Conferences in Islamabad
Media and Conflict
Rune Ottosen and Elisabeth Eide at Bahria University
Rune Ottosen and Elisabeth Eide have lectured and participated in the International Conference on Media and Conflict (ICMC), invited by the Pakistan Peace Collective, held at Bahria University in Islamabad. The two day conference 26 and 27 February was inaugurated by the President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif ur Rehman Alvi, and three other federal ministers also visited the conference, which could not have been more timely, considering the tense situation between Pakistan and neighbouring India. Several prominent scholars and journalists spoke on the occasion, among them Mr. Zafar Abbas, editor of Dawn newspaper, reporter Hamid Mir (Geo News), and Ms. Quatrina Hosein (PPC collective). Mr. Iqbal Lala from Mardan, father of journalism student Mashal Khan at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, who was brutally murdered on 13 April 2017 after fake allegations of posting blasphemous content online, received a particularly warm welcome by the audience. Among the themes were Peace journalism; Media coverage of terrorist attacks; Media perspectives on religious violence; Minority, violence and media; Psychological effects of conflict reporting; Social media and hate speech; Fake news and hybrid warfare. The conference was covered by several media, including PTV.
AMCAP conference
Participants at the AMCAP conference
The Association of Media And Communication Academics and Professionals (AMCAP) held its fourth conference in Islamabad on 28 February. Professors Rune Ottosen and Elisabeth Eide were invited as keynote speakers at this occasion, hosted by SZABIST University in Islamabad. The participants were warmly welcomed by Head of Campus Dr. Khusro Pervaiz Khan and by Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali, President of Szabist University and former Minister of State of Education. Appr. 50 research papers were presented and commented by a wide range of academics as well as students. Ottosen lectured about the need for education in war and peace journalism, while Eide emphasized the need to take education in environment and climate change journalism seriously. The conference thanked Dr. Bushra Rehman, President of AMCAP, and Vice President Abida Ashraf for their professional and continuous efforts promoting the association and making the conference a success.
Safety Training in Lahore
In collaboration with Forman Christian College (A Chartered University) JMIC has conducted a safety training course for appr. 30 journalists, headed by our experienced lead trainer Abeer Saady, assisted by Atta Ansari, board member of JMIC and professor Altaf Khan at FC College. Evaluations were very good, praising the course leadership for dynamic and inspirational course conduction.
JMIC in the Parliament
Elisabeth Eide in the Parliament
JMIC Director Elisabeth Eide made a presentation about freedom of expression and media freedom in Egypt in the Norwegian Parliament Tuesday 15 January.
Closing of the program on “Investigative journalism and access to information”
Bahira Ouiji received the first prize from David Diaz Jogeix, Program Director in Article 19 (Photo: Hanene Zbiss)
The closing ceremony of the program “Investigative journalism and access to information” took place in Tunis 13 December. Read More
Shuddhashar
Publication by this year’s Ossietzky Award winner Ahmedur ‘Tutul’ Chowdury, ICORN resident writer in Norway, originally from Bangladesh.
Here with its 11th issue: Shuddhashar has grown to include new writers and new topics. We firmly believe that reading, writing and thinking work well together, and we hope that you find thought-provoking and informative articles in this issue.
We also eagerly wait for your contribution! Please reach out to us.
First safety training of trainers
Universitas Indonesia and JMIC have cooperated on the first safety and security training for journalist trainers in Jakarta 23 and 24 November.
This is JMIC´s first training on this level. Some of the participants also participated in a larger regular 4-day training in how to work in hostile environment 19 – 22 November. See the video here:
Free after 107 days
Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam was released from jail after more than 100 days behind bars this week.
He has been under medical observation and is still going through check-ups, according to his colleagues in Pathshala, South Asian Media Institute in Dhaka.
You can read his letter and see more photographs here: Read More
Transnational climate journalism
In co-operation with the NGO Datamation Foundation and the MediaClimate network, JMIC/OsloMet held a three day workshop in Delhi planning for transnational co-operation in education and research on climate journalism. Participants from Australia, Bangladesh, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Sri Lanka, Turkey, UK and Uganda were present, several more via skype, al recognizing that climate change is one of the world’s major challenges.
The future aim is to create a digital resource bank sharing research articles/initiatives, educational resources and important journalistic work within the field of climate change.
Moroccan documentaries
Anne Hege Simonsen, the head of the JMIC board, was part of a jury judging short documentaries in Morocco this week.
The screening took place is Institut Supériur de l´Information et de la Communication (ISIC) in Rabat.
She also held a Master class for ISIC students enrolled in the Migration and Media Masters.