IAMCR participated in the UNESCO Global Forum on Media and Gender, held in Bangkok, Thailand, December 2-4, 2013. Janet Wasko, IAMCR president, Aimée Vega, vice-president, were there and prepared this short report. IAMCR will continue to engage with the emerging Global Alliance for Media and Gender.
IAMCR participated in the UNESCO Global Forum on Media and Gender, held in Bangkok, Thailand, December 2-4, 2013. Janet Wasko, IAMCR president, Aimée Vega, vice-president, were there and prepared this short report.
Called to evaluate trends in gender inequalities in the media and to formulate collective and creative solutions to reduce them, the Global Forum on Media and Gender brought together global leaders and decision-makers from media organisations, civil society, governments, international agencies, business and human rights organisations.
In its role as an NGO affiliated with UNESCO, IAMCR was a partner in the event and helped to promote the forum. Several IAMCR members were able to attend the meetings in Bangkok, including Janet Wasko, Aimée Vega, Karen Ross, Claudia Padovani and Margaret Gallagher. We had the opportunity to act collectively to influence discussions at the forum that focused on a wide range of issues related to media and gender, as well as contributing to the proposal to form a Global Alliance on Media and Gender.
IAMCR chaired two sessions during the Forum - Current Research on Gender and Communication: The policy and strategy link and A Research and Policy Agenda for the Global Alliance on Media and Gender. During the sessions speakers from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and North America focused on some of the main trends and challenges facing gender equality in media.
During the conference, IAMCR also took part in a High Level Working Group, which was charged with producing a “Framework and Plan of Action for the Global Alliance for Media and Gender.” The framework and plan will be published by UNESCO and the forum’s global partners in the coming weeks. We felt that IAMCR played an important role in representing the scholarly community in these discussions.
Prior to the forum, IAMCR worked with UNESCO to prepare an e-book on issues related to gender and media. The collection includes a range of articles by scholars who have worked for many years on issues relating to media and gender. Unfortunately, the book was not ready for the Global Forum due to problems with UNESCO’s publishing department. The book is now scheduled to be launched in conjunction with International Women’s Day, and will serve as a follow-up on the forum as well as inspiration for the emerging alliance.
We feel that the Global Alliance on Media and Gender is an historical process that can benefit from the contributions of scholars. Future IAMCR activities in relation to the alliance are being planned and we will be sharing these plans as they evolve.
As Claudia Padovani eloquently explained after the forum: “I believe this was a very powerful experience for us as a group: being exposed to something different from academic settings, learning how to surf and find our space in this, being challenged to still 'make sense' according to the very things we believe are important to push forward. And I think this promises to make a difference for IAMCR and its future operations.”
Janet Wasko & Aimée Vega
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