DIVERSITY EXCHANGE

Issue 6

April 2010

GMDC Advisory Group Meeting: March 28, 2010

On March 28th, the GMDC held its annual Advisory group meeting. These meetings assist in guiding the work of the GMDC for the coming year. This year a number of decisions were taken regarding the direction and branding of the GMDC and its services. Among these were to elect a chair that will rotate anually. The newly elected chair is Kathy Matsika from NUST. The GMDC is going to take more aggressive approaches in terms of establishing partnerships and signing MOUs. The GMDC will be re-branding its Virtual Resource Centre to be more accessible to media educators. Via UNESCO, the GMDC will be accessing Open Source education systems and launch into the 21st century.

The Gender in Media Education Conference

The GMDC held a meeting from 29-31 March 2010 to discuss the findings of the Gender in Media Education (GIME) audit on how far media and journalism training institutions have mainstreamed gender into their curriculum. Representatives from 13 SADC countries were present: Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The aim of the meeting was to:

• Review the draft report of the findings of the audit on how far journalism and media training institutions have mainstreamed gender in the curriculum
• Discuss recommendations arising
• Map how the GMDC can support the implementation of plans of action
• Devise strategies on how institutions can support each other

The session began with a key note address from Dr. Tjama Tjivikua, Rector at the Polytechnic on Namibia (PoN). He stated, 'surely, the solution to this gigantic problem lies beyond mainstreaming gender in journalism education. But that doesn't mean that we should give up or become complacent. If it weren't for the concerted, specific efforts targeted at mainstreaming gender in society in general, and in journalism curriculum in particular, human progress will be retarded and incomplete.'

This was followed by presentations from PoN, ZAMCOM and the University of Dar es Salaam on how their institutions are taking steps to include gender in media education, inside and outside of the classroom. In the presentation by Dr. Bernadette Killian, she noted that at the University of Dar es Salaam, they have a television and radio station as well as a student newspaper. Once used as a labotatory for learning, they now use them to prodcuse programmes outside of the campus, like other media houses. UNESCO presented on online communities of practice for media trainers as this will be a way forward in continuing the dialogue for the GIME. The remainder of the meeting was spent exploring the findings of the report and breaking into group working sessions.

Next steps from the meeting:

1.  Sign MOU with Gender Links
2.  Encourage institutions to set up advisory committees
3.  Review all curriculum to identify gender entry points
4.  Network with other institutions in the region with gender and     media modules and other examples of gender-specific courses to gather examples which may be adapted for teaching
5.  Present gender-responsive curriculum, guidelines developed during next upcoming curriculum review and in the online Community of Practice
6.  Advocate for the development of institutional gender policies
7.  Establish strategic partnerships with relevant organisations working on gender issues.
8.  Include lecturers in GL’s ongoing media monitoring and upcoming research initiatives
9.  Identify regional materials that can beprovided by Gender Links and used in courses within media training 
10. Contact Portuguese speaking universities to help acquire gender and media texts in Portuguese
11. Investigate sharing of documents between GMDC and e-learning platforms

Overall, the conference offer a networking platform for all parties involved and an opportunity for mutually learning and growth. David Kerr of the University of Botwana summed up his experience “I think every time I come to one of these meetings, I feel that things have changed amazingly...Gender Links is building momentum that is irresistible.”

Seminar: 2010 and Sex Work
As a supplement to the advisory group meeting and GIME conference, the GMDC hosted a lively debate on the subject of Soccer 2010 and Sex work. as this is a highly political issue, it was those that were the most invested in the issue (both for and against decriminalisation) who stepped up to the plate.

Marlise Richter (PhD student, Wits), Sister Rose Nyundo (University of Zambia) and Michael Contheh (University of Namibia) formed what proved to be a heated discussion, gracefully chaired by Emily Brown (Polytechnic of Namibia). Richter began with a presentation of her research: Sex work and the 2010 FIFA World Cup: time for public health imperatives to prevail. Followed by Sister Rose and Conteh. A summary of this discussion will be available on our Seminars page shortly.

To learn more about the GMDC seminar series, please  contact Saeanna at gmdc@genderlinks.org.za.

Gender Links hosted the first Gender Justice and Local Government Summit from 22-24 March 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Under the banner “365 Days of local action to end gender violence” the summit included key note addresses and parallel seminars by international and local experts in the field of gender violence at local government level, and gender justice. To read about this event, click here.

Blog Debate: Economic Opportunities for Women During 2010

The next blog debate will take place from April 14 - 16, 2010. The subject will be Economic Opportunities for Women during 2010.

Instructions to particpate in Blog forum.

Ear on Radio
Base FM, Namibia

Base FM  uses debates to promote HIV/AIDS awareness in Namibia, and to increase the chances of encouraging HIV/AIDS-related behavior change among youth.

To watch a brief video click here.

Social Networks

GMDC and Beijing plus 15

“Men get the thighs and the breast”, remarked Marren Akatsa-Bukaci, “but women only get the feet…we need the whole chicken”.

This year at the Commission of the Status of Women / 15 year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action the prevailing view was that women need to take hold of the metaphorical reigns. The GMDC hosted a series of dialogues as well as face to face seminars in Johannesburg and New York City. The GMDC even recruited local high school students to assist with the dialogues in Johannesburg. Summaries of these discussions can be found here.

Through GMDC seminars, cyber dialogues, partners events and NGO parallel events, many conversations came back to the point that through new media and citizen journalism, the wheels of patriarchy can be turned back. In the GMDC seminar on gender and media participants noted that the marginal increase of women as news sources from 17% in 1995 to approximately 24% is not nearly enough, however, looking at an average percentage may be misleading. Country specific examples should be focused on, as some countries are doing far better than others in terms of gender parity. Grassroots and community media should be factored into such an average, as well as social media and blogging.

Photo from L to R: Yipping Cai, Sophie Touphin, Deborah Walter, Mwenda Yeta Mkhize, Elizabeth Xohas, Olya Booyar, Jan Moolman, Alina Radu, Joseph Robertson

Get out your laptops ladies...and locate yourselves!
The importance of new media in advancing gender equality was noted time and time again at B + 15. On March 1st, the Women’s Intercultural Network hosted a panel titled, Social Media for Social Change. The panel looked at women as the primary users of  popular social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook as well as blogs. This can be attributed to the fact that the Internet provides an open forum where women can feel free to participate equally with men, and through the internet communities can be created for those with similar experiences, concerns and interests.

Tae Yoo, Senior Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, Cisco, spoke of the significance and role of technology in advancing gender equality. She stated that “the Internet is the most ubiquitous network for inclusion."

The GMPS found that there are not nearly enough women in the media, and that women are excluded. The GenderIT.org team and its partners tracked the journey of women’s “J” spot and the communication dimension of women's rights during the 15-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action. As yet the communication rights of women have not been a priority. To read about what happened, click here.

Is the way of the future online media? Based on responses in New Yor, it would seem an overwhelming "Yes!"


Eye on Video
Talking about Section J

Girls and social media
Taking section J forward
Access to Internet in Lebannon

A+ for Namibia

The Polytechnic of Namibia and The University of Namibia have pledged to begin mainstreaming gender into their media training, following the Gender in Media Education Audit taken in October 2009. The findings of this audit were explored in a meeting held by the UNESCO office in Windhoek on November 23rd, 2009, where Gender Links presented the Audit and recommendations were established to prioritise appropriate follow-up actions. This meeting was hosted after an initial meeting on November 23rd, 2009. The three main goals of the meeting were to:

•  Develop training and development programmes to build capacity of full-time and part-time lecturers to mainstream gender into the development of course content .
• Identify new areas of specialised reporting that incorporate gender, e.g. Reporting Gender Violence and Human Trafficking.
• Create institutional exchanges between PoN and UNAM to share expertise and exchange information on how each department is incorporating gender into their Media education and Journalism training.

These goals were actualised in the latest meeting and the working group establised clear steps to bring gender mainstreaming on board in media training in Namibia. This will be done in the following ways:

1. Starting immediately, both PoN and UNAM will create a “core in core” course. This would entail placing a gender element in the existing core media and communication courses, which would consist of a two week (8 teaching hours) segment in the introductory modules at both institutions.

2. PoN and UNAM will utilise Internet Technology to create a Community of Practice around gender in media training.

3. At a later date, mainstreaming gender, and GBV, into all existing course offerings including: photojournalism and visual media, news gathering, language used by the media, tabloids and commercial pressures, Information Technology, sub-editing and media law.  To this end, the 2009 audit of the range of existing courses could be used as an entry point into the process.

4. Drafting of gender policies for both institutions, to be followed up at the GIME meeting from March 29 – 30th in Johannesburg and the launch of the Gender in Media Progress study on May 3rd, 2010 in Windhoek.

Gender Links and UNESCO will be assisting both PoN and UNAM in these processes. With much momentum for this project, these institutions will serve as trendsetters for the rest of the region.

Johannesburg: Foul play behind closed doors
Michael van Niekerk, Wen-Cheng Zheng and Jesse Wright, Grade 11 students, Sacred Heart School

A group of young women at our school have been denied the right to enjoy soccer as a sporting activity of their choice. Female students approached the school board with the proposal of either starting a female soccer team funded by the school, or joining the boys’ team. Both ideas were viciously shot down.

Sex work and the 2010 FIFA World Cup: time for public health imperatives to prevail.
Richter ML, Chersich MF, Scorgie F, Luchters S, Temmerman M, Steen R.

Sex work is receiving increased attention in southern Africa. In the context of South Africa's intense preparation for hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, anxiety over HIV transmission in the context of sex work has sparked debate on the most appropriate legal response to this industry. DISCUSSION: Drawing on existing literature, the authors highlight the increased vulnerability of sex workers in the context of the HIV pandemic in southern Africa. They argue that laws that criminalise sex work not only compound sex workers' individual risk for HIV, but also compromise broader public health goals. International sporting events are thought to increase demand for paid sex and, particularly in countries with hyper-endemic HIV such as South Africa, likely to foster increased HIV transmission through unprotected sex. SUMMARY: The 2010 FIFA World Cup presents a strategic opportunity for South Africa to respond to the challenges that the sex industry poses in a strategic and rights-based manner. Public health goals and growing evidence on HIV prevention suggest that sex work is best approached in a context where it is decriminalised and where sex workers are empowered. In short, the authors argue for a moratorium on the enforcement of laws that persecute and victimise sex workers during the World Cup period.

To read moreclick here.

‘Culture’, Women, Violence; No Excuses for Violence Against Women!
Women's Empowerment in Muslim Contexts - WEMC

Violence against women is condemned by the international community as a violation of women’s basic human rights, regardless of whether such violence is perpetrated by the State or by family members, whether in public or private spheres. But despite the international consensus on the need to end violence against women, violence against women persists in many societies. A key reason for this persistence is the misuse of ‘culture’ to justify violence against women. Through this misuse of ‘culture’, violence against women is legitimised and thereby perpetuated.

The Research Program Consortium on ‘Women’s Empowerment in Muslim Contexts’ (WEMC) sees violence against women as a mechanism of control used by patriarchal forces to disempower women. The use of ‘culture’ to excuse violence against women is part of these processes of control and disempowerment.

To read more click here. 

Wide Statement to the 54th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
Globalising Gender Equality and Social Justice, New York ,1-12 March 2010

Fifteen years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action structural inequalities based on gender differences, exclusion, discrimination and violence against women are still present worldwide. In the present context of multiple global crises (economic, financial, food, energy, climate and care), WIDE is concerned that gender equality and enforcement of women’s human rights are losing ground worldwide. Over the last five years the EU and Member States have adopted a number of crucial documents on this issue.1 These political initiatives are important but they are not enough. Evidence still shows that there is still a huge gap between discourse and action.
Thus, it is essential that European governments comply with their agreed commitments and the coherence of policies vis-à-vis the promotion of gender equality and women´s rights and the fight against poverty. Some key moments along 2010, where WIDE wants to see this happening will be the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, the approval of the Gender Action Plan and the EU strategy planning for the next HLF on Aid Effectiveness in Seoul 2011.

To read more click here.

The Gender and Media Diversity Journal, Issue 8: "Gender and Soccer 2010"

The FIFA Soccer World Cup 2010 is one of the most important upcoming sporting, economic, media and social events for South Africa and the Southern Africa region. The event has the potential to offer women and men in the region opportunities to participate in and access a range of economic opportunities as well as to ensure a social legacy from 2010. However, for the most part a gender perspective is missing, most notable in the media. For the most part, media has been reporting on the logistical aspects of the mega-event, but not the “problems and possibilities” especially in terms of gender. The most recent journal, the seventh edition, was themed "Gender, Media, Sport and 2010.” Taking into account the regional significance of the  2010 World Cup, the eighth edition will provide a follow up to this theme, exploring “2010: Problems and Possibilities.” the journal will focus on five key themes:

•    Economic opportunities
•    Human trafficking
•    Rights of sex workers
•    Women and sport
•    Gender, media and sport:

The journal  includes papers presented at the 2010 colloquium in December, and features articles produced during the December 2009 “Business Unusual” workshop. One of the key thrusts behind this edition is to encourage media to engage more actively in the 2010 event, to see stories that are currently not being told. In June 2010 GL/ GMDC will host a press centre for journalists. The journal will be an ideal resource for the international media to access when looking for story leads outside the usual, during the event.

To purchase a copy, please contact Mukayi at execassistant@genderlinks.org.za

Gender Links believes that the best way to unearth key issues is to move them into the public domain and talk about them. Therefore at the forefront of GL’s work is the use of seminars for debate and discussion. Contact Saeanna at gmdc@genderlinks.org.za for more information.

GIME Seminar: Mozambique
Following Namibia's Lead, a workshop was  held in Mozambique on April 6th, 2010,  to explore the findings of the Gender in Media Education Audit. It will focus on Eduardo Modlande University in Maputo. Gender Links board members, Eduardo Namburete and Ruth Ayisi hosted the day long workshop.

Gender in Media Summit: August 2010
While dates are not yet finalised, the theme for this year's GEM Summit will be "Media for Change: Taking Stock" which will look how far we have come with gender in media, and most specifically, how far Gender Links and its partners have come in the last 10 years.
To learn more about these events, contact Jennifer at GMDCManager@genderlinks.org.za.

An example of Taking Stock" can be found in the article "Our Daughters, Ourselves" by Lynn Povich

On March 16, 1970, Newsweek published a cover story on the burgeoning women's movement called "Women in Revolt."  That same Monday morning, 46 female Newsweek staffers announced that we, too, were in revolt.  We were filing a complaint against the magazine for gender discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, the first women in the media to sue.  There was no question we were on the right side of the law. All of us had been hired into--and rarely got out of--the lowest editorial category on the masthead, "Editorial Assistant," otherwise known as Researcher. Even the then Editor of Newsweek, Osborn Elliott, inadvertently acknowledged the bias when he issued a statement in response saying, "The fact that most researchers at Newsweek are women and virtually all men are writers stems from a newsmagazine tradition going back almost 50 years." To read more click here.

Broadcasting Scores! Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Johannesburg Conference
17-21 April. Sandton, Johannesburg

Gender Links will be attending the Commonwealth Broadcasting Assosiation (CBA) 2010 General Conference is “Broadcasting Scores!” The CBA  is an association of broadcasters throughout the Commonwealth. Founded in 1945, it is a major player in the broadcasting industry, working for quality broadcasting. Its General Conference is a key forum for broadcasters in the Commonwealth and beyond. The pan-Commonwealth conference is held every two years and runs strong technical sessions alongside editorial and managerial sessions.

The conference will be restricted to a maximum of 300 delegates - all top executives, including DGs, MDs and Chief Engineers - from over 100 member organisations of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, plus delegates from other relevant organisations. Members include SABC, e.tv, ABC, BBC, CBC, TVNZ, SBS, RNZ, SABC, Doordarshan, NDTV, and many others, including virtually all public service broadcasters of the Commonwealth, as well as commercial companies with a commitment to public service broadcasting.The conference is run by the CBA on a not-for-profit basis in association with SABC.

To learn more about this conference or the CBA, click here.

International Federation of Journalists World Congress 2010
Cadiz, Spain

Congress will be held at the end of May in Cadiz, Spain. Among the key debates at the Congress, from May 25-28th May, will be discussion on how the work of journalists is changing and how unions plan to recruit and organise the new media workforce.There will be focus, as usual, on the crisis of news safety and labour rights, but also how we reinforce the professional and ethical strength of journalism at a time when media employers and others are guilty of lowering standards.With traditional media models broken and a need for innovation in funding journalism of the future, delegates will look to the ideas from the IFJ’s report on discussion of the future to develop the policies that will meet the challenges and opportunities provided by media convergence in the information age.

To learn more about this conference or IFJ, click here.

AMARC Africa Capacity Building Conference: COMMUNITY RADIOS IN AFRICAN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Improving Content, Networks Contribution and Women Empowerment 19-22 July 2010, Johannesburg, South Africa
Location to be confirmed: Johannesburg, South Africa

For more information, click here.

The Second World Journalism Education Congress,  Journalism Education in an Age of Radical Change, July 2010 Grahamstown, South Africa.

The 2nd World Journalism Education Congress will be held at Rhodes University at the tail end of the FIFA World Cup, from July 5 - 7, 2010.
The purpose of the Congress is to provide a discussion forum on common issues and interests and a foundation for supporting the continuing development of journalism and journalism education worldwide. Attending the Congress will give journalism educators an opportunity to:
visit and network with their African colleagues, contribute to global journalism education discussions,and  present peer reviewed research papers on journalism education issues.

To learn more about this conference, click here.