Morocco adapts UNESCO’s Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media

© UNESCO
In order to integrate gender perspectives into policies and contents of Moroccan public service broadcasters, UNESCO’s Office in Rabat is organizing a workshop for the adaptation of Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media (GSIM) to Moroccan context. The workshop will be held in Rabat on 14 and 15 January 2013.

Morocco (Arabic: المغرب‎ al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⴰⵎⵕⵕⵓⴽ or ⵍⵎⴰⵖⵔⵉⴱ Ameṛṛuk or Lmaġrib; French: Maroc), officially the Kingdom of Morocco. Arabic name al-Mamlakat al-Maghribiyyah (المملكة المغربية) translates to “The Western Kingdom”. Al-Maghrib (المغرب), or Maghreb, meaning “The West”, is commonly used. The Kingdom of Morocco is the most westerly of the North African countries. It has Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, and a rugged mountain interior.

The objective of the upcoming event is to elaborate an adapted version of GSIM with a view to measure gender-sensitivity in broadcasters’ operations and content, and to formulate proposals and recommendations designed to fill in the gaps identified during the evaluation. It is being organized in partnership with the National Society of Radio and Television (SNRT) and the Permanent Conference of the Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators (COPEAM).

The workshop in Rabat is part of the project aimed at promoting the role of Moroccan public service broadcasters as a platform of free speech for women and as an actor in spreading gender equality culture. The SNRT Director of International Relations said, “Our involvement in this project is the expression of our strong commitment to promote gender equality in Morocco”.

The project’s goal is to strengthen Moroccan public service broadcasters’ institutional and technical capacities in order to ‘integrate gender perspectives‘ into their internal policies and contents. It is being implemented in the framework of UNESCO’s global action to promote an enabling environment for freedom of expression in Arab countries, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

The purpose of Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media, published by UNESCO last year, is to facilitate gender equality and women’s empowerment in and through media of all forms, irrespective of the technology used. The tool addresses topics related to internal media policies and strategies, as well as to capacity building.   DOWNLOAD

It is versatile as it allows media organizations to:

• assess their gender sensitivity,
• formulate necessary policies and strategies to address gaps detected,
• set measurable goals, and
• monitor progress towards desired goals.