Supported by: High Commission of Canada in Bangladesh

Project period: 2017- 2018

Canada has been promoting freedom of religion in Bangladesh through various initiatives.

Teamed up with the News Network, the High Commission of Canada/Canada Fund implemented a project to promote freedom of religion through media action. It was focused on news reporters, working for local and national mainstream print and electronic media houses and the media gatekeepers, including editors, executive editors, news editors, news-room editors of local newspapers and online news portals. 

The project, “Programme for Supporting Journalists to Promote Freedom of Religion,” undertook several activities in various remote districts of Bangladesh, vulnerable for a peaceful coexistence of all religious people. As part of the activities, participating journalists were sensitized and their professional abilities to report and publish quality report items with respect to freedom of religion and human rights were improved.  The initiative has played an important role to raise awareness of the people on the issues relating to religious freedom.

The initiative was the first of its kind in Bangladesh, particularly for the media people. The project has drawn the attention of policy planners, prominent civil society members, rights-based groups and media people, and was highly appreciated from different levels with a plea to keep continue in other districts. They said the initiative should be continued and expanded in other districts of the country and could be replicated in other countries where freedom of religion often faces challenges.

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Women and girls in Bangladesh are deprived of their Constitutional rights in accessing justice and gender-based violence is a very common phenomenon.

However, the Government of Bangladesh has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations against Women and passed the Women Development Policy 2011 to ensure strong protection for women and girls’ rights. But this has not changed the reality in the field yet.

An unacceptable social attitude among a section of the society and officials towards women and girls is still there. Weak enforcement of women-friendly laws and regulations, slow but insufficient judicial protection, inadequate social protest and protection, poor family environment, poor and inadequate intervention from human rights defenders (HRDs) and weak voice of women human rights defenders (WHRDs) are the major impediments in ensuring women’s and girls’ rights in Bangladesh.

News Networked has teamed up with the European Union in Bangladesh to address these issues and has taken up a comprehensive project.

The Project entitled, “Supporting Human Rights Defenders Working for Women’s and Girls’ Rights in Bangladesh” is a three-year project started in January 2018. The project funded by the European Union and implemented by the News Network in partnership with Udayankur Seba Sangstha (USS) in the rural areas of eight districts along the Indo-Bangla international border namely Satkhira, Jessore, Rajshahi, Niphamari, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Lalmonirhat and Kurigram.

The overall objective of the project is to provide support to Women Human Rights Defenders and/or Human Rights Defenders (W/HRDs) working for women’s and girls’ rights in Bangladesh.

The project has been working to recognise and promote the role of WHRDs in the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms and to protect them addressing the challenges, risks and threats that they may face.

It also supports and protects WHRDs at risk due to their work for the promotion and protection of the full enjoyment of women’s and girls’ rights.

Media professionals of print, electronic and social media including potential young women journalists and rural media gatekeepers-editors, news editors and executive editors, rural journalists and creative women journalists are the targeted beneficiaries of the project.

Rural civil society organisations’ leaders, both male and female, and rural religious leaders who are working to promote women’s and girls’ rights are also its beneficiaries.

Supported by UNESCO

Project period: 2016-2017

The media in Bangladesh is aggressive and vibrant. Journalists often play a bold role in exposing corruption and wrong-doings in the society. Their brave work earns them public admiration, but it also exposes them to threats on their life, harassment and insecurity. So, the safety of journalists has now become a major concern of the country and the world.

According to media rights groups, at least 27 journalists and bloggers have been killed in such attacks since the country’s independence in 1992 (CPJ,2015). In most cases, killers and attackers went unpunished and the motives were not clear.

To face the challenges, News Network with the support from UNESCO implemented the project to make journalists more aware about the safety measures and also ensure a constructive engagement of concerned stakeholders, individuals and organizations involved in advocacy to create a safe field for journalists. The objectives of the project were: (i) strengthening the environment for press freedom, journalistic safety and/or self-regulation, for on-line and/or off-line media, through favorable policies and/or practices; (ii) promoting good governance and transparency by developing pluralistic media institutions, including community media, and by building capacities of the media professionals.

The project was implemented in the following districts: Faridpur, Sylhet, Jessore and Satkhira. The key activities of the project included:

• Raising level of understanding of safety measures and improving capacity of journalists for reporting from danger zones;
• Analysing cases of violence against journalists to examine how they might have been avoided;
• Training journalists to report on crimes against journalists;
• Establishing a peer network for monitoring crimes against journalists and advocating journalists’ safety in Bangladesh.

News Network believes journalists who participated in the programme will continue the initiative beyond the project period as part of their professional and social responsibility. They will also keep sharing their learning with the colleagues and friends.

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of the Germany in Dhaka

Bangladesh is one of the world’s top 20 countries vulnerable to climate change and global warming. One-third of the country’s people are already affected by the climate change and hree-fourth its population will face serious crisis by 2050.

Climate-induced cyclonic storms have already claimed the lives of thousands of people and displaced many more, pushing the number of internal climate refuges.

So, achieving the country’s millennium development goals (MDGs) is very much dependent on how a government addresses the impacts of climate change. By this time the Government of Bangladesh and many organizations are implementing various programmes to face the challenge of climate change. But more actions are needed to overcome the issues.

Under the situation, News Network has taken up this project for journalists to provide them with better understanding on climate change issues and improve their professional ability for quality reporting on the issue.

Journalists at all levels have a greater role in making people more aware and create mass opinion on the ways for adapting to climate change. Their news

items and articles can greatly help the policy planners, officials, public representatives to undertake need-based policy planning and implement development activities.  Above all, they can play the role of watchdog on environmental issues and governance.

Project covered: Bagerhat, Cox’s Bazar and Rajshahi zones

Agendas:

• To give understanding to local journalists and editors on climate change issues, how it is affecting the country, adaptation and environmental governance.
• Skill development training of local journalists for better news reporting on climate change issues.

Activities were:

• To organise training workshops for the journalists, working for print and electronic media from climate change from project areas.
• To arrange interaction meeting with local media editors/publishers executive editors and news editors.

The one year project has successfully completed in December 2015.

Supported by: United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF)

Project period: December 2014 – November 2016

Bangladesh still has to go a long way to establish democracy and ensure human rights as enshrined in the country’s constitution.

In a democratic society, media is considered to be the fourth estate of the nation. It continuously plays the role by monitoring the policies and activities of the government, policymakers, officials and politicians. Also, it ensures people’s access to information so that they can make an informed decision, an essential ingredient of democracy in any country.

With this understanding, News Network implemented the project, “Rural Media Development for Promoting Democracy and Human Rights in Bangladesh” in 12 remote districts of the country. The project was aimed at improving the media and civil society organisations’(CSOs) ability in rural areas to report on democracy and human rights issues, and thereby raising public awareness of their rights. The key activities of the project were: (i) training and sensitizing rural journalists on democracy and human rights issues; (ii) reporting competitions among the trained journalists; (iv) media training for CSOs staff; (v) interactive meetings of the trained journalists and CSOs officials and workers in project areas; (vi) web advocacy for promoting democracy and human rights; and (vii) build up network among trained journalists and CSOs.

The News Network with the assistance from United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF)addressed the project to promote democracy and human rights in project areas. The participating journalists and CSOs emphasised on the need for replicating the programme in other districts of the country and form a platform to connect the beneficiaries and improvement of fragile democratic situation persisting in the country.  

Supported By Anne Frank- Fonds

The project initiated in 2008 under the assistance of Anne Frank-Fonds, a Swiss based international organization. News-Network started this project with a view to support the educational needs of te Harijan Children. Two elementary schools were set up in Bogra town, a northern district headquarters of the country.

“Harijan community are one of most neglected comminutes in the country.”

They are the poorest of the poor, deprived of most of the social privileges such as education, healthcare, sanitation and safe water. The exact size of their population in Bangladesh is not known. But it is likely to be several thousand scattered across the country. Harijans are a as education, healthcare, sanitation and safe water. The exact size of their population in Bangladesh is not known. But it is likely to be several thousand scattered across the country. Harijans are also called untouchable because they were considered to be outside the confines of the caste. Their impurity derived from their traditional occupations like Swiper (those who cleans). Such kind of an important project needs to continue but due to unavailability of resource it was not possible to continue after December 2013.

Supported By Plan International-Bangladesh, The Netherlands Period: July 2011 to December 2013

Plan International supported News Network’s ‘Girl Power Project’ ended in December 2013. Project implemented various activities including, organizing sensitization workshops for journalists, discusion meetings with the school and college girls, guardians, media people, officials, opinion leaders and public representatives on GBV issues around the country. Publishing a newsletters “Girl Power” and preparing issue based news-features and disseminate those to media for wider publication also the part of activities.

Ultimate objectives of the project were to raise mass awareness and create opinion to in favour of establishing girl power in the society.

News Networe part of activities.

Ultimate objectives of the project were to raise mass awareness and create opinion to in favour of establishing girl power in the society.

News Network also provided technical support to carry out the media programmes of other Plan partners.

Supported By The American Center, U.S. Embassy, Dhaka Period: 2011 to September 2013

It is the second time that The American Center has approved a grant to a News Network program. Earlier they have also supported all most a similar News Network project in October 2005 to September 006, which was completed successfully and the then Charge d’Affairs Ms. Judith A. Chammas was kind enough to attend a function at News Network office and distributed certificate among the fellow journalists.

Aims and goals of the current program are to increase the number of female journalists in the country.

As per undertaken activities, 20 females have been awarded in a nine month fellowship on journalism in 2011 another 20 awarded in 2013. Fellowship includes in-hmale journalists in the country.

As per undertaken activities, 20 females have been awarded in a nine month fellowship on journalism in 2011 another 20 awarded in 2013. Fellowship includes in-house training and internship in major news media houses.

Supported By Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD)

Under the project a two-day long motivational workshop was organised in Dhaka for trainee journalists and contributors working for Dhaka city based major print and electronic media houses. Twenty jurnalists participated in the workshop. They were given motivation and better understanding on the basic of journalism, including principle of journalism, objective journalism, professional responsibilities, behaviours,duties and rights, technique of information gathering and right to information. Aims and objectives of the project were to the make the journalists realize about their professional ethics and provide better understanding on sensible journalism, freedom of press, access to informatAims and objectives of the project were to the make the journalists realize about their professional ethics and provide better understanding on sensible journalism, freedom of press, access to information and social responsibilities.

Supported By UNESCO/IPDC

Period: 2010 to 2011

The project was launched on 1^st June 2010 in Khagarachari, Bandarban and Rangamati hill districts of Bangladesh. With the financial assistance of UNESCO/IPDC, News Network organised three, one-monthlong skill development training for local journalists in those districts’ headquarters. Objectives were to improve their professional ability and understanding.

It was first of its kind training in Hilly regions. Reputed senior journalists’ trainers and experts conducted the courses. Total 60 local journalists, working for regional and national news media took part in the programme. They found the training was very much effective and useful to them. Apart from developing reporting skill they were sensitized on various issues like; ethics of journalism, professional and social duties and responsibilities, human right, gender equality, global warming and climate change, combating violence against women and the role journalists to promote peace and tolerance. The programme was highly appreciated by the local administration, media houses, journalists’ union leaders and CSOs.

The trained journalists are doing far better than earlier. They are now more confident, skilled and careful to their professional duties and responsibilities. The project ended in May 2011.