The IPS Support Group Meeting was held on 26 November in Rome, Italy. This year’meeting analysed the role of media in covering issues related to MDG3: Promote gender equality and empower women. IPS has a longstanding commitment to mainstreaming gender and this event is part of its 2009 - 2011 programme of work ‘Communicating for Change: Voice, Visibility and Impact for Gender Equality‘.

The seminar was celebrated during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (25 November - 10 December) giving voice to journalists and gender experts from around the world who debated on how information and communication contributes to stop violence. Italian vice minister for foreign affairs, Vincenzo Scotti, opened the meeting. Read more »

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) marks its 30th anniversary on 18 December 2009. Since its adoption by the UN General Assembly 186 countries have ratified the Convention.

UNIFEM and many other women’s organisations are looking to the opportunity that the 30th anniversary offers both to assess progress, and to underscore the continuing need to press for full implementation of CEDAW. Read more »

The website is part of a major global media and communication project of IPS running through 2009 - 2011 called “Communicating for Change: Getting Voice, Visibility and Impact for Gender Equality“.

The project is financed by the Dutch MDG3 Fund set up by the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation, Bert Koenders, to finance activities that advance Millennium Development Goal 3: Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Read more »

IPS Editor in Chief Miren Gutierrez travelled to the second annual International Street Paper Awards that took place recently in Bergen, Norway. IPS has a valuable partnership with the International Network of Street Newspapers (INSP) contributing IPS stories in multiple languages to their Street News Service.

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PHNOM PENH - A documentary on Myanmar citizens with Chinese ethnicity who cross the border from Yunnan daily to study in a Chinese school. A photo essay comparing the plight of working elephants in Thailand and neighbouring Laos. A feature taking a look at perceptions of China’s dam-building activities in the Lancang River, as the upstream Mekong River is called.

These are a but a sample of the media work produced by 31 journalist-fellows in the 2008-09 cycle of the Imaging Our Mekong programme — that were debated, argued over and turned inside out at a Mar. 25-28 workshop that brought them together in order to review and critique one another’s submissions. Read more »