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African Articles
By Frank Jomo, Malawi
While churches have largely spoken against injustices and inequalities, the way women are represented and addressed in most congregations in Europe leaves much to be desired, said Karin Achtelstetter, Director of Communication at the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
“With regard to the core of communication and gender, I can affirm that communication in my church is dominantly masculine,” Achtelstetter said, quoting a woman working in the church in the Netherlands.
Her view is supported by other examples Achtelstetter drew from sources across Europe. There is male dominance within church and communication structures and a lack of policy sensitive to women and gender-related issues.
Por Manuel Quintero, Cuba
“Realmente he visto reflejada la realidad de nuestro país, me parece haber estado en una región donde viven nuestras poblaciones indígenas y afrodescendientes; son los mismos rostros que vimos en el documental”.
Así reaccionó Alma Montoya, de Colombia, a la exhibición de “Ondas de Choc”, un documental canadiense sobre una radio local que informa valerosamente sobre la realidad en la República Democrática del Congo, un país asolado por una prolongada y sangrienta guerra civil.
By Robyn Naylor, Canada
Many people outside South Africa would not know the names Florence de Villiers or Helen Kotze, two women who united in 1969 at the height of apartheid. They could not tell you about Zubeida Jaffer, a Muslim journalist and activist who exposed police killings in the 1980s but was tortured and arrested, or Diana Ferrus, who chose poetry and art to fight oppression when police forced their way into her family’s home to warn them to stay put.
During its opening ceremony WACC recognized “clouds of witnesses”--eight men and women from different faiths, backgrounds and races who defied authorities in the face of South Africa’s racism and oppression.
Par Mathilde KPALLA, Eglise Evangélique Presbytérienne du Togo
Adeline NSIMIRE est l’une des partenairesde la WACC venus de par le monde pour assister à la consultation que cette dernière a organisé ce 04 octobre 2008. Une consultation qui a pour objectif d’évaluer des projets soutenus par la WACC et de permettre aux participants de partager leurs expériences.
Adeline NSIMIRE est la coordinatrice de l’organisation « Sauti ya Mwanamke Kijijini » (SAMWAKI) qui signifie la voix de la femme rurale. Elle a pour but de permettre aux femmes du Sud Kivu en République Démocratique du Congo d’avoir accès à l’information et à la communication et leur permettre de s’autosuffire. Elle a initié un projet de radio communautaire financé par la WACC.
By Munyaradzi Makoni, South Africa
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Christian Council of Ghana’s (CCG) efforts to raise the awareness of its people to eradicate the stigma associated with HIV and Aids is bearing fruit, thanks to WACC, says Joyce Steiner, CCG’s Programme Manager.
“Dying alone is painful, but passing on in respectable dignity is welcome. We want to break major barriers in access to treatment and support,” says Steiner. |
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Joyce Steiner, CCG’s Programme Manager |
Pre-congress consultation identifies best practices, recommendations
By Stella Etemesi
The rich experiences shared by project partners gathered for the Development Initiatives Programme (DIP) consultation affirms WACC General Secretary Randy Naylor’s assertion that DIP represents “the most exciting work that WACC has done.”
Held two days ahead of the WACC Congress 2008, the consultation is the first opportunity for DIP partners from 36 countries to meet and share stories about their work.
Working groups at the consultation were framed around the DIP’s five thematic areas--gender and media, communication and poverty, recognizing and building communication rights, HIV and AIDS and communication for peace. In the groups partners shared their work, identified best practices and learned lessons from each other despite their different backgrounds. “We have a very narrow way of looking at our struggles. We need to look at what other people are doing, hear about their struggle and try to understand it. This may help us understand ourselves even better,” said one animated participant from the Middle East.
Across the divide of language, culture and geography, one common denominator evident in all the projects is the passion to give voice to the stories of marginalized and voiceless groups. “Partnership with WACC has given us an opportunity to do what we believe in,” says Suheir Farraj, referring to the work her organization, Women, Media and Development (TAM), is doing to defend the communication rights of women in Palestine.
The array of achievements arising out of the programme is impressive. In Burkina Faso, West Africa, Télé-Vie-Deo Multi-Media Productions has involved youth in developing TV programmes discussing HIV and AIDS. In Asia, the IBON Foundation monitors economic and political rights across the Philippines and develops reliable and impartial information to challenge the government’s indifference to human rights violations. In South America the rights of people with disabilities are championed by MID Institute’s radio programme “Minute of Inclusion,” which is broadcast in over 1,500 radio stations in Brazil. In the Caribbean, Women’s Media Watch in Jamaica has developed a group of gender aware media workers and has equipped young people with the skills to challenge gender stereotyping.
These impressive achievements are only part of the story. The flip side of the coin reveals the many challenges that partners have to be face, such as inadequate funds and hostile authorities.
During the discussions, partners overwhelming affirmed that WACC should establish a networking forum to link up the project holders to continue the conversation begun during the consultation.
Recommendations made to WACC on what should be done to improve the DIP elicited some forthright comments. A number of project holders felt that the one-year project period is too short and hinders building sustainability. Several also expressed a desire to see the project budget increased.
“The funding and the time are too limited. Time is small and money is small. We are talking about making change in people lives and this takes time and money,” was the candid statement made in the closing plenary.
From the experiences shared at the DIP consultation it is clear that the work of WACC’s global partners is empowering people to tell their stories and make their voices heard.
See Congress photos at: www.flickr.com/photos/wacccongress2008
See Congress videos at: www.youtube.com/user/WACCglobal
Press Release
Teze, Camerron: It is eight years since the millennium summit of October 2000 where poverty was identified as a global catastrophy and commitments made through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce it by half by 2015. Global Welfare Association (GLOWA) which is a children and youths focus organization is convinced that children and youth are the most touched by poverty inherited from parents. Besides intervening through projects to meet the MDGs, GLOWA actively took part in the 2007 Stand Up event against poverty in Bamenda, Cameroon.
By Julienne Munyaneza, Programme Manager for HIV and Ecumenical Relations, WACC
Beginning July 1st WACC and the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) embarked on a 3-year project supported by the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID). This is a significant accomplishment in WACC’s response to HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.
The initiative emerged as a result of close consultations between WACC and CCG during a staff visit to Ghana in 2005. That visit included consultations with CCG’s partners in Ghana, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), and the Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA).
By Ekabe Claudia Etiendem, Communication Department, Presbyterian Church in Cameroon
Communication, like peace, has an important role in our lives. For peace to reign in our society, for any developmental activity to succeed, there must be effective communication.This is true if we consider the Babel incident where the sons of Noah failed to build a tower just because they could no longer communicate with each other.
Communication is vital to life. It is impossible for an individual to live in peace without communicating. Communication is equally important to organizations. This includes communication within the organization as well as the organization’s public relations with society.
By Dave Wanless, WACC-Africa region
Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu, who will give the opening address at WACC’s Congress 2008 on 6 October in Cape Town, is one of the moral icons of our era. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, he is currently serving as one of the group of respected ‘Elders’ which includes former presidents Jimmy Carter of the United States, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique and Mary Robinson of Ireland along with Graca Machel, the wife of Nelson Mandela, and Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin group of companies. Their task is to mediate peace in situations of conflict around the world.