FY 2001-2002 Annual Report
Website

The IWMF's New Home in Cyberspace: www.iwmf.org and www.awmc.com Revamped

"The sort of online training the expanded website expects to provide potentially reaches thousands of users versus other methods of training..."

The IWMF website -- www.iwmf.org -- along with the African Women's Media Center website -- www.awmc.com -- have opened doors for women in the media by offering them online training, access to an international network of women journalists, and facts and figures on women in the media. Still, the IWMF had yet to harness the full potential of the Internet. So, a year ago it embarked on a mission to create the premiere meeting place for women in the media, a website that would be a powerful adjunct to the IWMF's training programs.

The new website has more news about women journalists, more articles about women and men in the IWMF network, a searchable online directory and an online training center that complements the IWMF's training programs.

The IWMF received a two-year, $225,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to create a first-rate site for international women journalists. "The sort of online training the expanded website expects to provide potentially reaches thousands of users versus other methods of training," says Eric Newton, director of journalism initiatives at the Knight Foundation. "That expanded benefit to journalists seeking training made the IWMF proposal all the more compelling for Knight."

The IWMF launched the new website - which incorporates the AWMC site - with a series of online chats with women leaders in the news media. (For an archive of the chats, go to: www.iwmf.org/directory/index.php). New features include:

The Online Directory has a searchable database of IWMF network members. It includes names, addresses, areas of expertise and ways to contact the network. Visit it at: www.iwmf.org/directory/.

The Online Training Center offers interactive modules based on IWMF's training for women journalists. It's also the place to find tips and guides, and bibliographies for building a career in journalism. Visit it at: www.iwmf.org/training/.

In the News is a new department on the IWMF homepage, www.iwmf.org. Visit it for the latest news about women in journalism from around the globe.

The African Women's Media Center, www.awmc.com, has closer links to the IWMF site. It has added a searchable database of African media companies and non-governmental organizations.

"The most important thing for us is to have all the tools we can have in our hands to train journalists. [The site] is one way to reach more people in less time," said IWMF Board Member Hilda Garcia, content and programming director for AOL Puerto Rico, who advised on the development of the site. "Our idea is to be one of the most powerful tools for women journalists."