Nicaragua’s indigenous communities have little access to the media, meaning they do not have a platform from which to voice concerns on the besiegement and usurpation of their lands and hence to define their future. Furthermore, the national media fails to convey their aspirations to live on their territories in accordance with their customs, stereotyping them as delinquents and/or land thieves. Local access to a means of communication is therefore vital for the indigenous communities of Nicaragua. This project will facilitate the creation of indigenous media outlets by providing training...
IPDC Project evaluated: Yes
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...
Violence against media workers and impunity of the perpetrators of such crimes are widespread in Mexico and Central America and have resulted in many deaths. These crimes require adequate safety measures, particularly for journalists working in remote areas who are most at risk. This project will build and launch a sustainable online training system for journalists, available anytime and anywhere within Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico.
Community reporting has never been a priority in Lesotho. The media is based in the capital city of Maseru and rural voices are rarely heard. Rural communities only make the news in negative stories or when a government official comes to officiate a development initiative. Given the increase in social and political problems in rural Lesotho, it is becoming more and more critical for rural communities to have an alternative media platform where they can have their voices heard and can discuss their own issues and possible solutions.
Lesotho’s only community radio station,...
The proposed project will address the lack of science media associations and limited professional capacity of science media workers in the Balkan region. BASJ, a newly created regional journalists association, will promote online education and cooperation with other international and regional organizations and institutions in the Balkans. It will offer a 6-month online training course delivered through webinars and online lectures using BASJ's Science Media Network platform. The course will upgrade the skills of 20 journalism trainers, enabling them to teach new media competencies. The...
Media repression is rising in some countries in the Pacific, as journalists seeks ways to work together to promote quality journalism and democratic media development. This project will work with journalists and media workers in three countries in the region in order to advance reform and produce examples of best practice to positively influence the rest of the region. Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands have been chosen because of the existing or emerging strength of their national media associations and/or their potential for maximum project impact.
The...
Khorixas, with an estimated population of 68,735 people, is one of the lest developed parts of Namibia. This town and the neighbouring villages receive no daily newspapers and only intermittent radio coverage from one state-owned station. Khorixas therefore lacks a community platform to discuss development and social issues in a pluralistic, accessible and democratic way and is isolated from regional, national and international affairs.
There have been recurring and unmitigated resource-based conflicts over the years between the region’s diverse communities. In addition, the...
Radio Peace recognizes the developmental power of radio and realizes that sustainable development calls for cohesive communities that are grounded in their cultures and traditions. However, the limited success of decentralization in Ghana has left many communities in the central region without a clear process for integrated community action. Preoccupied with day-to-day subsistence, most listeners of Radio Peace are unable to fully appreciate the links between quality of life and good governance. This project aims to promote access to communication media and the right to communicate to this...
Iraq ranks as the fourth most corrupt state in the world. Officials routinely steal resources, thereby robbing Iraqis of opportunities to improve the lives of their families and communities. Investigative journalism exposes corruption, enhances transparency and makes officials accountable to the people, all of which leads to the improved performance of government institutions. However, the majority of Baghdad’s media organisations lack the capacity to professionally investigate the actions of government. This project will therefore train 40 local (female) journalists from regional media...
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...