Mitrataa Foundation - Projects - Women in Journalism

In October 2007 we held a forum for women journalists in Kathmandu to learn more about the issues faced by women in a very male dominated profession and also to explore the potential for assistance whether in the form of training programs, professional cultural exchange, or other areas in which a need is identified. The forum was led by a good friend of ours, Janet O'Connor, who is currently a sub-editor with the Financial Review in Sydney and has many years of journalism and media experience. You can read more about the forum at http://mitrataa.blogspot.com/2007/11/women-journalists-forum.html.

The response from the forum was an enthusiastic request for assistance in the form of training programs to provide women journalists in Nepal with more advanced skills as many of them at present are working freelance without any kind of training. As a result Janet returned to Kathmandu in April 2008 to conduct the first such training course, held over 2 mornings and covering the basics of journalism.

You can read more about the outline for the course by clicking here. You can read more about how the course went at our blog - http://mitrataa.blogspot.com/2008/04/women-journalists-workshop.html.

In addition to providing skills to enable these women to pursue their careers we also hope that the courses will serve to strengthen the network of women journalists in Nepal which will create opportunities for collaboration and even the development of grassroots publications giving voice to more and more sections of the Nepalese community.

Current Status

Janet is working with us on a second training course (her third visit to Nepal!) scheduled for early 2009.
We are working with the Working Women Journalists (WWJ) organisation in Nepal to expand the program to rural areas and to assist them in administering their organisation to be effective outside the capital.

How YOU Can Help

We are particularly interested in hearing from people with skills and experience in this area as we can always use assistance in terms of preparing supplementary materials and/or advising on the structure for future courses.
If you have any resources, text books or other materials which may be useful in conducting the course or as donations to the group, we'd love to hear from you.