FY 2000-2001 Annual Report
Connecting in Latin America

Latin American women journalists have always been active members of the IWMF network. The IWMF held its first program in Santiago, Chile in 1995 and then hosted several programs in Mexico, beginning in 1997. In 2001, the IWMF took important steps to expand its presence in Latin America.

Latin American women journalists are frustrated by their tiny foothold in the media and lack of clout as a group. Women are just 25 percent of the total media workforce in Latin America, and just 14 percent of all production and editorial teams. With little influence in their profession and with very few women in positions of power in the media, Latin American women soaked up the opportunity to strategize offered to them by the Latin American Initiative.

This research phase of a long-term Latin American strategy began in September 2000 when the IWMF polled leading women journalists from all corners of Latin America. The purpose was to ask them what measures they need to help them excel in their profession. Some 58 percent said that they needed both "further development of journalism skills" and "more women in leadership and management positions in the media." Some 55 percent of the 100 journalist respondents also said that "meeting and networking with women journalists form other Latin American countries" was something they thought would be beneficial to them professionally.

Next, the IWMF took its findings and began meeting in three Latin American cities with women journalists to explore these issues in more depth. The series was launched in Managua, Nicaragua from March 21-23. This workshop, held in cooperation with the Chamorro Foundation, included journalists from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

The second program was sponsored by The Freedom Forum at its Latin American Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina from May 21-24 and included 20 journalists from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. The final program, which was sponsored in part by The Coca-Cola Company, was held in Quito, Ecuador from May 30-June 1, and included 24 journalists from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

At all programs, discussions about networking, access to new technology and press freedom were the most popular. Workshop leaders included many of Latin America's most influential journalists. Each meeting also included a one-day leadership-training workshop and extensive conversations about where the IWMF should put its energies in Latin America. As a result, Latin American women had the opportunity to define which tools they need to help them succeed in their profession.

First on their agendas are more and better ways to communicate with each other and with the rest of the world. They also wanted more professional training and a home in cyberspace where they can share their stories, sorrows and successes. In response, the IWMF quickly established an Internet listserve so that all the journalists who took part in Latin American programs can communicate with each other as a group.

"There was enthusiasm from all my colleagues," said Maria Cristina Caballero, an investigative editor from Semana magazine who spent 2000-2001 as a Neiman Fellow at Harvard University in the United States. "It was very important for us to connect, because there was barely communication between countries before." Caballero attended the meeting in Quito.

"I now have hope for Latin America, with the intelligence of the young women here on their way to the top," said Yodalys Arozemana, a journalist with Radio Libre in Panama who attended the program in Managua.

Most of the participants said the program had encouraged them to become leaders. "I decided that I am not going to wait for a promotion to be a leader within my workgroup," said Michelle Garzaro, a Guatemalan journalist with Diario Siglo Veintiuno.

"I believe I have not thanked you sufficiently for all your efforts in Quito," wrote Ecuadorian Lola Marquez of Vistazo Magazine in an e-mail following the event. "It was an important experience for us in our professional lives. I support you for everything related to the network you are creating."

The IWMF will now take the information gleaned from its 2000-2001 Latin American program and design further involvement in Latin America. To do that, the IWMF has formed an advisory board that includes many of the Latin American journalists whose enthusiasm contributed to the successful first phase of the Latin American Initiative.