Regional Programs: Training
Child Rights .
Public Health (in particular HIV/AIDS) . Environment
. Gender and Social Justice . Archive
Regional Training Courses
2. Jamaica, January 1990
Regional environmental issues and role of media; environmental
economics; mangrove management.
Length 2 days.
Target Group
20 news executives and media managers from agencies, newspapers,
radio stations and television in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Objectives
To investigate how to achieve increased media coverage and informed
reporting of environmental issues in the Caribbean.
Context
Seminar took place within the scope of the UNEP/CCA/Panos joint
project, "Development of Public Awareness on Sustainable Management
of Mangroves in the Wider Caribbean", also entailing the production
of a media briefing book on mangrove management. It was held in
conjunction with UNEP Intergovernmental meetings.
Participants
36 total: 19 media, 7 NGO, 6 Govt., 4 University. Most media reps.
were print editors, since there was a simultaneous broadcast conference
in Trinidad. Female/ Male Ratio: 13/23
Working Methodology and Activities
Event placed within UNEP meetings, which ensured a wide participation.
There were 8 resource persons and several more speakers.
Activities: Presentations, a field trip, discussions and brainstorming
sessions around various issues and news angles (both in working
groups and plenary). Programme was geared towards workable recommendations.
Documentation Used
Draft booklet on mangroves was presented but not made available.
Seminar was held in conjunction with UNEP. Intergovernmental meetings,
and some of the documents were made available.
Results
The event generated a lot of interest in the issues, as well as
commitment by several editors to devote more time and space to environmental
articles.
Detailed recommendations were formulated regarding education and
training, information access, message packaging, production of materials.
This became the basis of follow-up activities with CCA and CARIMAC,
who expressed strong interest in continued collaboration.
A joint booklet on environmental journalism, based on the seminar,
was produced in 1991.
Evaluation by Participants
Many participants said that they became more sensitized to issues
and to their role in getting information out. All respondents to
the questionnaire said that the seminar met their objectives in
attending it, and the majority rated it "very useful",
the others "useful". Amount of exchange of information
and ideas was highly appreciated.
Lessons Learned and Recommendations
Although all discussions were very good, some needed stronger framework.
A background document should be prepared so that future workshops
will not fall back on listing problems.
Recommendations included: more and longer regional workshops, and
also national workshops; working reporters and govt. reps should
attend; more participatory format of meeting; more audiovisuals;
at least one controversial issue should be addressed; workshops
should be held in the field to get "closer to problem".
2. Kingston, Jamaica, 13-14 January 1990. CCA/CARIMAC/Panos
Seminar "Environmental Issues in the Region and Media
Policies for Informed Reporting".
It can be very advantageous to organize media seminars
in conjunction with major international conferences.
The seminar participants will benefit from the conference,
an excellent "field" with a variety of experts
from many backgrounds and nationalities. Through interviews
of delegates, as well as the following of the conference
program, many perspectives for stories can be obtained.
Also, with such a concurrent event, the conference is
able to utilize the presence of many journalists from
many countries, to achieve major publicity. For conference
organizers it provides a rare opportunity to really
"work" with the press.
This weekend seminar was organized in the middle of
a series of meetings of the UNEP Caribbean Environment
Programme. These meetings were first scheduled for October
1989 in Santa Marta, Colombia, but had to be postponed
and moved due to the declared war on the Government
by the drug cartels at that time. The seminar was also
part of a joint Panos project with the Caribbean Conservation
Association (CCA) on a pan-Caribbean environmental issue:
the sustainable management of mangroves.
After welcoming remarks by representatives of CCA,
CARIMAC and Panos, the seminar took off with a keynote
address by Yves Renard, who emphasized that the simultaneous
intergovernmental meetings taking place would be meaningless
if isolated from and ignorant of public opinion. Suggestions
were provided for shaping information on environmental
issues into content for media messages. Subsequently,
an introduction on environmental economics was given
by Norman Girvan, focusing on how to factor environmental
concerns into long-term development plans. After that
presentation, Gilberto Cintron introduced various elements
of mangrove management, which was illustrated by an
afternoon field trip to the mangrove areas of Port Royal.
The second day, Sunday, was led by CARIMAC representatives
and focused on the role of the media, reviewed issues
and initiatives in the region and resulted in many suggestions
and recommendations. The defining of common strategies
and workplans was very important: according to all participants;
this was probably the first time that Caribbean media
workers were assembled to discuss the particular topic
of environmental reporting.
A solid foundation was laid for further collaboration
between CCA, CARIMAC and Panos. Since environmental
journalist training was identified as a priority, CARIMAC
followed up rapidly with the organization of environmental
summer schools in July 1990 and July 1991. CCA and Panos
were closely involved in these endeavours. Another immediate
follow-up activity was the convening of a national workshop
in Barbados (November 1990), in which CAMWORK was also
involved.
The material emanating from the seminar, and enriched
by subsequent events, was published in 1991 in the CARIMAC/CCA
booklet "Environment: The Message and the Media
- a Caribbean perspective".
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