[WSIS CS-Plenary] Re: [Ngowomen] WSIS-B+10: Media and ICT Caucus Statement

[Mavic]

Dear all,

Just in case you didn't receive this message, I'm sending it again.

By the way, I have some good news, we managed to this put in this clause: 
"Support and recognise community and independent media to counter the 
negative and stereotypical women and girls" in the Asia-Pacific Communique, 
the official document of the region that will be presented at the CSW 
Beijing + 10 in New York in March 2005.

The original formulation that wanted to put in was: "Support and recognise 
community and independent media through more responsive regulatory 
frameworks," but as we all know, it meetings like this, we often have to 
make compromises.

Warm regards,

Mavic

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Women's infocom groups form Media and ICT Caucus, reaffirm Beijing Platform

Bangkok, 08 September 2004-- Women's information and communication
organisations formed the Media and ICT Caucus in the ongoing Asia-Pacific
High Level Meeting to review the implementation of the Beijing Platform
for Action (BPFA). The move was meant to collectively assert the
reaffirmation and full implementation of the BPFA, particularly its Women
and Media Section or what is commonly referred to as Section J.
The Beijing Platform for Action is the main output document of the Fourth
World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995. It aims to
accelerate the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies
for the Advancement of Women; and remove all the obstacles to women's
active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a
full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political
decision-making.

Along with the call for the Platform's reaffirmation and full
implementation, the Media and ICT Caucus highlighted the persistent issues
in the area of media and the new information and communication
technologies (ICTs). Among these are: the continued negative and
stereotypical portrayal of women in the media, the under representation of
women in decision-making positions in media organisations, and women's
lack of access to ICT training. The Caucus also drew attention to issues
that emerged after 1995 and the 5-year review of the BPFA in 2000. These
include:
- the rapid development of the new information and communication
technologies;
- the ways by which ICTs have changed media production and distribution;
- the ways by which women's communication and advocacy tools have been
redefined; and
- the increasing commercialisation and globalisation of the media.

Even as they cited the persistent and emerging issues, the Caucus
underscored the various initiatives that women's media organisations have
taken as a response to those issues. At the parallel session on Gender
Responsive Information Society held today, Chat Garcia Ramilo from the
Association for Progressive Communications-Women's Networking Support
Programme and Sharon Bhagwan Rolls from FemLink Pacific and AMARC, cited
the engagement of women's groups in gender and ICT policy discussions and
women's use of community and independent media, respectively. Bhagwan
Rolls also stressed the need for women to be active in ICT policy
formulation and the actual development of the technologies "to avoid being
left behind."

In another event, the 'Dialogue with Government Delegates' organised by
the Asia-Pacific NGO Forum, Mavic Cabrera-Balleza from Isis
International-Manila and AMARC, emphasized the same issues and called on
government delegates to create more responsive regulatory frameworks to
support all forms of community and independent media. She also stressed
that women's active involvement in the media ensures diversity and
plurality of views and allows women's and people's organisations to
promote the goals of gender equality.

Meanwhile, in today's official plenary, the Pacific island countries
through the Pacific Regional Report, supported the Media and ICT Caucus'
recommendation to recognise "community media and independent media as
enabling mechanisms to achieve the goals of gender equality." Another
expression of support to community and independent media efforts came from
the Philippine delegation. Ms. Imelda Nicolas, the head of the delegation,
called attention to the opportunities that community and independent media
provides women that enable them to participate in media production and
decision-making in the media. She also underlined the fact that despite
the significant role that this type of media plays in advancing women's
status, many governments in the Asia-Pacific region have yet to recognise
and support such initiatives.

The Media and ICT Caucus, along with other NGO caucuses, will present its
statement at the official plenary on 10 September, the closing day of the
High-Level Meeting.

The Media and ICT Caucus is composed of the following women's information
and communication organisations: AMARC-(World Association of Community
Radio Broadcasters)-Women's International Network, Antenna Foundation
Nepal, Association for Progressive Communications-Women's Networking
Support Programme, FemLink Pacific, Isis International-Manila, and
Sancharika Samuha-Nepal.

- Report from Mavic Cabrera-Balleza of Isis International-Manila and
AMARC-Women's International Network