The media in Uganda has grown over the last three decades mainly because of liberalization of the sector which permitted individual ownership. This pattern implies an increase in the number of electronic and print media houses that widely recruited personnel to run these entities. Currently there are over 240 licensed radio stations in Uganda, although this figure is higher if the other 40 unlicensed are taken into account. Televisions currently operating number over twenty and newspapers stand at thirty. The context appears pluralistic given the statistics but this does not mean there are...
IPDC project priority: Promoting Freedom of Expression and Media Pluralism
Right of access to information is considered as one of the most essential Constituents of freedom of press and media. As per the studies and annual reports issued by the Press Syndicate and the Civil Society Institutions, right of access to information is inaccessible to journalists and media professionals in Jordan. The Jordanian Constitution does not provide citizens the right of access to information, in addition to the fact that the law which guarantees the right of access to information is a restricted law which leads to making the confidentiality of information and documents is the...
The conclusion many researchers have drawn is that (for the most part) the media relegate women to marginality, silence or absence. It has been revealed to several field studies and media conferences that there are certain obvious obstacles to women's access to various communication and information sources, particularly in Upper Egypt. These include poverty, illiteracy, low levels of education and lack of time. National and local conferences about mass-media confirmed that journalists in Upper Egypt, and especially women, are in dire need for consistent systems of scientific knowledge...
During the first six months of 2012, the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) monitored 102 violations against journalists and media outlets, of which 34 were physical attacks. In addition, over the past decade, IOF have killed 20 journalists during while they were covering various events in Palestine. Media departments at the Palestinian universities are contributing to the current situation in two ways: curricula do not include courses about local media laws or international conventions, legal standards and resolutions related to journalism. Therefore, journalists...
Many countries in the Asia-Pacific Region present serious concerns in gender imbalances and inequities in employment opportunities, female participation and the portrayal of women and girls. This project designed in line with The Beijing Platform for Action for Equality, Development and Peace, which places specific obligations on the media, both in the way women participate and in how they are portrayed and has objectives that require signatory nations and their citizens to ‘increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new...
The safety of journalists is not only about physical wellbeing. Safety extends to protection against impending psychological injury resulting from exposure to violence, conflict, disaster and tragedy. Both psychological safety and physical safety are inextricably linked. Research shows¹ that people who experience psychological trauma may have impaired decision making processes and take more physical risks than non trauma affected persons. Further studies show that people who are educated about ‘emotional (trauma) literacy’ are able to change their behavior and understand the emotional...
China is a country with numerous ethnic minorities. The Chinese government has paid attention to the development of the broadcasting and television industry in the minority areas. In 2011, the coverage rate of broadcasting and TV in these areas has reached 98%. Yunnan province has inhabitants altogether from 26 distinct minorities living in eight autonomous prefectures. Each prefecture has its own TV station. In the past, these TV stations have gradually developed from relaying the programs produced non-locally by CCTV and by the main provincial TV station of Yunnan, to producing content...
In Mongolia, a long overdue Law on Gender Equality was passed in February 2011. The law is explicitly prohibiting any act of exclusion, restriction and discrimination against women in every sphere. The legislation obliges central and local governments, political parties, private employers including media organizations to install regulations and mechanisms to ensure gender equality and to fight sexual harassment, and introduce penalties to those who break them. The government has also set up a task force to draft a new Gender Equality Action Plan for the next 5 years.
In spite of ...
It has been over three years since the Right to Information (RTI) Act was passed in Bangladesh, but no significant steps have been taken by the government to implement the Act, nor to raise awareness of it. Many journalists, both senior and junior, are not well aware of the RTI Act, in spite of its potential to play an important role in their professional duties (particularly filing follow-up, in-depth and investigative reports by using the RTI Act as a tool for information gathering.
In an attempt to address the issue, this project is aimed at raising local journalists' awareness...
Sri Lanka faces enormous challenges, not only in the areas of conflict resolution and national integration, but also in the face of the crisis of governance and challenges which need to be addressed to ensure Constitutionalism, the Rule of Law and participatory democracy. One of the major weaknesses in governance in Sri Lanka is the absence of transparency, under a strong culture of authority and secrecy rather than a culture of justification and transparency. When the 2004 draft bill on the subject was endorsed by both major parties, the general assumption was Sri Lanka would be among the...
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