Nairobi, Kenya

This conference, organised by The Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK), with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat, aims to highlight the importance of media professionals in understanding the implications of global economic policies and their impact on developing countries. In particular, the conference aims to explore the gender dimensions of these policies to show how they serve to advance gender inequalities in all spheres of the society. According to the organisers, media need to appreciate the importance of stepping up awareness on what the policies are about. 

The objectives of this conference will be to;

• provide a learning platform for women media practitioners to understand the principles and concepts of global economic policies like World Trade Organisation (WTO), General Agreements on Trade in Services (GATS), and Trade Related Aspects of International Property Rights (TRIPS);
• help the media practitioners understand the role of the industrialised countries in the establishment of global trade and financial regimes and the impact of this on women and men in Africa and other developing countries;
• analyse the positive and negative consequences of WTO policy on women and men;
• identify best practices to be highlighted as learning points in different media;
• facilitate networking between media practitioners in the region for purposes of information sharing; and
• explore possibilities of networking between civil society organisations, donors and the government to disseminate information on globalisation in the context of specific countries.

The participants will be drawn from five countries: Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and Kenya. Each country will send two participants.  There will be eight representatives from Kenya.

Click here for more information.

AMWIK will cover travel and related expenses and participants will be selected based on the following criteria:

1. Applicants must be from one of the following countries Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and Kenya.

2. Applicants must have demonstrated experience in reporting on trade and related issues within their countries or regionally

3. Those selected must be committed to be part of a regional network through which they can address issues of globalisation using a common information dissemination framework

4. Selected participants will be required to bring copies of their published or broadcast stories on the conference theme.
The deadline for applications is January 10 2008.

Click here to download the application form in MS Word.