GUWAHATI, 4 Feb: Issues related to the media and women mediapersons, with focus on Northeast India, were deliberated at length during the three-day 19th national meet of the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) which concluded on 2 February.
The meeting featured six panel discussions, and presentations related to the regional media’s transition and adaptation in the digital age, reporting to and from Northeast India, the journey of Assamese cinema vis-à-vis the country’s film industry, and navigating mental health and wellbeing in both newsrooms and in the field, along with online and offline struggles of journalists were presented during the conference.
A special panel on child marriage and the media’s role in highlighting multidimensional strategies to end the social menace in the context of Assam was also held with legal experts, social activists and journalists, highlighting various aspects that need to be focused on while doing stories on the subject.
A public meeting was also held on 1 February, and a panel discussion on the topic ‘Media: Conflict and Climate Change – Impact on Women’ was held with journalist-author Sanjoy Hazarika, North East Network chairperson Dr Monisha Behal, journalist Tongam Rina, and Centre for Environment and Climate Action Foundation director Dr Kamal Tanti participating in the conversation, moderated by PTI’s Bureau Chief Durba Ghosh.
The speakers highlighted the impact of conflict and climate change on women, particularly in the riverine areas; the impact of big dams and their adverse effects on their lives and livelihoods; and the need for preserving the indigenous knowledge system in the agricultural and other sectors, along with its portrayal in the media in the right perspective.
A presentation by Whitley Gold Award winner Dr Purnima Devi Barman on her conservation initiatives taken for the greater adjutant stork, which is locally called ‘hargila’, and empowering women at the grassroots in this endeavour, was the highlight of the public meeting.
Songs on the Brahmaputra by folk artistes from Barpeta and a Bihu dance presentation by a group of artistes also kept the audience spellbound on the occasion.
The NWMI is an organisation of women media professionals working for the print, electronic and digital media. Set up in 2002, it aims to provide a forum for women media professionals to share information and resources, exchange ideas, promote media ethics, to work towards gender equality and justice in media and society.
The three-day meeting presented an excellent opportunity for media professionals to connect, learn, and contribute to the growing discourse around women in media.
Altogether 200 women journalists from across the country attended the meet.
