UNESCO trains Algerian media on gender-sensitive journalism

Sixty Algerian media professionals from the print press and the Algerian Public Service Broadcaster are taking part in training workshops, organized by the UNESCO Office in Rabat and the UNDP Office in Algeria. This event is being facilitated by experienced trainers from the journalism training centre, ESJ Pro Montpellier, and Algerian expert on media and gender equality, Ms Ghania Mouffok.

The objective is to reinforce professional capacities of Algerian media to produce media content that goes deeper than a male-centric and stereotypical perspective and which can act as a catalyst for gender-equality.

The programme commences with a training workshop addressed to print media journalists. Twenty professionals from Algerian newspapers and magazines will benefit from this session, which will take place from 10 to 12 June 2013 at the Algerian Institute of Advanced Financial Studies.

This is followed by workshops for 40 practitioners from the Algerian PSB, held at the Algerian PSB premises. The training for TV professionals will take place from 17 to 20 June 2013, and the one addressed to radio practitioners from 23 to 25 June 2013.

The United Nations system is strongly committed to women’s empowerment and the recognition of their crucial role as key agents for economic, cultural and political development. Gender equality is a particular priority for UNESCO and its Programme for the Improvement of the Image of Women in the Maghreb Media.

The initiative aims to make a real change regarding women’s image and portrayal disseminated by the Maghreb media.

It encourages all media professionals and managers, media training centres, regulatory bodies, political institutions and civil society activists to think about women’s representations and portrayals.

It seeks to transcend gender-based stereotypes, which contribute to the denial of women’s empowerment and rights across the region.

New UNESCO guidelines, titled Women and Print Press in the Maghreb – Improvement of Women’s Representation in the Maghreb Media will be launched during the training workshops in Algeria.

This toolkit, prepared by the UNESCO Office in Rabat, aims to encourage journalists from the Maghreb countries to think about the portrayal of women in the media, including online media, and to adopt professional habits that enable a balanced representation of both women and men.

Thanks to UNESCO