Workshops
Gender and Media in the Information Society
Organized by
the WSIS Gender Caucus
8 December, 2003.
A focus on
women's perspectives on media in the Information Society, including the
need to integrate traditional forms of communication with electronic communication
and to promote and protect women's information and content production.
Content
Programme/Speakers
- Muthoni Wanyeki, FEMNET
- Heike Jensen
- Sucharita Eashwar
- Kristina Mihalec
- Lettie Longwe, AMARC
- Grace Githaiga, EcoNews
Report
The first workshop of the World Electronic Media Forum was focused on gender and media in the Information Society.
Five women, professionally involved to guarantee human and women's rights, gave the tone of the debate. The discussion
dealt with the image of women shaped by media as well as the direct participation of women in the media's daily construction.
Another question was how social and cultural aspects can influence the way women are able to use new means of communication,
such as Internet for example, effectively and appropriately.
Kristina MIHALEC, who studies the women's access to information in Eastern Europe and in developing countries, ascertained
that in Croatia, for example, women do not have a significant online presence. The result of her analysis of a portal with
more than 1400 links to web pages showed that only 5% of the web pages were created by women. As for the image of women in
those countries, 25% of the links lead to pornographic sites. "Most, if not all the countries in Eastern Europe are in
transition, that is social, political, economic instability and poverty. As a woman put it, changing the status of women
is not just a matter of changing politics or government, but a process which depends on changes in the way each individual
thinks and acts upon", Mihalec said.
How to use the media's tools to help the development of women? That was one of the main questions of the workshop. To accept
and to use new ICT as a strategic tool for social activism, is strongly linked with their utility in everyday life. Many
journalists expressed worries about the incomplete democratization of computers and media. The lack of translated texts
was highlighted as another problem: even those who have access to Internet can't benefit if they do not speak English.
On the other hand, the main point is not only to publish information in many languages, but also to bring society to take
part in its production. This was the opinion of an Argentine journalist, who worked on a project for liberty of expression
and democratization of the information. Media professionals from Cuba gave their testimony about the increase of women's
participation for the lasts five years. Another journalist, from Kenya, recalled a successful radio experience which promoted
discussion about violence against women, interacting with the community and changing their way of thinking.
Elvira TRUGLIA, a writer from Canada, insisted on the fact that women's development is not an issue for most of the media,
and that the public must become reactive instead of passive.
Notes for a Broadcasters' Action plan
- Women’s development must become a central issue for mainstream media.
- Informing and training women on ICT opportunities is a priority.
- Generally, media need to engage the public to be active rather than passive.
- As the WEMF clearly exemplified, more women should access media executive positions
Guillaume Chenevière, Executive Director of the WEMF
Resources
Gender and ICT's:
Women and media:
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