Myanmar was once described as the site of “one of Asia’s—if not the world’s—longest ethnic-based conflict since the country’s independence in 1948”. There are 135 distinct ethnic groups throughout the country, and recent studies have cited media as a “driver of conflict” due to inaccurate reporting, misinformation, bias and preference for conflict stories.
News media could play a key role in informing and educating different ethnic groups about their commonalities and differences, leading to greater understanding and tolerance. Dialogue between media practitioners, bloggers...
IPDC Project implementation status: Implementation completed
Journalists in Malawi face considerable risks to their safety as they conduct their professional duties. Restrictive media laws are in place and some journalists are not aware of the full implication of these laws, which exposes them to even greater danger. For example, during the protests on 20 July 2011 about issues of human rights and poor governance, police ordered a crackdown on journalists attempting to cover the event and reportedly beat, arrested and harassed some of them. The state broadcasting regulator also directed three independent radio stations to stop coverage of the...
The Maroons, a group residing in Jamaica’s Accompong State, face development challenges concerning education and the dissemination of cultural heritage. The establishment of a community media outlet could address these challenges, although this has not been possible due to a lack of adequate financial and human capital. This project therefore seeks to launch a sustainable community radio station in Accompong that will allow residents to formally capture and share their cultural heritage.
Gender equality is one of the greatest challenges facing journalists in Thailand. According to the Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media (2011), women are underrepresented in most management and newsgathering positions in the Asia Pacific, with women holding just 13% of senior management positions. Women’s salaries are generally lower and qualified women face a glass ceiling due to factors such as institutionalized prejudices.
This project will apply the Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media (GSIM) to Thai PBS in order to encourage Thai PBS - and...
Zambia’s growing community media sector, which boasts 60 radio stations and 6 print entities, is regarded as an important tool for community and grassroots development. These media outlets are responsive to their audiences and have established themselves as frontline sources of information and platforms of communication for the communities in their coverage areas.
However, community media journalists are increasingly subject to incidents of intimidation and harassment and there have also been arrests and domestic censorship of some online newspapers. Most of these journalists...
In the last 20 years, Vietnam’s media landscape has expanded rapidly in terms of platforms, publications, journalists and audience. The media’s role as a government watchdog has increased and it now plays an important role in the fight against corruption. However, despite laws purportedly protecting the freedoms of speech and of the media, journalists cannot work safely and independently without fear of being threatened or even killed.
This project aims to promote the safety of journalists by developing:
(i) a so-called Guidelines for Peer Assistance for the Safety of...
Although China’s media sector has grown explosively over the past few years, the legal framework under which the media operates remains underdeveloped. It is therefore essential to pay more attention to the development of China’s legal framework for media and freedom of expression.
In 2013, a round of the annual Price Media Law Moot Court Competition was successfully held in China. Established in 2008, this Programme aims to foster interest in, and informed debate about, international law governing freedom of expression issues. It serves as a training exercise, requiring...
One of the major resolutions of Zimbabwe’s 2012 Media Stakeholders Conference was the need for the media to play a central role in promoting awareness about, and responses to, climate change. A lack of journalists trained to understand climate and environmental issues has resulted in minimal reporting on climate change and a lack of sufficient information to promote public efforts of mitigation and adaptation.
This project will address the need to educate Zimbabwean journalists on climate change by training a group to report on weather, agro-economics and tourism news as well...
Although Mongolia has a plethora of media outlets (more than 400), few are community-owned and run. The internationally-accepted concept of community media is not recognized under Mongolian law and no spectrum is reserved for community broadcasters. It was only between 2011 and 2012 that the first ten self-defined community radios were established (thanks to a UNESCO project). However, a complex license application process hinders spontaneous community initiatives, which may prevent the further growth of community media in Mongolia. Furthermore, most community media outlets are registered...
Following the May 2013 meeting in Rabat, which was co-hosted by the Haute Autorité de la Communication Audiovisuelle du Maroc (HACA) and UNESCO, where it was agreed that Orbicom and UNESCO should pilot a Global Initiative for Excellence in Journalism Education, Orbicom now seeks UNESCO’s financial support to include a strong contingent of African journalism educators in its forthcoming meeting in Turkey to be co-hosted by the Department of Journalism of the University of Istanbul. Given the Global Initiative’s emphasis on North-South and South-South collegial ‘shared excellence’ in...