Tag: journalist

Categories
Press freedom

Journalists ask for Frenchie Mae’s release

By: Cyril Dayayo

TACLOBAN, Philippines – Filipino journalists have expressed their solidarity and demands for the release omaf detained community radio broadcaster Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been incarcerated over trumped up charges for the past three years.

Women journalists in Tacloban City called for the immediate release of their colleague Frenchie Mae Cumpio during the World Press Freedom Day, May 3rd.

Among those who organized the event are officers and members of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television, IAWRT – Philippines, and the AlterMidya – People’s Alternative Media Network. They include IAWRT’s international vice president Jola Diones Mamangun and IAWRT Philippines’ chapter head Lynda Catindig-Garcia.

The group of Filipino journalists were supposed to visit Cumpio in jail but their requests were turned down by concerned government offices, citing pandemic restrictions.

Still, they met with Cumpio’s mother who have expressed her gratitude to the various media organizations who have reached out in solidarity to their family and has brought the injustices committed against her daughter to the world’s attention.

They have also met with Tacloban-based journalists who have expressed their solidarity to Cumpio’s plight. Campus journalists who were also present said Cumpio’s brand of journalism has inspired them to follow the path that the detained journalist has paved for them.

“Women journalists have been subjected to relentless attacks, particularly gendered disinformation and online harassment that attempt to discredit them and their critical reportage of issues affecting marginalized communities. Others have been charged with trumped up charges, including one of our colleagues, Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who continues to be detained for more than three years,” said IAWRT Philippines in a statement last May 3rd, World Press Freedom Day.

(L-R) Janess Ann Ellao (Digital Safe House – Philippines Head and IAWRT Philippines Deputy Head), Lynda Catindig-Garcia (IAWRT Chapter Head), Frenchie Mae Cumpio’s mother, Jola Diones-Mamangun (IAWRT International Vice President), and witness of Frenchie Mae Cumpio’s case.

AlterMidya, for its part, said the struggle to keep the country’s press genuine free persist as Cumpio remains in detention.

Cumpio has been in detention for more than three years after being arrested over trumped-up charges in February 2020. Her arrest came at the heels of relentless red-tagging against her over her critical reportage on the continuing plight of Typhoon Haiyan survivors and the impacts of militarization in the poor communities of Eastern Visayas.

AlterMidya said, “with every day that Frenchie Mae and independent
journalists are deprived of their freedom, burdened by fabricated charges, and silenced by unjust blocking orders– and we Filipinos are deprived of the full realization of our right to expression — it becomes ever more clear that we as a people must continue to fight for press freedom and assert our most fundamental rights.”

IAWRT PhilippineS Chapter have released the online statement and petition to release Frenchie Mae Cumpio during the World Press Freedom Day – Link.

Categories
Journalist security Workshop

JMIC trains 45 Ugandan journalism students in safety and security – Unsafe journalists cannot tell good stories.

By Gerald Walulya, JMIC coordinator – Uganda

Digital and physical security was put on the agenda when 45 final year journalism students and early career journalists participated in safety training in Uganda in early April.

Department of Journalism and Communication, Makerere University, Uganda, in cooperation with JMIC, conducted a four-day workshop on safety and security of journalists 3 rd- to 6 th April, 2023.

While speaking at the beginning of the training, Dr. Nakiwala Aisha Sembatya, the Head of Department of Journalism and Communication highlighted the importance of the workshop noting that such training is crucial for young journalists, because it enables them to know what to do when they are faced with safety and security threats. She commended JMIC for its continued support towards the Department that has enabled them to prepare their students well.

Journalists in Uganda face serious threats that range from intimidation, physical and psychosocial harassment, arrest and detention on a nearly daily basis. Journalists are regularly targeted by state actors such as security services, who include the army and the police and non-state actors such as mobs, politicians and powerful business people whose enterprises may be threatened by the journalists’ critical reporting.

The workshop was facilitated by local and international facilitators. Local facilitators included, Dr. Sara Namusoga, a Lecturer at the Department of Journalism and Communication, Culton Scovia Nakamya, a local Television journalist and Dr. Aisha Nakiwala. The local trainers were supported by Abeer Saady, a recognised safety trainer associated with Journalism & Media International Center.

Dr. Sara Namusoga told participants that journalists should be aware of their safety digitally and physically, because unsafe journalists cannot tell good stories.

Namusoga advised participants to always backup their data, avoid opening emails from untrusted sources, distancing themselves from usage of public Wi-Fi, noting that doing so exposes their accounts to hackers.

Abeer Saady took participants through a number of issues related to safety and security including, risk management and safety planning while working in hostile environments, situational awareness and ethical dilemmas related to safety and security.

Dorcus Nzayisenga, one of the participants applauded the trainers for making the sessions engaging. “The sessions were very educative and above all interactive which gives us students a chance to express our views. The facilitators were audible and made use of their personal experience, for proper understanding.”

Another participant, Moreen Atwiine said that she has learnt a lot from the training. “As a journalist l have become more aware about the threats l can face while doing my work and also the mechanisms to manage these threats.” She pledged to share the knowledge she has
acquired with fellow journalists. “ I will educate fellow journalist who didn’t get the chance to attend the workshop about their safety. I will also start practicing the tips about my safety and security as a journalist that I have learnt.”

Categories
Conference Journalist security Press freedom

International conference on Challenges for the Safety of Women Journalists

By: Jola Diones-Mamangun  

The 39th 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 

Categories
Gender Journalist security Press freedom

Award to Iraqi Kurdish journalist 

Niyaz Abdullah has been awarded by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Click to open link.

She is a member of International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) chapter in Kurdistan in Iraq, and has worked in Radio NAWA for many years.  

According to CPJ she has covered politics, civil unrest, government corruption, human rights, and ethnic and religious minorities in Iraqi Kurdistan.  

She has faced legal harassment by security forces and local authorities, and she has been detained and threatened with violence over her work. 

Niyaz Abdullah has been granted residence in France. 

Niyaz Abdullah, Iraqi Kurdistan
Categories
Journalist security Press freedom Workshop

JMIC trains Ukrainians and Russians in safety 

JMIC safety coach Abeer Saady led a safety training organized by the organization Unbias the News March 22.: Reporting in a conflict zone – Safety and ethics. 

Ukrainian journalists receiving support

194 people had registered, and 67 people entered the zoom room. Among those registered were 17 from Ukraine and 11 from Russia, informs Unbiasthenews, https://unbiasthenews.org/about-us/ 

The other participants were from all over the world – especially African and Arab countries. Many asked questions – several had experience from covering the war in Ukraine. 

Safety trainer Abeer Saady, and important questions during the training.

Abeer Saady has previously provided such training to Ukrainian journalists, and is still in contact with some of them. Also after this workshop, she has had contact with participants from Ukraine and Russia, among others. 

Categories
Gender Journalist security

Learn about safety for women journalists  

A speaker from Russia will introduce the discussion on Challenges to the Safety of Women Journalists On Women’s day March 8th 2022 at 2 pm local time Oslo. 

Watch the webinar:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6P2HgkZUN4  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iawrt.org/videos/352664540071029 

The webinar is a cooperation between International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) and JMIC. 

The speakers include Inna Berezkina, School of Civic Education in Russia, Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Hrybenko, Kreshma Fakhri and  Najiba Ayubi from IAWRT Afghanistan and Birgitte Jallov from IAWRT Denmark. 

Therese San Diego will present experiences from a digital safe house in the Philippines by IAWRT, to be followed by Raiza Quallateon Mwawanga from IAWRT Tanzania, Naila Hamdy, from The American University in Cairo (AUC) in Egypt, Rand Sabbagh from the Syrian Female Journalists Network (SFJN), Sonali Dhawan from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)and Nabeelah Shabbir from International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). 

The webinar is a follow up from last year’s event on new research on media and gender, when a special issue of journalism education on gender and media was launched. This year we want to focus on the experiences with the Digital Safe House (DSH) in the Philippines to see which experiences can be relevant in other parts of the world – and of course look at challenges to the safety of women journalists in the light of the war on Ukraine.  

Watch the webinar:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6P2HgkZUN4  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iawrt.org/videos/352664540071029 

More information and registration:
https://www.oslomet.no/en/about/events/safety-women-journalists