The killings of journalists and the level of impunity for such crimes is a persistent problem. Between 2006-2013 593 journalists were killed and the current level of impunity, based on states’ responses to UNESCO, is 93.3% (UNESCO’s DG’s report to IPDC, November 2014). This problem is widely recognised amongst IGOs, NGOs and the media community and has become a priority agenda item for the UN. The UN has developed a ‘Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity’ in 2012 in an attempt to combat, crimes against journalists and impunity and ultimately to ensure...
Countries: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Many girls and women in East Africa do not have equal opportunities to exercise their legally-recognised rights and face social exclusion, “honour” killings, female genital mutilation, trafficking, restricted mobility and early marriage. Broadcasting organisations, which play a central role in shaping public perceptions of gender, can either worsen the situation (by portraying stereotypical, sensational images of women) or ameliorate it (by providing balanced coverage that empowers women, while exposing acts of gender bias); in recent years, East African media have mostly been doing the...
Many girls and women in the Commonwealth do not have equal opportunities to exercise rights recognized by law. Media coverage of women is insufficient and very often reinforces gender stereotypes. This project seeks to contribute to the third MDG (i.e. to “promote gender equality and empower women”) by building capacity and creating a network of PSBs and CSOs with a specific emphasis on gender development stories. The project also aims to raise awareness about gender discrimination and gender-based censorship within the media and to address stereotypes.
Despite the lack of federal government in Somalia for the past 20 years, there is a vibrant media landscape throughout the country. Security and lack of infrastructure has made it nearly impossible to gauge the exact number of broadcasters, radio stations, newspapers and websites that operate within Somalia and beyond its borders to diaspora populations, but estimates put numbers of media outlets in Mogadishu at 12 radio stations, 15 newspapers, several television stations and many individually-owned online news blogs. In spite of the encouraging figures, however, many media outlets are...
Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) studies have consistently revealed that women are grossly underrepresented in the media in contrast to men. In 2010 this survey showed that in Africa, 77% of stories in the media reinforced gender stereotypes, almost eight times higher than stories that challenge such stereotypes (5%). The advent of digital media technology, including mobile phones, provides new opportunities for the empowerment of women both in and by the media. As broadcasters seek to engage with audiences in new ways, targeted media capacity building projects are able to highlight...
The Caribbean region is exposed to a wide range of natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes. It has been described as the second most hazard-prone region in the world. Various factors render Caribbean populations extremely vulnerable to disasters. These factors include socioeconomic issues such as high population density and high levels of poverty.
The Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) is the largest global association of public service broadcasters and the Caribbean Broadcasting Union is the regional broadcasters’ union. The provision...
This project aims to address some of the objectives of the UN draft Plan of Action arising from the UN Inter-Agency meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, particularly the dissemination of a best practices guide on the safety of journalists as well as the training of journalists. By working with expert contacts in the safety field and drawing on its own experience, the International News Safety Institute (INSI) aims to reach at least 2,000 journalists and media workers, in addition to governments and military across the world, with this comprehensive reference...
This project takes into account the role that the audiovisual media can play in community development, particularly with regard to children and youth. It seeks to address the problem of the destruction of the Voice of Palestine's studios, which was forced to broadcast from a temporary studio with primitive equipment that allows for very few programmes for children. The aim of the project is thus to create a studio specialized in the production of programmes for children, who will be given the opportunity to participate in the preparation and production of some of the programmes. The...
This project, developed by the International Palestinian Youth League (IPYL) aims to empower the media in Hebron to increase awareness in the local community about participation in the democratic process. IPYL proposes to achieve this goal through: Establishing a small specialised media training and resource centre in its Hebron premises that would focus on civil society; Providing basic and advanced training for staff working in the local media stations, on modern and state-of-the-art equipment; Providing advanced training courses on civil society issues, such as democratic participation...
