FK-partner EMWA: Promoting women in and through the media.
Last updated: 17.11.2009 //
Established in 1999, the Ethiopian Media Women Association (EMWA) has about 200 members, all female media practitioners both from state owned and private media. Since 2002, the organization has taken part in the Norwegian Fredskorpset Exchange-programme, sending and receiving participants to neighbouring Media Women’s Associations in East and Southern Africa as well as to media-institutions in Norway.
There are a number of women journalists working in various media-institutions in Ethiopia. But they might face challenges for being women, both in terms of positions and promotion. Female journalists have-at times, seen that it is difficult to be taken seriously by male colleagues when they try to forward their ideas for stories. And the number of stories concerning women and women’s issues is also a point of concern when looking at Ethiopian Media. EMWA is currently taking part in an international campaign entitled “Global Media Monitoring Project 2009/2010”, with ”who makes the news” as a subtitle. ( see link: http://www.whomakesthenews.org/)
EMWA is also working to build the capacity of its members. Through a number of trainings supported by local as well as national institutions, members get technical as well as theoretical training on media and gender issues. The diversity of EMWAs members in terms of experience is also used for this purpose, newly educated female journalists can use the knowledge they get from members who are Ethiopian Media Pioneers, and started their careers in the 1960s.
Since 2002, EMWA has been connected with partner organizations through the Fredskorpset South/South as well as North/South Exchange-programmes. Members have gone to Media Women Associations in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, as well as to Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication and NRK Sørlandet in Norway.
The EMWA office is located at Piazza in Addis Ababa. It is a vibrant office where members drop by to use computer-facilities and a library focusing on media and gender. A radio-studio with editing facilities is also under construction.