Amplifying Women’s Stories at the Regional Level:
The #MediaFor1325 Award for the Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda
The media holds an incomparable power to shape narratives and spread awareness. Its online and offline access to and influence on its audiences makes it a powerful policy implementation and monitoring tool. In media coverage, women are underrepresented, especially in peace and security. When they are portrayed, it is most often either as sex objects or helpless victims incapable of holding decision-making positions. In efforts to popularize the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda and change social norms, the media can amplify stories of the gendered impacts of conflict and counter women’s portrayal as victims of conflict rather than active agents of peace.
The Media and WPS Award (#MediaFor1325) promotes and recognizes journalists and other media practitioners whose work contributes to the implementation of UNSCR 1325 on WPS. The award provides greater visibility to the winning articles from each country, highlighting the importance of women in building and sustaining peace. It also spotlights women’s roles as leaders, peacebuilders, and decision-makers, especially in the context of COVID-19 prevention and recovery. The Global Media and WPS Award also serves as an encouragement for other journalists to develop engaging stories to promote the implementation of WPS and women’s leadership in building and sustaining peace.
Active Competitions
Women’s Stories at the Spotlight: Southeast Asia Media and WPS Competition
The launch of ASEAN’s Regional Plan of Action on Women, Peace and Security (RPA WPS) opens a renewed space for collaboration with journalists, media practitioners, and influencers in the region to promote and monitor its overall implementation.
To further strengthen this opportunity for partnership, GNWP and UN Women are launching a Southeast Asia Media and WPS Award competition entitled “Women’s Stories at the Spotlight: Southeast Asia Media and WPS Competition.” This is an initiative under the “Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace: Preventing Violence and Promoting Social Cohesion in ASEAN,” generously funded by the Government of Canada, and the Republic of Korea.
Criteria
The submitted materials:
- Must be produced by a journalist and/or media practitioner, including independent writers, bloggers, influencers, and youth from and working in a country that is part of ASEAN;
- Must contain a minimum of 500 and 1500 words (for written submissions) or a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 15 minutes (for audio or audio-visual submissions);
- Must be in English;
- Must have been published after 1 January 2021 or be scheduled to be published no later than 31 December 2023 via print, online media (e.g., blogs), TV, or radio stations;
- Must be an original work.
- Must contribute to promoting:
- at least one of the four pillars of the WPS agenda, namely: women’s meaningful participation; protection of women’s rights; conflict prevention; and gender-sensitive relief and recovery;
- grassroots organizations and leaders’ contributions to the WPS agenda in Southeast Asia; and/or
- the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on Women, Peace and Security.
Categories of Submission
- Television
- Radio
- Online News
- Photojournalism
Note: All submissions must include a short biography of the author or producer of the output.
Who can nominate?
- Journalists/reporters can nominate their own work or the work of others; and
- Individuals, civil society organizations, peace advocates, educational institutions or interested organizations can also nominate entries.
Submit your material now!
Submissions close in: