HI-5 e-News Update of the Pacific WAVE Media Network

*Pacific WAVE Media Network*
LEADERSHIP* EXCELLENCE* VISION.
Women Advancing a Vision of Empowerment
*HI-5 ENEWS UPDATE VOL 1, ISSUE 2, 2009*
*1. WAVE AND SPC LINK VIA MOU*
News worth celebrating has been the tone of our small but sure ripples to growing Pacific WAVEs of change through media action! A major partnership for WAVE has been formed with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (www.spc.int) who has signed an MOU with WAVE to mutually support our shared goals towards better lives for Pacific people. The MOU paves the way for resource and information sharing efforts on gender advocacy and media work, especially in three key commitments to women in the media:
Section J of the Beijing Platform for Action for Development, Equality and Peace: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/media.htm
Women and the Media in the Pacific Platform for Action on Gender Equality (rev. 2003
http://www.spc.int/hdp/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=35&Itemid=44
The SPC/UNESCO/PINA Pacific Women in the Media Action Plan
http://www.islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=17118/overideSkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl
SPC’s Human Resource Development Communications Adviser Tione Chinula is the person WAVE works with under this MOU, which has seen SPC supporting WAVE in its website development and visioning/strategic planning work.

*2. WAVE SALUTES FEMLINKPACIFIC
The Global Partnership for Peace and the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) have confirmed what we already know: FemLINKpacific rocks! Coordinator Sharon Baghwan-Rolls has been named as the Gender Liaison Person for the international steering group of the GPPAC, at www.gppac.net
WAVE had nominated SBR as our winner in the University of Queensland 2009 call for nominations for the Communication and Social Change Award. This saw a swathe of nominations which eventually led to the CSC committee deciding on New DAWN Radio in Bougainville. We add our congratulations to the 2009 winner (see full story and background to the award process at http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=19349) , and salute Sharon and the FemLINKPacific team of Fiji, . http://www.femlinkpacific.org.fj for their important work in claiming community radio spaces for empowering women in Fiji to speak on the issues that affect their lives; and regional peace-building initiatives. FemLINKpacific Coordinator Sharon Baghwan-Rolls is also linked to WAVE as part of a small ‘founding pillar’ group whom we count on for important movement-growing advice and support.
*3. WAVE VISIONING AND VOICE GROWS AT AIBD AND PINA*
YES, we need a Pacific WAVE for women in the media! That was the resounding feedback from our many talks and discussions with Women in the media who were a part of the AIBD and PINA meetings in Nadi and Port Vila. Assistance with visioning was given with the help of UQ’s Marsali McKinnon, who is no stranger to media networking in the Pacific. Thanks to generous support from UNESCO, SPC, AIBD and AusAID’s Pacific Media fund, WAVE women were able to add to the presenters and networks at the 2009 AIBD General Conference, held in Nadi, Fiji, and the PINA regional Media meet, in Port Vila, Vanuatu. We spoke on a UNESCO-funded Gender Media Survey, and the use of social networking and the internet to grow a Pacific WAVE of change. WAVE founding member and projects adviser Lisa Williams-Lahari, Coordinator Ulamila Wragg, and subcommittee members Ruth Konia of Papua New Guinea and Lorna Adomea of the Solomon Islands were amongst those at AIBD and/or PINA. Importantly, WAVE is building links with USP journalism members and students Rachna Lal and Sheetal Prasad were able to join us at the Nadi meet, where we attended workshops on Media and Law and HIV/AIDS. WAVE Fiji members freelancer/I-Mode journalist Rosemary Bowry and Shangri-La Communications manager Lata Yaqona were able to catch up and provide important input into the visioning exercises and discussions held in informal breakout mode during AIBD and PINA. Watch this space for news and preparation on WAVE work and events into 2010.
*4. AWID SEED GRANT HELPS GROW ONLINE WAVES, RAISE FUNDING ISSUES *
Thanks to an AWID seed grant of 5,000 USD, WAVE is growing its online presence, admin work and advocacy. So far, the fund has supported the design and set up of a website in Joomla, and a guide which will be used to train WAVE members who can then update the site from where ever they are. The site will be launched before the end of the year and add to our blog and googlegroup online presence. The funds have also helped to get us to Nadi and other meetings while waiting on funding support which came in late but which would have not otherwise have allowed us to get people to places in time, and to help cover our set up and registration/admin expenses! The notion of a subscription fee to help keep WAVE networked and efficient so that we can fundraise for programs is something we will look at introducing once our inaugural elections and committee members are confirmed.
*5. GENDER AND CLIMATE CHANGE: WAVE-WALKING A PATH OF ACRONYMS TO COPENHAGEN*
It’s so ironic that in order to get funding to bring Gender and Climate change home to the Pacific, you have to leave your home to take the Pacific message on Gender and Climate change to the world. 2009 has been a flurry of networking and learning activity for journalist-turned-WAVE coordinator Ulamila Wragg. Along with getting WAVE’s initial steps on project proposals, strategic planning and administration into gear, Wragg, who leads the gender and media advocacy for WAVE on climate change, was a guest of the SPINF at the Pre-PALM summit 09 in Japan, and strengthened networks during two key forums in September and October:
WAVE to New York – WAVE in formalising links with the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) and was linked into the GCCA advocacy during the recent UN GA session on Climate Change (see www.climatefundsupdate.org ) where Wragg was one of two Pacific women in the ‘climate change eyewitnesses’ group amongst the NGOs lobbying world leaders in the lead up to the COP 15 in Copenhagen this December. (See www.en.cop15.dk )
WAVE to Bangkok – WAVE is also linked in to the GenderCC Women for Climate justice Network (see http://www.gendercc.net/policy/conferences/road-to-copenhagen.html for more) was supported to be part of the Bangkok meetings for engendering the Climate change negotiations process and outcomes document (See http://www.wedo.org/learn/campaigns/climatechange/making-news-at-bangkok-climate-change-negotiations )
WAVE to Jordan: Finally and most importantly, funds for grassroots follow-up work are one of the key attractions for Wragg who will represent WAVE to a TOT on Gender and Climate Change sponsored by the Gender Global Climate Alliance (GGCA made up of IUCN, WEDO, UNDP and UNEP) as part of the process towards raising Pacific voices on women and climate change in Copenhagen. The previous link on the WEDO homepage has more info on this network. You can watch Rebecca Pearl present on the Global Gender Climate Change Alliance at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke9PB3ZopOY
*LINKS THAT INSPIRE: OUR WAVEMAKER FILM MAKER ON VAW*
The Solomon Islands cabinet is still pondering public release of a report which confirms the ugly truth: the women and girls of the Solomon’s are amongst those at highest risk on a global level, of domestic/gender violence, with little or no help for victims despite their legal and human rights. Their lives, experiences and rights are highlighted in an innovative television series produced in pidgin by our WAVE leader on gender and media advocacy around Violence against Women, Lorna Adomea. Adomea is part owner in Solomon’s ONE News TV, and has partnered with IWDA Australia to produce her ground-breaking program. For more info on the situation in the Solomon Islands, watch programme episodes and brush up on your pidgin English at http://www.onetelevision.com.sb/index.php/program-overview/domestic-violence.html
*WORDS THAT INSPIRE:*
“The greatest danger is silence. A dangerous, pregnant silence into which many things fall; a silence that comes in two forms. The silence of leaders who fail to speak, for whatever reason. And the silence of the people.”—Sophie Foster, Associate Editor for Fiji Times, on May 28 as the keynote speaker to the FWRM Graduating Emerging Leaders Forum (ELF) group of 2009.
Full text of the speech at http://www.michaelfield.org/sophie%20courage.htm
***
WAVE notes: The Pacific WAVE Media Network is made up of women in journalism, media, and communications work in the Pacific region. We believe in a vision of leadership and excellence for women in the media and work through media advocacy and information networking and welcome activities promoting innovation which help us meet our goals. We are a regional Non-profit entity registered in the Cook Islands with a portable secretariat based with our current coordinator, Ulamila Wragg. Email: info@pacificwave.org or rarowragg@gmail.com
***