Page 57 - AIB | The Chanel | Issue 2 2011

THE CHANNEL | ISSUE 2 2011 | 57
CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS | THE CHANNEL
revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt
were invited by the Friedrich‑
Naumann‑Foundation in Cairo to
talk about their activities. Through
their blogs and other social media
initiatives they illustrated, sometimes
using humorous elements, how
they supported the upheaval in
their country.
One activist from Syria, who will
not be able to return to her home
country as a consequence of
participating at the GMF, had
included a photo of the newly‑wed
British Royal couple in her blog.
She said “If they had wanted a
place without any journalists
following them during their
honeymoon, they should have
come to Syria”, hinting at the fact
that all foreign correspondents are
now banned from the country.
BEST OF BLOGS
During the conference, DW
awarded its annual “BOB‑Awards”
(Best Of Blog) to honour the
extraordinary commitment that
some social activists have shown in
promoting exchange of ideas and
freedom of expression. This year,
the main prize went to Lina Ben
Mhenni from Tunis for her blog 'A
Tunisian Girl' in which she writes
about the abuses committed by the
Tunisian regime during the
revolution. Another award from
Reporters Without Borders was
presented to Judith Torrea for her
description of drug trafficking in
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
One of the workshops dealt with
the sensitive issue of 'Women as
victims of war'. The session was
conducted in cooperation between
the Bonn International Center for
Conversion (BICC) and the
international relations department
of DW. Panelists included the
President of the UN‑Women
National Committee for Germany,
Karin Nordmeyer and other high‑
ranking representatives of
institutions such as Medica Mondiale
or 'Solidarity with Women in
Distress' (SOLWODI). The account
of Esther Mujawayo who lost many
members of her family during the
The media
have to
give more
attention
to the
subject of
human
rights
than they
have done
to date
“
”
ww
w.dw-world.de
Rwandan Genocide in 1994 was
powerful and emotive.
All panel members were united
in their view that the media have
an important role to play during
and after a war or conflict situation.
Besides covering the event, the
media also have a responsibility to
help those affected by war and
conflict – so that the victims can
overcome their humiliation and are
able to re‑integrate into society.
Overall, topics discussed in the
various workshops were as diverse
as 'Global enterprises and human
rights, 'Community media to
promote diversity and human
rights for marginalized
communities' or 'Leak, Wikileaks,
whistleblower ‑ New challenges for
human rights?'.
MOREATTENTION
During the closing session, DG Erik
Bettermann called for cooperation
in forming a global “alliance for
human rights”. He said that human
rights “deserve our special
attention. It concerns everyone, all
over the world.” Bettermann
suggested that the media have a
particular responsibility to give
more attention to the subject than
has been the case up to now. People
need to be re‑sensitised and better
informed about the importance of
human rights and global
correlations, all over the world.
As host of the GMF, Bettermann
was able to report that the
conference had already delivered
concrete results. AMemorandum of
Understanding had been signed
between the European
Broadcasting Union and the
Council of Europe – both
organizations intend to increase
their cooperation and in particular
give more weight to human rights
and media freedom.
Next year the Global Media
Forum will address Article 26 of the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights: “Everyone has the right to
education.” For three days from 25
through 27 June 2012 the focus in
Bonn will be on education and
culture. ■
▼
From top GMF
plenary session;
Ingrid Deltenre,
EBU DG, Erik
Bettermann DG,
DWand
Thorbjørn
Jagland, Council
of Europe SGwith
their MoU;
Lina BenMhenni,
winning blogger
fromTunis; Arab
bloggers’
workshop session