May 27, 2009

Celebrating the transformative power of information

Dear Friend,

Join us in celebrating the Internews Media Leadership Awards this coming Tuesday, June 2. Through these awards, Internews honors the achievements of international journalists and the transformative power of quality news and information in people’s lives.

Below is a link to an interview with one of our 2009 honorees, the RAMAK radio network in Haiti, which illuminates just how vital local media are to their communities.

Honorary Co-Chairs Mariane Pearl & Ted Leonsis
Internews Board Chair Kathy Bushkin Calvin

Tuesday, June 2, 2009
VIP Reception: 5:30-6:00 pm
Cocktail Reception: 6:00-7:30 pm
DLA Piper, 500 8th St. NW, Washington, DC (map)

Q&A with Jean Fedner Chéry

Strengthening Community Radio in Haiti

In Haiti, 41 community radio stations have organized themselves into a network to improve the quality of the service they bring to their communities. Today RAMAK, a 2009 Internews Media Leadership Awards honoree, is the largest media network in the country, covering over 80% of the national territory, reaching remote populations that no other media outlet reaches. RAMAK stations have built a solid reputation as the voice of their local communities. In times of crisis and emergencies, people count on them to relay crucial information on such matters as the direction of hurricanes, the distribution of flood relief or the location of their polling station.
(Q&A with RAMAK Coordinator General Jean Fedner Chéry)

Internews is proud to also be honoring the following people with an Internews Media Leadership Award on Tuesday, June 2:

• James Nachtwey, award-winning photojournalist documenting war, conflicts and critical social issues around the world (Watch the TED Prize talk by James Nachtwey on giving witness through his work to evoke our shared sense of conscience.)
• Tasneem Ahmar, Director of Uks Research Center, which works to improve reporting on women and human rights in Pakistan (Q&A with Ahmar)
• Thepchai Yong, Managing Director of Thai PBS, Thailand’s first independent public broadcaster (Q&A with Thepchai)