This project aims to adapt and implement a participatory model of CR programme production, the Community Learning Programme (CLP). In doing so, the project proponent, Rupantar, will build on its earlier work with the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA). CEMCA is the regional agency for the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), and implements COL’s mandate in eight South Asian countries.
UNESCO field offices: New Delhi
This project seeks training support for the Bhutanese media to be more sustainable. In order to achieve a more holistic result, the project includes two training components addressed to journalists: one is developing skills on reporting rural issues in order to attract wider circulation in rural area, and subsequently to attract increased government advertising revenue. The other one is reporting economic, financial and business issues. Better business reporting is expected to attract specific urban audiences and subsequently increase advertising revenue. On the other hand, the media...
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.
Bangladesh’ campaign for the right to information (RTI) has ensued for many years, sustained by the efforts of journalists, development workers, human rights activists and members of civil society. It resulted in the passing of the RTI Ordinance in 2008, a major step towards enabling access to information and promoting freedom of expression and of the press, good governance, and transparency. However, no significant efforts have been made to either raise awareness about or effectively implement this Act, and access to information remains limited in Bangladesh.
A media...
As a landlocked country with sometimes-inaccessible mountainous terrain, a scattered population and marked urban-rural inequalities, Bhutan would benefit significantly from community media. A UNESCO-commissioned feasibility study conducted in 2013 found a clear consensus among different stakeholders (including government officials) that commmunity radio (CR) would deepen and accelerate development in Bhutan. The report therefore asserted that a CR policy should be created. Other key recommendations included building the capacities of potential CR personnel, piloting three community radio...
In a climate of increasing authoritarianism and diminishing space for democratic debate, in which state-controlled media echoes official views and private-owned media self-censors and arouses anti-minority attitudes, Ravaya remains the only unbiased vernacular language newspaper available to the masses. This journalist-owned paper maintains an outstanding record of carrying out high-quality independent journalism, fighting for justice, welcoming peer scrutiny and being responsive to readers.
Ravaya, which currently circulates 25,000 copies per week, requires external support...
It has been over three years since the Right to Information (RTI) Act was passed in Bangladesh, but no significant steps have been taken by the government to implement the Act, nor to raise awareness of it. Many journalists, both senior and junior, are not well aware of the RTI Act, in spite of its potential to play an important role in their professional duties (particularly filing follow-up, in-depth and investigative reports by using the RTI Act as a tool for information gathering.
In an attempt to address the issue, this project is aimed at raising local journalists' awareness...
With the rapid growth of the media industry in Bhutan, the demand for skilled and experienced media professionals is growing. However, due to the lack of training facilities in the media sector, the few trained and experienced professionals are thinly spread among the various organizations. As the country is undergoing a period of transition, it is equally important for media to act as a platform for public discourse.
Bhutan Media Institute was licensed by Ministry of Economic Affairs in June 2011 and subsequently registered as a training institute by the Ministry of Labour and...
Maldives is a unique country with its population of just over 300,000 spread across some 1200 coral islands, some hundreds of kilometres apart. Thus, broadcast media, especially radio, plays an important role in keeping the country’s far-flung population connected and informed. Recent years have seen a significant improvement in the level of media freedom and independence in the country, with the government allowing the establishment of private newspapers, radio and television. In May 2007, the government highlighted four main pillars of the media reform process, namely confidence building...
Sri Lanka faces enormous challenges, not only in the areas of conflict resolution and national integration, but also in the face of the crisis of governance and challenges which need to be addressed to ensure Constitutionalism, the Rule of Law and participatory democracy. One of the major weaknesses in governance in Sri Lanka is the absence of transparency, under a strong culture of authority and secrecy rather than a culture of justification and transparency. When the 2004 draft bill on the subject was endorsed by both major parties, the general assumption was Sri Lanka would be among the...
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