1. We believe the media, as it is currently structured, encourages unsustainable lifestyles: militarism, increasing poverty and consumption patterns that turn people into consumers, not only of goods but of ideas and ideologies. Women, children and most men remain invisible and their voices are not heard. There is a particular lack of respect for the integrity and dignity of women, stereotyped and dehumanized, they have become objects. Excessive use of violence in the media, destroy the sensitivities of all mankind.
2. We consider it is essential to promote forms of communication that not only challenge the patriarchal nature of the media, but also make efforts to decentralize and democratize them: to create media that encourages dialogue and debate, ways to encourage women and people's creativity, media to reaffirm the wisdom and knowledge of women, and to make those subjects rather than objects or targets of the media. Media that is responsive to the needs of people.
3. We consider a number of strategies appropriate for the aim of strengthening and empowering our communications. These include:
3.1. Strengthen popular culture media and, in particular, those of women, including storytelling, visual and performing arts so that they are able to contribute to the knowledge, wisdom, and creativity of the peoples.
3.2. The integration of humanistic values in our media creations, such as harmony with nature, cooperation, care, love and compassion, and struggles for the freedom of women, in order to ensure that our alternatives are not built by hierarchical, undemocratic and elitist foundations.
3.3. Education and training methodologies for women's organizations and community groups to access existing resources, in order to effectively communicate their messages and concerns.
3.4. Increased opportunities for technical training for women in the area of communications.
3.5. The mainstreaming of gender, local history and cultural diversity perspectives to the education and training of media professionals.
3.6. The development of national pensums to encourage critical thinking among future generations, through formal and informal education.
3.7. The expansion of research and documentation on media at local leves with a gender perspective
3.8. Promote lobbying and campaigns aimed at opinion leaders and media consumers to raise awareness of how development issues affect women.
3.9. Strengthen monitoring networks with legal support, in order to ensure the democratic functioning of the media.
4. We consider necessary to strengthen networks:
4.1. Strengthen our ties with potential allies in hierarchies (governments, politicians, corporations, donors, media managers) to turn these strategies into concrete actions.
4.2. Forging links and solidarity between women and men sensitive to gender issues currently working in the media, at all levels and conditions.
4.3. Continue to build links between women's networks and forge wider links with other people-oriented networks.
4.4. Identify special considerations of networks and strengthen exchanges of information among urban and rural groups and organizations, across language barriers, at different levels of awareness and access to technology, under conditions of oppression, etc.
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General comments
Mostly important but not filtered by group of experts as concerns structural unity, logic consecuvity, many repetations, details within propositions. The subordination is also mostly intuitive! As a result, the validity of the project is variating.
Written by A.Buracas at 19 / 12 / 2010
The role of media in development and democratization generally is very central, and as gender equality and equity is a democratic and development imperative, this particular theme is critical to the whole effort of the consensus.
Written by B.Kethusegile at 27 / 12 / 2010
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