Internews Report - Fall 2006 - Humanitarian Media

Short Takes from Internews

HEALTH TEAM JOINS AIDS CONFERENCE

Photo: Group shot of conference attendees from Internews
CARLA CARTER-HOPWOOD
Members of the Internews health journalism team working in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Thailand and the US participated in the 2006 International AIDS Conference in Toronto in August. Internews held a roundtable discussion on “African News Media and HIV/AIDS” with the World Bank.
  

The pivotal role of the news media in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS was the focus of an Internews delegation to the 2006 International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Ontario in August. Attended by some 20,0000 researchers, health experts, NGOs and activists, the conference is the world’s most important annual gathering dealing with this critical health issue.

In partnership with the World Bank, Internews held a special roundtable discussion on “African News Media and HIV/AIDS.” Recognizing that stigma and lack of information in sub-Saharan Africa deter many people from finding out their HIV status or seeking treatment, the session explored the treatment of HIV/AIDS in African news media and offered suggestions for African journalists’ engagement with HIV/AIDS issues.

At the conference, Internews also provided daily online news updates from developing country journalists who attended the conference.

CARLOS PASCUAL ON INTERNEWS BOARD

Carlos Pascual has joined Internews Network’s Board of Directors. Pascual is Vice President and Director of the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution.

Pascual joined Brookings after a 23-year career in the US Department of State, the National Security Council, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

At the Department of State, Pascual served as Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, leading US government planning to help reconstruct societies in transition from conflict or civil strife. His work focused on Sudan and Haiti, and creating a capacity for civilian agencies to prevent and respond to conflict. He previously served as Ambassador to Ukraine.

MARKING KATRINA IN NEW ORLEANS

Photo: A young Russian journalist with a video camera
OLGA KRAVTSOVA/INTERNEWS RUSSIA
On the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Maxim Voronin from the TV station TV-2 in Tomsk, Russia filmed in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. Voronin was part of a group of five promising young Russian television journalists who toured several US cities in a 40-foot long mobile production studio. The journalists also made an appearance on CBS’ The Early Show. The tour was organized by Downtown Community Television Center in New York, Internews Network, and Internews Russia.

INTERNEWS AT CLINTON MEETING

    Photo: Sandy Berger and Jeanne Bourgault standing at podium
CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE

Former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger highlighted Internews’ Humanitarian Media Assistance Project at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York in September. Berger presented a certificate to Internews Network Chief Operating Officer Jeanne Bourgault.

CGI is an invitation-only, non-partisan endeavor that joins leaders from a range of disciplines to devise innovative solutions to global challenges.

Internews made a commitment to CGI to implement a humanitarian media assistance program that builds on its experience helping local media to provide critical information to populations affected by disaster. Internews is seeking funding partners to achieve this commitment.

FIREBOMBED STATION WILL BE REBUILT

At 2:30 a.m. on August 11, someone threw a firebomb through the window of Radio Istiqlal, a community radio station in Logar, Afghanistan. Though no one was seriously hurt, nearly all the equipment was destroyed.

Radio Istiqlal is one of 32 independent, Afghan-operated stations built by Internews throughout Afghanistan under grants from USAID and Pact. Internews is helping the station to replace its lost broadcasting equipment and to rebuild in a safer location.