Networking for Peace

After two decades of war, Sri Lanka is moving towards a political solution to the ethnic conflict that has caused deep scars and trauma among its people. The women, who have long suffered from the consequences of war, are now moving to help re-establish communication between communities and start the process of reconciliation.
“We recognise our proactive and expediting role in working towards peace,” says Annie Kurian of the Women’s Development Centre (WDC) in Kandy. WDC, which initiated peace and solidarity visits to its National Forum members earlier this year, is planning a national workshop on ‘Reconciliation and Media: Women’s Initiatives’. This will be the first of several workshops on the theme to be undertaken by the Asian Network of Women in Communication (ANWIC), a WACC-related network linking women’s communication groups in 14 Asian countries. ANWIC’s previous series of workshops were on Gender, Media Awareness and Advocacy.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are evolving at breakneck speed as the industrial society that marked the 20th century rapidly gives way to the information society of the 21st century. Within this context, the international community has become increasingly focused on the linkages between ICTs and development. The result is that ICTs are now seen as the magic solution to the multiple problems of economic development, healthcare and education as well as strengthening civil society, promoting democracy, and making governments more open and accountable. At the same time as ICTs are promoted as the panacea to the curse of underdevelopment, there is a recognition that those who most need the boost that ICTs can provide are least able to take advantage of it. The bridging of this ‘digital divide’, is therefore now high on the global development agenda with multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies channelling millions of dollars into projects which aim to support the ability of the marginalized to harness the power of ICTs.

 “We believe that by bringing all the parties to one venue, remarkable relationships between research, activism and information flow will be utilized, a lasting partnership established, and a design of learning and sharing will act as our strong future bridge.”
Ruth Ojiambo-Ochieng, Director of Isis-WICCE, hosts of ‘Know How 2002’

Every year on 8th March, women around the world gather together to celebrate their achievements and to look ahead to the challenges still facing the women’s movement. International Women’s Day was marked in Guatemala this year by the creation of the Network of Women on Air at a meeting of women communicators who work in community media in the interior of Guatemala. Organised by three  social communicators including Maya Cu, poet and former member of CEDEPCA (Centro Evangelico de Estudios Pastorales de America Latina), the meeting aimed to explore the image of women projected by the media through media monitoring training, and to create a space for sharing and exchange of concerns that might serve as a basis for the formation of a network of women communicators.

Supinya Klangnarong, who has spent the last six years campaigning for the reform and democratisation of the state-managed media in Thailand, is this year undertaking an MA in Communication Policy, supported by WACC’s Training Assistance Programme. For Supinya, the academic knowledge that she has gained in the last year has been invaluable in equipping her to critique the approach of those in Thailand who are against broadcast reform. As she explains, ‘it will allow me to argue confidently against the powers that be for a communication policy that advocates the right to communicate, that gives a voice to those denied one and that encourages the poor to create their own space in the public sphere’. Here, Supinya discusses her thesis which analyses the opportunities and challenges of the new broadcasting reform in Thailand.

Sometimes I dislike being a delicate bird
Whose wings were broken one day and who lived without flying.
The quiet nest became her high skies,
A place for her to sing and space to fly.
And even you, bird, if they took away your wings,
Tweet loudly saying that you are angry.
Try until one day you become strong,
For the cry of the oppressed breaks down the bars of the cage.