IPS is also organizing a media workshop for journalists from G20 countries attending the GLOBE international legislators forum in Mexico DF from 3rd to 5th December.

IPS thanks COM +, UNESCO, FANRPAN and CCMP for their support.

Themba James Maseko, CEO, Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) South Africa and Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, African Monitor Founder and President.

Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Cape Town, South Africa addressed the IPS 2010 annual meeting in Madrid with a powerful keynote speech and a conclusion that Afro-optimism must replace Afro-pessimism as Africans themselves face up to and solve the challenges of the continent. The Archbishop is the founder of “African Monitor” an NGO dedicated to bringing African voices for African development. The public seminar on Thursday 25th November was jointly convened and hosted by IPS with AECID, the Spanish Agency for International Co-operation with around 200 journalists, researchers, activists and others in attendance. Francisco Moza Zapatero, the new director of AECID, and Federico Mayor, the Chair of the IPS Board, opened the meeting. Read more »

Maria Nazareth Farani Azevêdo, Brazilian Ambassador in Geneva and Carlos Roberto Tiburcio de Oliveira, special advisor to the Brazilian Presidency General Secretariat.

On the occasion of the South-South Expo in Geneva 22 – 26 November, IPS joined the South South Unit of UNDP to facilitate a communication meeting initiated and hosted by the Government of Brazil. This was the third time that a group of Southern and emerging countries have come together at the invitation of Brazil to reflect upon and exchange about South South flows of information and communication, and the role of the media. The first meeting took place in Rome in November 2009 and the second in September 2010 in New York. A total of twenty four countries have participated in the meetings to date. Read more »

The winners of the Journalism Contest “Water: The Most Essential of All Natural Resources” were announced by the three-member panel appointed to judge the entries. The five best pieces were written by journalists from four different countries, namely Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela.

The first prize in the competition organised by AMBEV and the news agency IPS Inter Press Service went to the piece “Y sigue haciendo agua” (Still Treading Water), submitted by Marina Aizen, a reporter for Viva Magazine, distributed with Argentina’s Clarín newspaper.  The first place winner will receive a prize of US$ 5,000. Read more »

15 October 2010, Rome - FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf presenting his address during the World Food Day Ceremony, FAO headquarters (Plenary Hall). Credit: FAO News.

On the occasion of World Food Week 2010 (October 11 – 15) IPS – Inter Press Service with the support of the Italian Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) invited leading journalists from Africa, Asia and Latin America to meet experts of the three Rome-based UN agencies, to discuss and exchange with them about the facts, trends, sources and news coverage opportunities around reporting food insecurity.

IPS organized a three-day training workshop with the involvement of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP), providing a chance for journalists working in countries whose populations are directly affected by the food crisis to link with the unique global expertise found in Rome. Read more »