FY 2001-2002 Annual Report
Africa

Stretching Across Africa with the African Women's Media Center

Founded by the International Women's Media Foundation in 1997, the African Women's Media Center, the only continent-wide network of African women in the media, has become a leader in innovative training for women journalists.

Located in Dakar, Senegal, the AWMC connects women in the African media by offering training, publications and networking opportunities that are vital to their success. The center maintains a database on African women in the media and, through affiliation with the IWMF, connects African women in the media to an international network of women journalists.

The AWMC continues to expand its reach to women in the media across the African continent, offering them quality programs that are often not available through their employers.

The AWMC's New Vision

This year, the reconstituted AWMC advisory committee met for the first time for an orientation and planning session and to help plan AWMC programs for the future. "We are re-focusing the structure of the AWMC to establish a strong sense of ownership for the center among women journalists in Africa, and we are planning to make greater use of the talents of the women most committed to the future of the center," says Amie Joof Cole, AWMC director.

The advisory committee, which is made up of key media women across the continent, agreed that the AWMC should strive to support women so that they can move into more decision-making positions in the media. The committee also identified four critical priorities for the center: training, fundraising, developing networks and partnerships with other media groups, and lobbying to support women in the media.

The AWMC Advisory Committee meeting was made possible with support from Judy Woodruff, an IWMF board member.

Carole Simpson Leadership Institute

For the first time in its four-year history, the Carole Simpson Leadership Institute was held for French-speaking journalists. The workshop covered key aspects of leadership training, with intensive, interactive exercises designed to help participants explore their leadership qualities, set goals to achieve their career goals, and develop the ability to manage personal and work-related stress. CSLI was named after Carole Simpson, a veteran American television journalist.

The CSLI workshop was funded by Carole Simpson and The Atlantic Philanthropies.

Covering HIV and AIDS

The AWMC believes that the HIV and AIDS pandemic now sweeping Africa is the most important story that African journalists may ever cover. That is why the center has made it a priority to provide African women journalists with better tools with which to report on HIV and AIDS.

Radio journalists play a crucial role in bringing the facts about HIV and AIDS to countries in Africa. "Radio is … the ideal medium to involve communities in their health and livelihoods and also involve leaders at national, community, district and rural levels. Radio is a medium where one's level of education or status is not a criteria for receiving and understanding information or a message," says Emily Nwankwo, chair of the AWMC.

Continuing its commitment to helping women journalists cover HIV and AIDS, the AWMC trained 25 women radio journalists from nine southern African countries in Johannesburg, South Africa in June. The first week of the two-week training featured discussions with health and media experts and talks with journalists with extensive experience covering HIV and AIDS in Africa. The second week was a hands-on, skills-building workshop during which participants used the knowledge they gained in the first week to produce radio dramas, commentaries and on-the-spot radio features. They also went on field trips to do interviews with caregivers for HIV and AIDS patients, support group members and persons living with HIV and AIDS.

The workshop was made possible by funding from The Coca-Cola Company and the AOL Time Warner Foundation.

Publications on HIV and AIDS

Journalists who understand the medical facts about HIV and AIDS, who are aware of the myths surrounding the disease and who know where to go for accurate information about it will produce better stories. In 2001-2002, the AWMC published two new guides to help journalists improve their coverage of HIV and AIDS.

Reporting on HIV and AIDS in Africa: A Manual, provides African journalists with guidelines for reporting on HIV and AIDS. The 35-page manual offers tips on the basics of good reporting, discusses different angles to use to make HIV and AIDS stories fresh, and offers suggestions for how to "sell" HIV and AIDS stories to editors.

Reporting on HIV and AIDS in Africa: A Manual was published with a grant from the United Nations Development Programme.

Reporting on HIV/AIDS: A Resource Guide

Following publication of its popular guide to HIV and AIDS resources in English in 2000, in 2001 the AWMC published a similar guide for French-speaking journalists. Reportage sur le VIH/AIDA: Guide de Ressources is a collection of information about international organizations, U.S. based organizations, African-based organizations and websites with information about HIV and AIDS.

Reportage sur le VIH/AIDA: Guide de Ressources was published with a grant from ChevronTexaco Corporation.

Survey of Women in the Media in Togo

Working with a grant from the AWMC, The Togo Press House conducted a survey of women in the media in Togo. Even though women have played a pivotal role in Togo's media, a survey of their status and accomplishments had never been conducted. The resulting facts and figures will help women in the media in Togo develop programs and lobbying strategies so they can rise in the ranks in their profession.

The survey of women in the media in Togo and other AWMC programs were made possible with a grant from the Global Fund for Women.

In addition to conducting its own programs, the AWMC collaborates with many organizations in Africa. Among those in 2001-2002 were:

• A workshop in Burkina Faso organized by Deutsche Welle, the German radio network, and CIERRO, the Inter African Center for Studies in Rural Radio, for French-speaking women in decision-making positions in radio.
• A presentation on the AWMC's experience with Internet training at the Bamako 2000 conference in Mali. The conference was preparation for the World Summit on the Information Society.
• Participation in The Ford Foundation's Special Initiative for Africa. AWMC director Amie Joof Cole is attending a series of meetings to identify strategies for strengthening participation in peace and conflict resolution in Africa.
• A workshop, "Women in the Media," in association with the Association of Professional Women Communicators of Senegal at the joint meeting of the West African Journalists Association and IFEX. The AWMC also organized the women's commission at the meeting, held in September 2002.