Short Takes from Internews

“I’ve never met HIV-positive people before. Your workshop made them real for me, and made me realize they’re people too. I have a completely different view now, and a keen interest in reporting on them.” This comment came from a Kenyan journalist in an Internews project that enlists African radio journalists in the struggle against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
   
Photo: two women journalists interview a young woman
Internews Kenya
   

Kenyan radio reporters Anne Waithera, left, and Nasteha Mohammed, right, interview 17-year old Mary Wanjiru. After Wanjiru's parents both died of AIDS-related illnesses, she was left to care for her HIV-positive brother and sister.

   

Called “Local Voices,” the USAID-funded project trains radio journalists, deejays, and talk show hosts in Kenya and Nigeria to counteract the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and to provide more accurate information about prevention and treatment.

Since the opening of new Internews offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Abuja, Nigeria this past summer, “Local Voices” trainees have honed their skills in research, radio scriptwriting, and digital editing during intensive, hands-on seminars at Internews’ radio production studios. Internews also provides equipment, travel grants and research assistance to journalists, as well as public relations support to local NGOs working with HIV/AIDS.

A dozen years ago, Bulgaria was known as the home of the “Dark Avenger,” the notorious author of computer viruses. In September, Bulgaria had a chance to redeem its reputation by hosting the Southeast Europe Conference on Cybersecurity, to introduce governments and legal professionals to the various components of cybercrime.

“The Internet has eliminated distances and differences while placing at the hands of criminals a very powerful means of organized acts,” said Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov. “It is only through the joint actions of governments and citizens that we can build a reliable shield against cybercrime,” he said.

Sponsored by Internews’ dot-GOV project and the Bulgarian government with the support of USAID, the conference resulted in an agreement to establish a Southeast Europe-wide cybercrime institute.

In December Internews celebrated ten years of working for independent media in Ukraine. Internews enters its second decade as the lead partner of U-Media, a broad USAID-funded program fostering media in Ukraine, with five local partner organizations.

Over the past decade, Internews has created "Vikna," Ukraine's first independent evening news program; formed UNIKA, the first network of non-state TV stations; and developed the Independent Association of Broadcasters.

    Photo: group of Afghan men listening to radios
PJTV
   
Lucas Sopcua, left, was one of 42 Indonesian journalists who got hands-on training in working in conflict situations.

Lucas Sopcua, 41, a television journalist from Ambon, Indonesia, has felt the terror that a bloody religious conflict can create. One day he got out of his car ten minutes before it was blown to pieces. His son was threatened with kidnapping and there was a $10,000 price on his head.

This fall Sopcua came to Jakarta and faced hostility again. Within three days he was kidnapped, stripped of all his possessions and forced to walk along a booby-trapped path. He also had to give emergency first aid to five car crash victims.

The nightmare scenarios were all part of a training course designed to help journalists prepare for work in conflict situations.

"This training has given me confidence that I could cope with many of the dangers my family and I faced," said Sopcua.

Journalists from all over Indonesia participated in the “Hostile Environment” course at the PJTV training facility at the University of Indonesia.

PJTV was set up by Internews Indonesia with funding from the Royal Dutch Embassy. Centurion Risk Assessment Services helped organize the trainings.

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