JOURNALISTS FROM six countries in the Americas met late last week to explore how they could better report on sensitive issues such as gender and HIV/AIDS.
The Gender, Rights and HIV/AIDS Workshop for Caribbean Journalists was held at the Alhambra Inn in Kingston from Thursday, November 7, 2002 to Saturday, November 9, 2002.
It was the second in a series of planned workshops to sensitise journalists across the world on a manual being developed by the Inter Press Service (IPS).
The journalists for the workshop came from Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana, Minneapolis in the United States, Grenada and Barbados.
"What we were doing was testing a manual that was developed by IPS to sensitise reporters as to how they can write more effectively on issues to do with gender, human rights and HIV/AIDS," explained Mrs. Corinne Barnes, co-ordinator of the workshop. She is also a lecturer at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Kingston.
The manual has not been finalised but IPS is keen on having workshops in regions worldwide to get journalists' opinions on it "to see how well it comes across, whether it's coherent or cohesive and how it is structured and whether the information is useful to the reporter," Mrs. Barnes continued. The first workshop was held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The workshop's presentations included introductions and background information on gender awareness and gender training, some definitions and a look at gender stereotypes.
The workshop also looked at the role of the media, their values and editorial independence, communicating gender in the media and at a gender analysis framework for the media.
Patricia Watson, reporter at the Gleaner Company and recent recipient of six Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) awards for the series "Breaking the Silence, Dispelling the Myths" spoke about her experience reporting on HIV/AIDS.
The three day workshop also covered reporting that focuses on 'Risks' rather than 'Harms, 'HIV/AIDS language and terminology, gender dimensions of HIV/AIDS and gender, HIV/AIDS and rights.
During the workshop, journalists were also presented with a revised gender and development glossary, which showed them how to use gender-neutral words or avoid using terms that reinforce stereotypes.
The trainer was Suzanne Francis Brown, rapporteur was Ann Ninan and participants included Peter Richards (Trinidad), Bert Wilkinson (Guyana), Mohanie Chouthi (Trinidad), Lloyd Nicholas (Minneapolis), Onika James (Trinidad), Howard Campbell (Jamaica), Odette Campbell (Grenada), Claude Mills (Jamaica) and Carol Martindale (Barbados).
During the workshop, journalists were also presented with a revised gender and development glossary, which showed them how to use gender-neutral words or avoid using terms that reinforce stereotypes.
