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8 March: Women in Media – overcoming adversity together

ellenhof on 21. March 2023

By: Maria Solita J. Virtudazo/ IAWRT/Philippines.

On March 8, 2023, on the historic 113th year of the International Women’s Day commemoration, women-journalists, media workers, and academics from across the globe met to share stories and and support each others in a common struggle

The online discussion-solidarity meeting aptly titled, Women in Media: Overcoming Adversity Together, was hosted by the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) in collaboration with Journalism and Media International Center of OsloMet University in Norway, and UNESCO Headquarters.

69 participants gathered to highlight their stories and honor their courage, heroism, and resilience. The webinar opened with an introductory message from IAWRT President Dr. Michelle Ferrier. Dr. Elisabeth Eide, journalist, writer, and professor of Journalism Studies at OsloMet University in Norway was the moderator.

Five principled and intrepid women journalists, namely, Najiba Ayubi (Afghanistan), Alina Radu (Moldova), Alyona Nevmerzhytska (Ukraine), Rhea Padilla (Philippines), and Fatuma Matulanga (Tanzania) lent their voices on behalf of their colleagues. Each of them shared how they and other women journalists in their respective countries bravely stood against and endured oppression, war, armed conflict, red-tagging, political persecution and incarceration, radicalization and extremism, online trolling, hate speech, physical and sexual assault, among other forms of abuse.

Najiba Ayubi is an Afghan multi-awarded journalist, and human rights and press freedom activist. She is a recipient of the 2013 Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media, and was named one of the 100 Information Heroes by Reporters without Borders (Reporters sans frontières) in 2014. She lamented how Islamic extremism has been oppressive and destructive to women journalists, and women, in general, since the Taliban returned to power. She cited thousands of Afghans who fled the country at all costs to preserve their life. Unfortunately, some lost their lives in an attempt to save it. One of whom is an asylum seeker and journalist Torpekai Amarkhel, who was onboard a fleeing boat that capsized near Italy. Ms. Ayubi is the head of IAWRT Afghanistan Chapter and is also in exile in the United States.

Another award-winning investigative journalist from Moldova and managing director of the country’s independent newspaper Zairul de Garda (The Guard Newspaper) is Alina Radu. She shared how women journalists in their country have been marginalized and isolated. Facebook (FB) or Metaverse is inaccessible in Moldova. Thus, she enjoined FB to be sympathetic to women journalists and provide them access to social media, which has been tightly controlled by the government. Ms. Radu currently heads IAWRT Moldova Chapter.

Prominent Ukrainian journalist Alyona Nevmerzhytska, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of media outfit hromadske, explained that while their culture is not particularly oppressive to women, however, things went on a downward spiral since the Russian invasion in February 2022. The incessant air strikes and attacks on the country’s major cities triggered the exodus of around 5 million Ukraine nationals, mostly women and children. Those who remain in the country have to endure extreme living conditions and the ravages of war.

The Philippines’ Rhea Padilla, former National Coordinator of the People’s Alternative Media Network (Altermidya) deplored the red-tagging, political persecution, intimidation, and even killing of women journalists and media personalities. She raised the case of Tacloban City-based journalist and IAWRT member Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been in jail for over three years now for trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, and terrorist financing. Ms. Cumpio was among the “Tacloban 5” human rights defenders who were raided and arrested at midnight of February 7, 2020. Her arrest and continued detention speak of insidious yet blatant attacks against journalists in the country, aimed at intimidating and silencing those who are critical in their reporting. Ms. Padilla then called on government authorities for the immediate release of Ms. Cumpio and colleagues.

Journalist Fatuma Matulanga is the CEO of Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation in Zanzibar and IAWRT Tanzania’s Chapter head. She shared how women in their country have been disproportionately represented in media. Most Media Studies graduates and professionals ended up as PR officers and spokespersons. Women have been marginalized and paid less than their male counterparts, and are in dire need of training and retooling.

Theresa Chorbacher of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Paris talked about the organization’s mandate to work on press freedom and its various legal, policy-making, and capability-building initiatives to promote the safety of women journalists worldwide, and address the issue of impunity. In 2022, UNESCO published “The Chilling”, a report of a three-year intensive study on online violence against women journalists in 15 countries, conducted by researchers from the US-based International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and the UK-based Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM). The report sheds light on the “evolving challenges faced by women journalists, identifies political actors as top perpetrators of online violence against women journalists using popular social media platforms, maps out the online-offline violence trajectory, and offers practical recommendations for intergovernmental organizations, States, Big Tech, the news industry, legal and judicial actors, and civil society”. Truly, the adversities faced by women journalists in and out of the newsroom may seem daunting and insurmountable. But we can overcome it if we unite and work together in this fight.

Ecology Journalism Project: Meetings with activists and journalists

taherinima on 20. December 2022

By Tuğçe Yılmaz

The “Ecology Journalism Project” has been completed with meetings with ecology groups and local press in Mersin, Fındıklı/Rize and Çanakkale in Turkey run by the IPS Communication Foundation/bianet with the support of JMIC.

As part of the project, a climate journalism workshop and an ecology meeting were held and an ecology article series was published.

The “Ecology Journalism Project” meeting was held in three cities in the regions of Mediterranean, Black Sea and Marmara, where there is intense ecological destruction, as well as struggle.

In the three meetings held for the purpose of strengthening the relationship between ecology organizations and national and local press and the relationship between ecology organizations, the difficulties faced by the organizations and their long-term struggles and how the press should report on ecology were discussed.

Mediterranean Region: Mersin

On October 28, 2022, environmental and civil society organizations conveyed their experiences and struggles at the first “Ecology Journalism Project” meeting. Academics from the city’s university and journalists were also at the meeting. Özer Akdemir, who has been reporting on ecological issues for many years, made a presentation about “What ecology reporting is and how it is done?”

*Özer Akdemir Journalist & local activists Mersin* (Photo: Tuğçe Yılmaz).

Ecology groups in the Mediterranean Region that have been struggling against the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant complained that “their voices are not being heard enough in the national media.” Lawyer Semra Kabasalak from the Eastern Mediterranean Environmental Association said, “We often feel alone in the struggle for the environment, but we want everyone to know that we will continue our struggle until we die.”

Black Sea Region: Rize/Fındıklı

*Local Journalists and activists Rize/Fındıklı* (Photo: Tuğçe Yılmaz).

On November 12, ecology and environmental groups and local journalists in the Black Sea Region attended the “Ecology Journalism Project” meeting. At the meeting, journalist Pelin Cengiz made a presentation about the details of ecology journalism and conveyed the difficulties they faced in reaching the national press.

Nur Neşe Karahan from the Green Artvin Association said, “We have been struggling for 30 years in Artvin to protect our living spaces and make the public hear about our struggle. Yes, the situation is very difficult and we were silenced in this period when we need to speak up the most, but we have to make a choice: We will either stop this destruction or we will be annihilated.”

Marmara Region: Çanakkale

*Özgür Gürbüz Journalist & local activists Çanakkale* (Photo: Tuğçe Yılmaz).

The last meeting of the “Ecology Journalism Project” was held in Çanakkale in Marmara Region. Ecology groups and activists, as well as local journalists, attended the meeting on November 30, 2022. Journalist Özgür Gürbüz gave information about what to consider when reporting on the environment and ecology. Ecology groups that attended the meeting conveyed the problems they faced in communicating with the national press.

Reyhan Erdem from the Kaz Mountain Protection Association said, “We started the struggle in 1997, with the reports that the Çan Thermal Power Plant would be established and set up an environmental platform. In 2007, the second platform was established. However, despite all of our environmental problems, we could not stay together as environmental organizations and environmental committees of mass organizations. I remember the early days when everybody would attend. Now we cannot come together with the same crowd and power.”

Awards to journalists for stories on environmental issues

taherinima on 19. December 2022

By Lamis Issa

Joudy Alasmar, a Lebanese journalist, won the first award during a closing ceremony in Tunis on 30 November 2022 for her investigation on the landfill in Tripoli.

From the left to the right, Rafik ben Abdallah a journalist and member of the oversight body for access to information, Joudy Alasmar, a journalist from Lebanon and Karim Belhadj Aissa, ARTICLE19 MENA Transparency Program Coordinator (Photo: ARTICLE 19 MENA)

Her work is part of a five-year collaboration between ARTICLE 19 MENA (Middle East and North Africa), the Institute of Press and Information Sciences (IPSI) at La Manouba University and JMIC on “Support the right to information and investigative journalism in the MENA region.” The edition of 2022 focused on environmental issues.

The award ceremony was organized in hybrid format with the presence of trainee journalists, trainers and coaches, and other guests. The trainee journalists presented their experiences in this program and highlighted the challenges they faced and the lessons they learned.

As part of the ceremony, a discussion was held about investigative journalism and environmental issues in the MENA region.

Mayssa Sandli, environmental activist and owner of 1st Media specialized in environmental issues in Tunisia. (Photo: ARTICLE19 MENA)

This discussion was conducted between journalists, including investigative journalists and journalists specialized on environmental issues, experts on access to information, and environmental activists who took part in this discussion to debate challenges, the accessibility of environmental information within the laws on access to information in the MENA region, and the importance of environmental journalism.

Digital Media Workshops concluded in Palestine

taherinima on 12. December 2022

By Farid Abudheir

The Department of Communication & Digital Media at
An-Najah National University organized a closing ceremony for the workshops carried out at the university campus on Wednesday 30^th November 2022.

At the ceremony, certificates were given to the 69 students participating in the workshops, and prizes were also given to the students who made remarkable journalism works.

*Participants in the workshops holding their certificates (Photo: Roea Zebin*)

The workshops dealt with three topics: the first was entitled “The Flow of Global News Stream on Social Media concerning Environmental and Climate Issues“. The second workshop was regarding “The Investigative Reporting on Corruption“, while the third workshop dealt with the issue of “Access to Information“.

Students from An-Najah National, Arab American, Hebron, and Palestine Technical (Kadoorie) universities have participated in the third workshop, where the competing students prepared media materials in the field of access to information including press reports, videos, and posters.

Regarding the “investigative reporting on corruption” competition, the students produced a set of journalistic investigations that dealt with corruption issues, used research tools to collect data, analyzed and discussed them, and put forward possible solutions to those issues.

A set of works produced by students, short films and posters in particular, were presented.

*Dr. Farid Abudheir declaring the results of the competition of the media production (Photo: Sameh Abu Alrub)*

The ceremony was attended by Dr. Farid Abudheir, Coordinator of Joint Projects with JMIC at Oslo Metropolitan University, Dr. Hussam Abu Diya, Dr. Abdeljawad Abdeljawad, Mr. Ayman Al-Masri, Dr. Islam Halayka, Dr. Said Shahin, Head of the Department of Media at Hebron University, and Ms. Ramz Bsharat from the Arab American University.

*Trainers and judges honoring one of the students who participated in the workshops (Photo: Sameh Abu Alrub)*

Dr. Farid Abudheir has praised the participation of the Palestinian universities in the “Access to Information” workshop. He also stressed the importance of the three topics addressed by the workshops, especially in raising awareness of the issues of access to information, corruption issues, and environmental and climate issues. Besides, he considered that these workshops were aimed at spreading awareness of these issues and enhancing the student’s abilities to address them using media tools.

Not to mention, Dr. Abudheir thanked An-Najah National University including its administration and departments that helped in making these workshops a success. He also thanked JMIC at OsloMet, which supported the projects implemented by the Department of Communication and Digital Media at An-Najah National University. The meeting was concluded by taking group photos of the participants.

International conference on Challenges for the Safety of Women Journalists

taherinima on 5. December 2022

By: Jola Diones-Mamangun

The 39^th Biennial Conference of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) took place from 18 to 20November 2022, hosted by the chapter in Tanzania. Delegates from all chapters worldwide met in Zanzibar under the headline Gendered Media Perspectives: Conflict, Covid and Climate Change.

Tanzanias Minister of Information, Communication & Information Technology Tanzania Hon. Nape Nnauye with members of IAWRT (Photo: IAWRT).

The main plenary on the first day was Afghanistan after Taliban: Status of Women Journalists. The testimonies came from members of IAWRT Afghanistan in exile and online, Najiba Ayubi, Kreshma Fakhri, Somaia Walizadeh – and Abdul Basir Quraishi.

Reena Mohan from India and Elisabeth Eide from JMIC (online) also shared their experiences about the status of the Afghan journalists after Taliban came to power in Afghanistan. Sharmini Boyle of Internews Pakistan was also present online, and the book “Lives, Jobs, Homeland:Afghan Women Journalists Lose All” was launched.

The 39th Biennial Conference Plenary on the challenges women journalists face under the Taliban regime. Kreshma Fakhri, an Afghan journalist in exile shares her experience as she sought refuge (Photo: IAWRT).

Digital Safe House (DSH) for journalists at riskwas the focus of another session. Speakers were Colette Simonne Heefner of International Media Support (IMS), Oona Solberg of JMIC and Sue Onslow of Institute of Commonwealth Studies. Therese Patricia San Diego Torres told about the experiences of the pilot project DSH in the Philippines and Birgitte Jallov presented DSH Moldova. Also Greta Gober spoke; as the one who came up with the idea of a DSH originally.

IAWRTs report on Afghan Women Journalists’ personal safety challenges since August 2021 (Photo: IAWRT).

Countdown to Climate Change was the title of another plenary discussion moderated by Michelle Ferrier, the new international president. JMICs Elisabeth Eide also participated online in this panel together with Lia Torres fromCenter for Environmental Concerns in the Philippines, Becky Bisong from Cameroon and Monica Magoke Mhoja and Maria Matui from Tanzania.

The Plenary on the way forward for the Digital Safety House (DSH), moderated by outgoing IAWRT president Violet Gonda.

The outgoing IAWRT president and treasurer, Violet Gonda and Jola Diones-Mamangun presented their reports in the final session. Chapter reports from Afghanistan, Cameroon, India, Iraq-Kurdistan, Kenya, Nepal, Norway, Moldova, Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda, USA and the new IAWRT chapter in Sierra Leone followed. Different committees also shared their reports. The turned-over ceremony of the new IAWRT International Board was also one of the highlights of the conference.

Read the welcome remarks of former president Violet Gonda on https://iawrt.org/welcome-remarks-for-gendered-media-perspectives-conflict-covid-climate-change-conference/

Recording:
https://www.facebook.com/iawrt.org/videos/689680912498021

The Legal Protection of Citizens’ Right of Knowledge

taherinima on 21. November 2022

By: Farid Abu Dheir

The Department of Communication & Digital Media at An-Najah National University in Nablus in Palestine organized “Access to Information“ Conference at the University on Monday 7 November 2022 in cooperation with JMIC.

This is the Fourth time The Department Organizes a Conference on Access to Information at their University in commemoration of the International Day for Universal Access to Information declared by UNESCO in 2016.

Many of the participants. (Photo: Aseel Kilani)

The conference was attended by Mr. Nasser Abu Bakr, president of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Mr. Nasser Jawabreh, Director of Ministry of Information Office in Nablus and Mr. Ruben André Johansen, First Secretary of Political Affairs at the Representative Office of Norway to the Palestinian Authority.

Professors and students from Birzeit University, Palestine Technical University (Khadoori), Hebron University, Arab American University, as well as a number of Palestinian Journalists participated.

The participants called for the adoption of Access to Information law in Palestine, as it is a legal guarantee to protect the citizens’ right to knowledge, and the right of a journalist to obtain the information needed to develop democratic participation and achieve sustainable development in society.

The conferees also called for the development of effective mechanisms to spread the culture of access to, and use of, information, and the removal of all obstacles that prevent citizens from knowing what is happening and what decisions are being made regarding public affairs.

Besides, conferees warned that the blocking of information opens the way for the spread of rumours and hate speech. It also destroys one of the important bases in building a democratic society that protects human rights and establishes the principles of transparency and integrity in society.

Ms. Muna Hawash, Head of Communication & Digital Media & Radio and Television Departments, opened the conference by stressing the importance of Access to Information, considering that information is the basic element for a journalist. She considered that this principle is the cornerstone of journalism, and that the citizens’ right to know is a human, moral and legal right.

Dr. Farid Abu Dheir, coordinator of joint projects with JMIC/OsloMet, highlighted the cooperation, which extends to 23 years. He praised the activities and events that were carried out during those years and the benefit that was reflected on the participating students.

Farid Abu Dheir to the left. (Photo: Aseel Kilani)

Dr. Abu Dheir explained that the conference aims to integrate the concept of Access to Information in media materials and school curricula, and to seek the adoption of an exclusive law that protects the citizens’ right to knowledge.

Nasser Abu Bakr, president of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, emphasized that the syndicate exerts all efforts to ease the work of journalists and guarantee their right of Access to Information. He pointed to the challenges imposed by the Israeli Occupation on journalists, especially preventing them from covering events and violating journalists’ rights to cover events, in order to block Palestinians Access to Information.

Nasser Jawabreh, Director of Ministry of Information office in Nablus, explained that the Israeli Occupation is the biggest challenge for Palestinian journalists, making Access to Information an arduous issue.

For his part, Mr. Johansen at Norwegian Representative Office, expressed his gratitude for participating in the conference at An-Najah University in Nablus which witnessed harmful Israeli restrictions on the movement of the population, as today’s talk is about human rights, including freedom of movement.

Mr. Johansen stressed that the Norwegian government is proud to support the cooperation between An-Najah National University and Oslo Metropolitan University. He also mentioned that Access to Information is the key to the improvement of human rights globally.

Ruben André Johansen, First Secretary of Political Affairs at the Representative Office of Norway to the Palestinian Authority. (Photo: Aseel Kilani)

He pointed out that although all countries of the world pledge the citizens’ right to access information, many countries impose laws restricting this right. In addition, he stressed the importance of Access to Information in avoiding false information to which journalists are vulnerable. He also mentioned the protests taking place in Iran to activate this right.

Mr. Ruben concluded his speech with stressing on the importance of human rights in light of the Israeli occupation attacks, and praised 7amleh Foundation, which tirelessly works to preserve human rights. “I am sure that this conference will succeed,” he said.

In the second session of the conference, Dr. Saeed Shaheen, Head of Media Department at Hebron University, Dr. Islam Halayqa, Lecturer at the Department of Radio and TV at An-Najah National University, Mr. Emad Al-Asfar, Director of Media Development Center at Birzeit University, Ms. Kholoud Assaf, News Editor-in-chief of the Palestinian Wafa News Agency and Mr. Mohammed Daraghmeh, Correspondent of Elsharq TV, made presentation on experiences regarding Access to Information in Palestine.

The speakers stressed the importance of Access to Information as the main pillar of media work, and an urgent need for citizens in their private and public life. The participants called for not succumbing to the information-blocking policies imposed by governments and public and private institutions, and the need to seek information. Mr. Emad Al-Asfar pointed out that the existence of investigative journalism in developed countries proves that withholding information is a practice that is carried out in all countries of the world, including the Western world.

The students had their own session. (Photo: Aseel Kilani)

The third session was dedicated to young media students at An-Najah, Birzeit, Palestine Technical University (Khadoori) and Hebron universities. The session was moderated by Laith Hasson and Dana Al-Saifi from the Department of Communication & Digital Media at An-Najah National University. As the above mentioned universities were represented by Roaa Khuffash, Loard Hadeed, Dareen Hamd, and Raed Al-Sharif respectively.

The participants stressed the importance of Access to Information for young journalists and the need to remove all obstacles to the journalist’s work that prevent them from doing their job professionally and effectively.

JMIC holds discussions with a team from Uganda

taherinima on 13. November 2022

By: Gerald Walulya

The Chief Executive of Journalism & Media International Centre, Oona Solberg last week held a productive engagement with representatives of the Department of Journalism and Communication, Makerere University in Uganda.

The two representatives included, Dr. Aisha Nakiwala Sembatya, the Head of the Department of Journalism and Communication and Dr. Gerald Walulya, the coordinator of JMIC activities in Uganda and a Lecturer at the same institution.

The two were in Oslo to participate in the 8th International Conference on Safety and Security of Journalists that is celebrated every at Oslomet in commemoration of the International Day to end impunity for crimes committed against journalists.

Dr. Gerald Walulya to the left, Dr. Aisha Nakiwala Sembatya in the center and to the right Ellen Hofsvang, who is taking over as Project leader of JMIC in 2023 (Photo by: Oona Solberg).

The discussions focused on the evaluation of the five activities JMIC and the Department of Journalism and Communication have implemented in Uganda this year and plans for the next year.

These activities included two trainings; one focusing on the safety and security of journalists and the other focusing on Access to Information. The other activities included organising a Rig on Press freedom and the celebration of the World Press Freedom Day on May 5 and the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) on September 28.

Dr. Nakiwala commended the support that the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given to her Department through JMIC. She said that her university remains committed to working with JMIC and Oslomet to further improve the skills and knowledge of journalists and journalism students in Uganda.

JIMC Chief Executive, Oona Solberg commended the team from Makerere University for the effective utilisation of the support they receive from JMIC.

Since 2017, JMIC has been working with the Department of Journalism and Communication, Makerere University in Uganda, to train journalists and journalism students in key emerging journalism challenges such as safety and security of Journalists and Access to Information.

The cooperation between the two institutions has also focused on raising awareness on matters of press freedom and human rights through commemoration of important days such as the World Press Freedom Day and the International Day for Universal Access to Information.

COP 27 coming up

taherinima on 5. November 2022

The world climate crisis will be the focus of the attention in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt 6 – 18 November during the COP 27 – United Nations Climate Change Conference.

This “Conference of the parties” (COP) will gather important political leaders, experts, bureaucrats, civil society representatives – young ones also – and media people. https://cop27.eg/#/

*The working party* (Photo: Sedik El-Bakhshwangy).

University initiative

The American University in Cairo (AUC) established a Climate Change Initiative in response to the global climate change challenges and the active role academic and research institutions should play in addressing them.

This initiative is university wide and includes research, teaching, student activities and public outreach. The areas of focus are aligned national and regional climate change and sustainability priorities. Areas of research and outreach include water scarcity, urban development, green finance, public health, energy transition and climate crisis communication.
https://www.aucegypt.edu/climate-change

Media Conference

The 4 Cairo Media Conference took place 23 – 24 October 2022 under the headline Communicating Climate Change: Is the Climate Crisis also a Communication Crisis?

More than 200 participants came for the conference, also from other universities and from different parts of the country. Two days were packed with a very relevant program, many inspiring speakers and an engaged and active audience. Many prominent Egyptian media personalities shared their ideas.

*From the AUC campus* (Photo: Oona Solberg).

To tell about the climate crisis in their countries, guests were also coming from as far as Bangladesh and Pakistan, but also from the region – Kurdistan in Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia: Mofizur Rhaman, Syed M. Saqib, Awaz Abdalla, Bissan Tay, Tarek Saed and Hanene Zbiss.

Special guests from Norway were Arne Jensen from the Association of Norwegian Editors, Hildegunn Soldal from the Norwegian Broadcasting Coroporation and the freelance journalist Tarjei Leer-Salvesen, who is an expert in access to information regarding environmental issues. Elisabeth Eide and Risto Kunelius from the MediaClimate network contributed digitally.

*From the right Ashraf Amin, Mohamed Saad Abdel Hafiz, Ehab El-Zelaky, Tarjei Leer-Salvesen and Aliaa Hamed*. (Photo: Sedik El-Bakhshwangy).

According to the organizers is the main goal of the conference to plant a seed of knowledge amongst media people; professionals, faculty members and students; on the importance of giving media coverage and understanding to such a vital issue in order to reach out.

Main takeaways

Dr. Naila Hamdy, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, The American University in Cairo in Egypt delivered an inspiring closing speech for the conference. Some of her valuable closing remarks include:

*Naila Hamdy in the center, from left Arne Jensen, Hildegunn Soldal and Tarek Saed, to the right, Bissan Tay and Tarjei Leer-Salvesen* (Photo: Sedik El-Bakhshwangy).

– The need for an access to information law should be revived.

– The narrative of the ordinary person was highlighted by most of the conferences’ speakers. Storytelling should resonate with the public.

– Fact checking came up as an important part of what journalists and educators should emphasize.

– Resources and toolkits on a global exist and should be used to tell a climate change story.

– Training and education for academics, journalists and the future journalists was highly stressed in the conference.

– Global justice while reporting about the climate crisis was a very important takeout.

– Addressing the scientific community to collect information about climate change is crucial. But also training them to give their messages in understandable manner is important.

– Providing hope is essential when you communicate the crisis and its consequences.

– There is a need to act and embed climate change in the academic curriculums.

– The connection between gender inequalities and climate change is not to be dismissed.

More information and recordings of the sessions on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CairoMediaConference

Soon 20/50 years collaboration Bangladesh/ Norway

taherinima on 31. October 2022

The photojournalistic collaboration between Bangladeshi and Norwegian institutions was mentioned when Arve Ofstad presented his new book “Norway and Bangladesh A Fifty-Year Relationship 1971-2022” in Oslo 28 October.

Former ambassador Ingebjørg Støfring underlined the importance of trust in international cooperation (Photo: Per-Anders Rosenkvist and Oona Solberg).

Under the headline “Photojournalism – an important tool for the free press” the cooperation between the internationally renowned photojournalist Shahidul Alam and his Pathshala South Asia Media Institute and the photojournalism education in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at OsloMet since 2003 is described:

“They have become familiar with and have adapted to other cultures and have been exposed to new challenges in participating countries. At the same time, they have learned new techniques and acquired an international network. In many countries, journalism is a vulnerable profession, and photojournalists can document events that others want to keep hidden.”

Several previous ambassadors were present when the Norwegian translation of the book was launched in Norad – Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation in Oslo.

The current Norwegian ambassador to Bangladesh, Espen Rikter-Svendsen, drew the line back to 14 April 1972 in his opening. He also told about the ambitious celebration in Dhaka in the spring, when the English translation was launched.

The author Arve Ofstad and ambassador Espen Rikter-Svendsen with the book. (Photo: Per-Anders Rosenkvist and Oona Solberg).

State Secretary Erling Rimestad talked about the successful efforts to reduce poverty and the current challenges regarding freedom of expression and democracy in Bangladesh.

Executive Vice President Rita Skjærvik in Telenor emphasized their contribution to digital development in the country, one of the largest mobile markets in the world.

Environmental anthropologist Camelia Dewan presented her research about the containerships in Chittagong (now Chattogram), and emphasized green recycling.

Director General of Norad, Bård Vegar Solhjell, was born the same year as the cooperation between Norway and Bangladesh started. He pointed to the stunning development the country has gone through, and sees democracy and human rights, climate changes and the size of the Bangla economy as important in the years ahead.

The book can be ordered through postmottak@dss.dep.no

Interactive safety training

taherinima on 25. October 2022

By Bora Ataman and Baris Coban

“Safety of Journalists Training Program” was held in Istanbul on October 15-16, in cooperation with TOVAK (Turkish Social Services Foundation), TGS (The Journalists’ Union of Turkey) and JMIC-OsloMet.

The first day of the training was entirely allocated to Abeer Saady, one of the distinguished international safety experts working with JMIC. In a total of 4 sessions, interactive training content on how to stay away from violence and how journalists can protect themselves, and the risks and threats that reporters frequently face were discussed.

*The group trained in Istanbul in October* (Photo: Hilal Yilmaz, TGS).

On the second day of the training, how journalists can also protect their mental health when applying for psychological support, and legal aspects of journalism safety and digital security were discussed in 3 separate sessions. All sessions had content covering both the offline and online safety of journalists.

The lessons were very productive thanks to the hands-on training method that allowed the participants to share their experiences and learn from each other. At the end of the 2-day training, most of the participants said that they found the training very satisfying, with reference to the awareness they gained on journalism safety and the practical knowledge they gained. In addition, they stated that they wanted to cover all their deficiencies in this regard with more detailed, longer-term training in the near future.

*The group trained for two days* (Photo: Hilal Yilmaz, TGS).

The safety handbook “What if…” by Abeer Saady is translated to Turkish. Abeer Saady was asked to do a safety training in Turkey when the book was launched by TGS before the summer, and she is invited back again.

Book link:
https://www.kafkakitap.com/kitap/kadin-gazeteciler-icin-guvenlik-el-kitabi-ne-yapmali/

Download link:
The Safety Handbook translated to Turkish