Chairman, chairwoman, chairperson or chair? Housewife or homemaker? What is so controversial about contraception, the word ‘family’ or ’sex worker’? Does being gender-sensitive in news mean hiding the genders and sexes of people who appear in them?

Whether you’re a journalist, writer, researcher or a news consumer, some gender-related words are bound to have gotten you wondering about whether, or how, to use them, or what they really mean. Read more »

Elena Madrazo Hegewisch, AECID Director, Mario Lubetkin, IPS Director General and Federico Mayor, IPS Chair.

More than sixty participants joined lively debates on the theme “Communication and Development: policies, networks and technologies”. The seminar was held 5 - 7 July in the University of Santander, Spain as part of a series of joint activities by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the global news agency IPS Inter Press Service in 2010.

The seminar gave the opportunity to different actors in the field of communication and development cooperation to exchange their experiences and create coordination channels to improve public communication policy. Read more »

Together with its partner Friends of the Earth International, IPS organised on May 28 in Prague a communication training around the issue of mining and oil and gas exploration. Former IPS editor in chief Miren Gutierrez discussed with around 25 NGO representatives ways to reach mass audiences through the mass media and how to promote investigative journalism. The participants also drafted a communications strategy and received hands-on media training. Read more »

Mario Lubetkin presenting biodiversity reporting guidelines during the "Settimana della Biodiversita". Credit: Bioversity International

IPS and partners are celebrating International Biodiversity Day, May 22nd, with the launch in Rome of biodiversity reporting guidelines for journalists covering this vital but complex topic. The guidelines are part of a wider communication initiative for 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity. IPS worked with partners Bioversity International and the International Federation of Environment Journalists (IFEJ) on the guidelines, within the COM+ sustainable development communication alliance. Read more »

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 »