GL getting closer to the communities

Community media is on the rise! Journalism is expanding from its traditional realm and moving into small communities throughout the region, reaching out to new audiences and reporting on new stories.

Southern Africa’s robust community media sector also presents numerous opportunities for Gender Links to work more closely with communities. As part of its work on developing gender policies for newsrooms, GL has been working with community media in South Africa’s Gauteng and Limpopo provinces under the banner of the National Community Radio Forum.

The 2003 Gender and Media Audience Study revealed that radio is the preferred source of news and information for men and women in South Africa. Community media is also closest to the people as it often carries community news that speaks to people’s daily struggles.

In November and December, GL conducted training for community media in Limpopo and Gauteng. The policy workshops were preceded by training on gender and media literacy. This served as a foundation to the basic principles of mainstreaming gender in community media content. Training in Limpopo was held from 22 to 26 November and in Gauteng from 6 to 8 December. Eleven community radio stations were represented at the Limpopo workshop, while five radio stations participated in the Gauteng leg of the workshop. A total of 16 draft gender policies were developed. The policies are now being canvassed with management in the various radio stations. The workshops will be extended to other South African provinces in the coming months.

In both instances radio stations expressed interest in GL’s radio materials. The materials seek to popularise the provisions of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. It is hoped that this will go a long way in addressing the gender gaps in media content.

As South Africa prepares for its local government elections, GL will continue to work with community radio to highlight key gender and elections issues. The elections are a convenient platform for communities to engage and debate around critical gender issues at this crucial time.