group within the organisation who will monitor and answer

questions on gender issues. On Management and Administration • Formulate gender policies for the organisation. • Review existing policies including recruitment, working conditions, pay equity, leave provisions

(including maternity), flexible hours, sexual harassment and training. • Identify shortcomings and gaps. • Negotiate for inclusion of gender specific provisions. • Training for HR management and staff. • Staff/management dialogue sessions on gender-specific issues. • Appoint a gender officer to monitor progress. Evelyn also shared the PBS Action Plan for 2012 • To designate a gender champion. • Incorporate a gender agenda in the programming committee’s regular meetings. • Utilise the budget for gender programs equivalent to five per cent of the agency’s annual budget.

In the Philippines, five per cent is allocated for gender activities. • Reward male initiatives in production of programs through the appraisal systems. • Increase seminars and training on gender issues. On gender policies, just two years ago, The Magna Carta of Women was passed into law in the Philippines, a comprehensive women’s rights law that seeks to eliminate discrimination against women by recognising, protecting, fulfilling and promoting the rights of Filipino women. In media, the law guarantees non-derogatory portrayal of women in media and film that will raise the consciousness of the general public in recognising the dignity of women in family, community and society through the strategic use of media.

SESSION 7: Screening Award Entries As a result of three days hard work by the Awards Jury prior to the conference, they presented selected films and radio clips to the participants. This led to discussions on the technical aspects and content of the film and radio documentaries. Liz Miller, head of the TV Jury, said there were powerful stories told by women. Men already popularised some film subjects in the mainstream but women telling that same story from different perspectives paint a different picture. Liz said that one of the categories of the films was about incredible or remarkable women; a third of the films were about this.


Munira Murad, head of the Radio Jury, said that they listened to 20 entries, which included information documentaries, personal portraits, historical stories and observational journalism. There were 12 entries in English, three in Czech, three in Norwegian and one in Hindi. They categorised the radio programs into two: sound pictures and entries in English. For the sound pictures, there were four entries, which Munira said, gave the flavour of the other languages. The common themes in their stories were about their problems, their experiences, how they struggle in life and their approach on how they handle the issue of gender. She also said that the TV entries have gradually increased every year but the radio entries actually decreased. Producers may have transferred to TV and the web for their stories. A participant described how a radio station that was about to close down due to very low rating recovered out of the millions of podcast downloads.

Day Three

The third day of the conference presented investigative journalism theories

and a sharing on how these are applied and practiced; how women are

building capacities on the new media tools for their advocacies; and a visit to

IPPTAR and RTM training and broadcast facilities.

________________________________

Sessions

Investigative Journalism

Using Advocacy Tools to Create Social Movements Training Women in Broadcast Technology

Visit to IPPTAR and RTM Studios

18 Day 3, November 23,Wednesday

SESSION 8: Investigative Journalism The Norwegian Chapter organized this half-day master class workshop. The resource person was the very experienced and renowned investigative journalist from the Netherlands, Ms. Margo Smit, who is also a journalism teacher and part-time Director of the Dutch-Flemish Association of Investigative Journalists.

Bibiana Piene introducing the workshop Margo first defined investigative journalism and its relevance to the craft of journalism. She defined it as a critical and in depth journalism. Critical means journalism that does not merely pass on news that is already there, but creates news that would not have been there without the journalist’s intervention. This may happen by creating new facts, but also by interpreting or connecting already known information in a new way. In depth means a substantial journalistic effort was made, either in a quantitative sense e.g., time spent on research, number of sources consulted - or in a qualitative sense e.g., sharp questions formulated, new approaches taken up - or a combination of both. She discussed why investigative journalism is important not only for “Big Journalism” reasons but also on how it impacts on the decision making process of ordinary people. Aside from the “everyday” journalism, Margo also shared some methods of finding stories and building layers of proof. What Investigative Journalists look for when choosing a good story?

1. Issues that affect a lot of people 2. Issues that don’t go the way they should – such as abuse of power, integrity issues, conflicts

of interest, negligence, mistakes, breaking of rules, fraud, waste, etc. 3. A story with people in it, not just structures - people as victims, people being held

accountable. After identifying a good story, it is necessary to do a quick feasibility study in order not to waste time on something that is not feasible. Check the obstacles and sources: would there be people willing to speak, available documents, accessibility to sources, external pressures, needed assistance, organizational ties, confidentiality? The following may be considered in building layers of proof:

1. Check secondary paper sources and what has already been published about the story. These will lead in identifying facts, dates, data, locations and types of primary documents, names of experts and people involved.

2. Draw up a log sheet and time line. This helps in keeping track of what has been done and saves time.


3. List down things that you need for the story, i.e., pictures, documents, facts, what to do and names of contacts.

4. Look for primary documents (paper trail) from government database, archives, universities, etc.

5. Look for primary and secondary people sources (people trail). 6. Report for story while you report for facts. Always check for details while talking to people and

keep eyes open. 7. Take time to analyse and check loopholes in the story and determine how else it can be

improved. A Sharing on Investigative Journalism

Alina Radu (Moldova) shared the investigative journalism experience in stories they published about the trafficking of young women in Moldova. She described how they followed the story after they found 16 young women were trafficked, and two could have been killed. Despite difficulties in getting reliable sources they were able to pursue the story until the conviction of the organizers and perpetrators. Alina said that pursuing the story was difficult because they were dealing with persons who were powerful in their own way. There were also threats, harassment and intimidation of

the victims by the police, the traffickers, the prosecutor, the lawyers, the community, and the judges. The reporter also faced the same problems and intimidation through e-mail, phone and comments on the web, by the police and judges, more so by the silence of the public while she was pursuing the case.

SESSION 9: Using Advocacy Tools to Create Social Movements Elizabeth Roxas (Philippines) moderated this session with resource persons from China and Cambodia sharing how women are building their capacities using new media technologies that serve as tools in their advocacy work.

L to R: Elizabeth Roxas, Cai Yiping and Kim Thidakallianey

Cai Yiping (China) articulated that her experience attests to the fact that women are tapping modern technology in their campaigns to educate and inform women across sectors. Women are now emboldened to come out and speak their minds but there are still areas where women should take on a more active role — governance.

20 Day 3, November 23,Wednesday Yiping said, “we continue to find ways to push our message across through the media platforms available today. The social networking sites should be explored some more, especially for campaigns or in simple information dissemination.” Kim Thidakallianey (Cambodia) said that women in Cambodia are beginning to take on non-stereotypical roles but this will take some time. In media, there are very few women in the field and there are none at all in positions where policies and decisions are made. Women need to equip themselves with skills and knowledge to be able to assert their rights and to be visible in all aspects: media, governance, academia, etc.

SESSION 10: Training Women in Broadcast Technology Munira Murad led the participants on a site visit to the Tun Abdul Razak Broadcasting and Information Institute (IPPTAR) studios. The participants were able to view and experience some of the cutting-edge technology that IPPTAR use to train broadcast reporters and engineers. IPPTAR provides courses that help broadcast engineers throughout Asia develop their skills in broadcasting vis-a-vis the rapid development in technology. It also offers professional courses in the broadcasting field, with an emphasis on program production and radio and television technology. From IPPTAR, the participants proceeded to the Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) studios, a state-owned and official broadcasting company of Malaysia. RTM broadcasts on 34 radio channels, of which 6 are national, 17 regional, 9 district and 2 international. It also broadcasts on 2 television channels, RTM1 and RTM2, which are also available in Singapore and Brunei. The company broadcasts in Malay, English and various Chinese languages. Monica Phang, Broadcast Journalist and Producer of Current Affairs TV Unit in RTM and a member of IAWRT in Malaysia, led the tour to the state-of-the-art broadcast facilities of RTM which makes it competitive to the growing demand of high quality digital productions in the region.

GGGaaalllaaa &&& AAAwwwaaarrrdddsss NNNiiiggghhhttt 23 November 2011, Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.

Angkasapuri Main Conference Room, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

After three days of hard work and sleepless nights for the Juries, it’s time to award the winners . . .

Announcing the TV Award winner from Israel,

Limor Pashow, in her film—“Melissa, Mom and Me”

Announcing the Radio Award winner from Ireland,

Loise Williams, in her radio piece—“I Can Tell by Looking at You”

_________________________________ IAWRT Awards Coordinator: Gerd Inger Polden

TV Jury: Liz Miller , Sharmini Boyle and Valerie Lew Radio Jury: Munira Murad, Ayse Kemikoglu and Grace Githaiga

EEEllleeecccttteeeddd BBBoooaaarrrddd———222000111111---222000111333 24 November 2011, Thursday

Angkasapuri ,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

L to R: Sheila, Ananya, Liz, Racheal, Gerd Inger, Violet and Valerie

RACHEAL NAKITARE -‐ Kenya President

GERD INGER POLDEN -‐ Norway

Vice President

VIOLET GONDA -‐ Zimbabwe Secretary

ANANYA CHAKRABORTI -‐ India

Treasurer

Board Members LIZ MILLER – Canada

SHEILA PATRICKA DALLAS-‐KATZMAN – USA VALERIE LEW -‐ Malaysia

Lilian van der Goot Holland, 1951-1956

Celebrating the 60th year of IAWRT and paying tribute to the great women Presidents . . .

International Association of Women in Radio & Television

§ Founding and Coordinating President in Europe and Middle East

§ Realized her vision of coming together of women radio journalists to discuss profession, audience, programming for women with the hope that women have a special talent for peace

§ Founding and Coordinating President in North and South America

§ A radio veteran who began in 1927 as woman’s commentator in New York

§ Joined UN Radio and became known as UN’s Grandma and was noted for her spectacular hats

Gerd Mellvig Ahlstrom Sweden, 1970-1974

§ A woman who bridged gap between East and West § “Women have the same need for contacts and to see the world

with their own eyes and be accepted as normal professionals internationally.”

§ “Although it may seem somewhat strange in these days of steadily, improving equality of sexes to preserve an all-female association like ours, I hope you will all agree that there is still ample motivation in the simple fact that we all need international contacts for professional information and encouragement.”

Elisabeth Kirkby

Dorothea Rohne, Germany, 1966-1970

Betty Barzin, Belgium, 1961-1966

§ Lis went beyond traditions that conference was strictly for men § The first president to organize an IAWRT conference behind the

“iron curtain” § The first President to organize an IAWRT conference outside

Europe, in Jamaica

Helen Rapp, Great Britain, 1974-1976

Sirppa Sivori-Asp

Australia, 1976-1980

Finland, 1980-1984

§ Emphasized global importance of IAWRT and put a lot of effort into finding new members all around the world

§ Helped launch the International Register Network § She has a vision to create a big IAWRT-family expressing respect

and tolerance in diversity in nations, individuals and cultures § Remembered by members for her rare combination of

professionalism and warmhearted humanity § “I am a happy clown, a harmless puppet player with a visible

soul, my puppet.”

November 2011

Dorothy Lewis USA, 1951-1961

Felicity Kinross United Kingdom, 1984-1988

§ With interest in providing media training for women in developing countries

§ Her most important contribution and great achievement was managing to gain NGO consultative status for IAWRT in 1985 at the United Nations

Klara Poor Hungary, 1988-1992

§ Her pet idea as President was to recruit as many good professionals from the socialist countries

§ Her presidential time was a period of permanent frustration and struggle with impossibilities

Christina Ruhnbro Sweden, 1992-1997

§ Kept contact with members through a printed newsletter

§ It was during her term when the new (current) logo was approved, big W stands for the crown of women

§ IAWRT’s TV Award was born in her term and strongly advocated for a Radio Award

§ Established the sliding membership due scales

§ The only president who had served for five years

Gundel Krauss Dahl Norway, 1997-2001

§ Convinced Norwegian Development Agency (Norad) and Fokus that IAWRT was worth supporting

§ Initiated conduct of regional workshops

§ Negotiated for the inclusion of the IAWRT’s formal statement on Women and Media (Section J) in the alternative report to Beijing+5 Conference

§ Organized a special exhibit in celebration of the 50th anniversary of IAWRT

Jai Chandiram India, 2001-2005

§ Jai was able to give “presence” to IAWRT both in Asia and Europe through active participation in forums, seminars and workshops

§ Increased membership through personal contact at professional meetings and persuasive follow-ups

§ Initiated the conduct of IAWRT film festival in India, and still ongoing

Frieda Werden USA/Canada, 2005-2007

§ As the organization is inevitably growing, Frieda supported Mal Jonson’s idea of having an orderly infrastructure in place. However, didn’t want to see IAWRT change from friendship organization to a mass organization where internal politics would become more prominent as a feature.

Olya Booyar Australia, 2007-2011

§ Under Olya's Presidency, IAWRT's presence worldwide grew to 387 members in 56 countries, including 10 chapters

§ IAWRT's funding increased in conjunction with the increase in the organization's activities and programs which included the introduction of the short documentary production grants, expanding and bringing in house the major documentary projects, introducing the first Secretariat presence for the organization and strengthening IAWRT's links within the UN system which included reciprocal agreements with UNDP and UNDPI

§ IAWRT strengthened its organizational presence at the international level through its series of women in media side events at the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women and became an affiliate member of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU)

§ IAWRT was a major partner in the drafting of ABU’s Broadcasting For All: Focus on Gender Broadcasting Guidelines and is now involved in rolling out the Guidelines pilot project in the Asia Pacific region and beyond

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS Australia Olya Booyar Elisabeth Kirkby Nonee Walsh Bangladesh Sumi Khan Cambodia Sokuntheary Kim Kim Thidakallianey Cameroon Madeleine Memb Olivia Tumanjong Canada Liz Miller China Cai Yiping Germany Dr. Inge von Bonninghausen India Ananya Chakraborti Jai Chandiram Iffat Fatima Kajal Singh Iraq Awaz Salim Kenya Grace Githaiga Racheal Nakitare Mary Onyango Mary Wambaria Malaysia – Host Manil Cooray Natalia Ilieva Valerie Lew Munira Murad Dato’ Adilah Shek Omar Monica Phang Moldova Alina Radu Nepal Dr. Manju Mishra Bandana Rana Netherlands Margo Smit

Norway Kirsten Brathen Gundel Krauss Dahl Wenche Lie Giaver Solveig Helvik Kari Lie Bibiana Piene Gerd Inger Polden Caroline Rugeldal Jon Rian Philippines Evelyn Agato Amalia Cabusao Elizabeth Roxas Ma. Solita Virtudazo South Africa Kim Williams Sri Lanka Sharmini Boyle Sweden Gunilla Ivarsson Christina Ruhnbro Switzerland Ruth Brandli Tanzania Rose Haji-Mwalimu Flora Nzema Thailand Supattra Limpabandhu Tunisia Khedija Lemkecher Turkey Ayse Kemikoglu Uganda Sarah Nakibuuka USA Arshiya Ahsan Sheila Katzman Zimbabwe Violet Gonda _______________________________ IAWRT SECRETARIAT (Philippines) Elizabeth Roxas, Head Mimi Ricamunda, Program & Communication Officer Jenneath David, Admin & Finance Officer

The International Association of Women

in Radio and Television (IAWRT), founded in 1951, is an international

organization with a global membership of almost 400 professional media women in more than 50 countries

actively engaged in the production and management of programs in the

electronic media or in fields closely allied to broadcasting.

It is an organization of women who seek personal and professional contact with members in all continents of the world and cooperates with other professional organizations with comparable goals.

IAWRT is a non-governmental organization (NGO) and has

consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council

(ECOSOC).

Major Projects Female Genital Mutilation

(FGM) - Cameroon Half-Widows (Kashmir) Anti-Trafficking (India)

Short Documentaries (Global) Gender Mainstreaming (Global)

FOKUS – Forum for Women and

Development – is an umbrella organization with 74 affiliated

organizations in Norway. It is a knowledge and resource center for

international women issues with emphasis on spreading of information

and women-centered development cooperation. FOKUS’ primary goal is to

contribute to the improvement of women’s social, economic, and political

situation internationally. It supports projects in East Africa, South Asia,

Central America, the Andes Region and other countries like South Africa,

Palestine and Lebanon.

Editorial Board IAWRT Board Members

Editing, Lay-‐out & Design

Olya Booyar IAWRT Secretariat

Documentation IAWRT Secretariat

IPPTAR

________________________ CD Contents:

Full documentation of the conference including, program, papers, presentations and video productions.

The IAWRT Secretariat 3/F GIF Medical Bldg., 510 C. Raymundo Avenue, Caniogan, Pasig City 1606, Philippines

Phone: +632.470.8301; Fax: +632.643.4583 Mobile: +63.917.536.9453 E-‐mail: [email protected]; Website: www.iawrt.org

kl confererence report-final draft.pdf - the international

Documents