The winners of the AGAHI Awards 2012 showcased counter-narratives discouraging radical mindset in Pakistan.

The AGAHI Awards 2012, Pakistani Journalists Shaping the Future of Journalism

Winners of the first journalism awards in Pakistan, the "AGAHI Awards 2012" showcased counter-narratives discouraging radical mindset in Pakistan.

Agahi Awards are Pakistan’s First Journalism Awards, aimed at recognizing the country's best journalists. These awards were organised by Mishal Pakistan in collaboration with the leading press clubs across the country, local and international media development bodies, regulatory authorities, the private sector and other stakeholders.

Puruesh Chaudhary, President for AGAHI and Ambassador on Media Ethics with Center for International Media Ethics (CIME) said the initiative was launched as essentially an effort to raise the standards of journalism in the country, creating a new crop of correspondents and editors who can develop counter-narratives to offset extremist ideologies and work towards greater peace and harmony in Pakistan.

Amir Jahangir, CEO Mishal and Young Global Leader with World Economic Forum, emphasized on creating Media Development Fund in Pakistan promoting  investigative journalism and quality content.

The presidents of eight of the leading press clubs in Pakistan on a platform in encouraging raising journalistic standards in the country comes as an unprecedented move.

The winners of the AGAHI Awards 2012 showcased counter-narratives discouraging radical mindset in Pakistan.

The judges panel comprising of some of the most senior media professionals from around the world assessed the entries submitted by journalists from all over the country in over 15 different categories including business, economy, conflict, corruption, crime, education, infotainment, the nexus between water, energy and food security, gender and governance.

In addition issues like human rights, interfaith, judiciary, media ethics, terrorism and extremism have also been included to create more awareness for social issues affecting society. A special People’s Choice category was created for the most favorite current affairs anchor and news channel.

In the People’s choice category the award for the most Favourite Current Affairs Anchor and News Channel went to Hamid Mir of Capital Talk and GEO News of the Jang Group.

Haroon Baloch of Rohi TV bagged three awards in the categories; conflict, crime and environment. Haroon Baloch has been commended by the judges as one of the most effective content producer on the blogging sphere in the context of the evaluation criteria over which he was assessed; along with his ability to converge traditional media content over new media.

Mohammad Ali Khan on Business and Economy, Idrees Bakhtiar and Mohammad Ali Khan on an exclusive piece on Corruption in Herald, Saadia Khalid on Education, Mubarak Zaib Khan on Energy, Water and Food Security nexus, Fazal Khaliq on Gender, Mashkoor Ali on Governance Ibrahim Suheyl on Health, Ali Usman on Human Rights, Usman Ghafoor on Infotainment, Naveed Nasim on Interfaith for his documentary on Gojra Riots, Asad Kharal on Media Ethics, Zaheer Chaudhry and from Balochistan Matiullah Achakzai in Photo-Journalism, Waheedullah Afridi on Terrorism and Extremism.

Arif Rana from Express Group, won the award for the best Investigative Journalist 2012; for his extensive work on issues related to corruption and governance.

Arshad Sharif from Dunya TV; was recognized for his contribution on Pakistan’s war against terrorism and his counter-narratives on undermining radical ideologies.  

Mishal launched a series of media development initiatives and helped journalists interact with each other through knowledge-sharing platforms. It also encouraged them to introduce new perspectives and produce diverse and pluralistic content to reduce intolerance in the society.

Members of the AGAHI team have worked with likeminded institutions to enhance the impact of these capacity building initiatives. It has established linkages and collaborations with leading knowledge centers from across the world. They have collaborated with different press clubs and media associations in the country and have always encouraged journalists to launch similar initiatives on their own.

For more information on AGAHI Awards Winners, the evaluation committee, and the judging criteria please visit: www.agahiawards.com

AGAHI: Peshawar Press Club and AGAHI conducts workshop on...

AGAHI: Peshawar Press Club and AGAHI conducts workshop on...:

Peshawar Press Club and AGAHI conducts workshop on “Investigative Journalism on Anti-Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorist Organizations”

Journalists trained for investigative journalism and responsible reporting.

Peshawar Press Club along with Khyber Union of Journalists and Mishal Pakistan, a strategic communication policy design social enterprise in collaboration with the Center for International Media Ethics, Zigron Training, Center for Investigative Journalists in Bosnia-Sarajevo, FaithMatters conducted a workshop on Investigative Journalism and Responsible Reporting at the Peshawar Press Club. The workshop was attended by more than 50 press club members.

The initiative, known as Agahi covered areas such as; Investigative Journalism, Media Ethics, Anti-Money-Laundering and Terrorist Organisation Funding, Journalism and Society, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa and the Millennium Development Goals, Reporting in Terrorism and Conflict, Social Media and Safety Training.

Talking to the gathering of the members of the media, Mr. Saif ul Islam Saifi, President of the Peshawar Press Club, expressed his gratitude for creating an opportunity for the journalists and emphasized the need for more training and assured his support from the press club for improving the state of media in Peshawar. He said, “there is a need to upgrade the skills of the journalists on new media tools such as social media and crowd sourcing journalism”. He further said that, “the Peshawar Press Club works for the capacity building and skill development of its members by organizing different professional courses”.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

On a skype video link David Brewer-based out of London and founder ofmedia-helping-media organization, emphasized on applying the public interest test to journalists, which discussed the role of governments and charity organizations in pursuing the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs). He stressed that journalists must read the MDGs with same skepticism that they treat every other beat. Mr. Brewer is one of the pioneers in media development. He has been the founding managing director of BBC News Online Service and the CNN.com.

Shaukat Khattak, senior journalist and chairman of the capacity building committee of the Peshawar Press Club, also expressed that the Peshawar Press Club realizes the importance of promoting journalism that covers the political and the socio-economic system. He encouraged the need of training provided to the journalists for a better outcome.

Puruesh Chaudhary, Ambassador to Pakistan onMedia Ethics on behalf of the Center for International Media Ethics (CIME) emphasized on the formulation of a unified ethics policy for the entire journalistic community to be adopted, implemented and adhered to counter special interest groups and sensationalism. The session dealt with the problems being faced by journalists, which also underscored the need for a joint code of conduct for reporters and cameramen.

Ali Hazrat Bacha, Senior Vice President of the Khyber Union of Journalists raised issues such as lack of training, non-supportive management, unavailability of basic resources, pressure groups, wages and the absence of a unified code of conduct. Ali Hazrat Bacha, Senior Vice President of the Khyber Union of Journalists raised similar concerns and stressed over the lack of resources and support from stakeholders on investigative journalism.

Mishal Pakistan Chief Executive Officer, AmirJahangir in his closing remarks announced two scholarships in collaboration with the Peshawar Press Club who wish to enroll for the Masters Programme in Mass Communication, Journalism or Media Studies at any public sector universities or any other degree awarding institution in Peshawar and other parts of KPK. The Peshawar Press Club will help Mishal in identifying the most deserving candidate for this scholarship.

AGAHI

Agahi, aims to utilize institutionalized, sustainable media structures in Pakistan to raise the bar of journalistic standards through training to increasing responsible, balanced reporting and investigative journalism. The initiative is being carried in collaboration with the Press Clubs in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa, Baluchistan and Azad Kashmir; In these series of interactions with the stakeholders a special Journalism Awards is being created to identify the most respectful and responsible journalists in investigative journalism.

Mishal has an MoU with the Peshawar Press Club to performs due role in promoting educational, literary, cultural and sports activities in the society. With the emergence of new conflict zones in the region, efforts have being made to convert Peshawar press club into a modern media complex, equipped with technological gadgets and professional kits to ensure unhindered flow of information to the world.

Before the establishment of Peshawar Press Club some 45 years ago, the journalists used to sit and attend press conferences in a single room allocated in famous Deans Hotel. It was in 2001, when the first-ever separate building for the Peshawar Press Club was constructed. Apart from being a cultural and welfare oriented body of the journalists, the Peshawar Press Club is also known as a symbol of democracy and freedom of press, as all the political parties, civil society organizations are provided equal opportunities to present their view points on any issue to the world.

Mishal, launched in 2003, has been engaged with some of the most dynamic organizations in the region to develop their communication strategy and solutions for better understand and creating synergies between different entities.

Mishal has been at the forefront of communications solutions and is actively pursuing to improve the state of media and journalism in Pakistan.

Taking this initiative to the next level Mishal has been actively pursuing to build the capacity of the media in creating better understanding the issues in global perspective.

The team behind Mishal has been developing, creating and managing media entities and content for the last 20 years at various platforms.

Mishal has undertaken the task to build the capacity of the Press Clubs and Associations in Pakistan by creating a knowledge-sharing learning platform for the media and journalists across Pakistan. The initiative will build the capacity through interactive workshops, conferences, collaborative thinking and media and journalism awards for the professionals in the field of journalism and media.

President Zardari Pledges to Disaster Prevention

President Zardari Pledges to Champion  Disaster Prevention

With his country still reeling from the effects of massive floods that inundated Pakistan for two consecutive years, President Asif Ali Zadari has pledged to become a “champion of the process of disaster risk reduction.”

President Zadari made this commitment during a meeting with U.N. Disaster Risk Reduction Chief Margareta Wahlstrom, during which the president also pledged to scale up efforts to improve Pakistan’s early warning system.

“Pakistan wants to be safe, resilient and able to respond to any type of disaster. We want to take ownership of disaster risk reduction and to empower our people to be able to respond to the risks and threats posed by natural hazards,” Zadari said.

The Pakistani president’s remarks come as an international organization warn it is unlikely for governments to meet the commitment they made to ensure the world’s safety from natural hazards and reduce overall disaster losses by 2015.

The Hygo Framework for Action is a 10-year plan adopted by U.N. member states at the World Disaster Reduction Conference in 2005.

Citing poor implementation of the plan, the international non-governmental organization Oxfam urged governments to step up their efforts to meet the HFA’s goals of improving people’s resilience to natural disasters, the Tribune reports. In particular, Oxfam urged the Pakistani government and its partners to address the growing crisis in the country and invest in efforts to prevent similar situations in the future.

“Everyone is aware of how disasters have taken their toll in Pakistan and how they are continuing to put people at the brink of desperation. Until we start preparing for these events and develop a system, the vicious circle of suffering will continue to affect millions of people,” Neva Khan, Oxfam’s director for Pakistan, said.

Courtesy Devex and Ivy Mungcal 

THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ETHICS DAY CELEBRATED IN PAKISTAN

THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ETHICS DAY CELEBRATED IN PAKISTAN

The first International Media Ethics Day observed in Pakistan by the Karachi Press Club in collaboration with the Center forInternational Media Ethics (CIME) and Mishal Pakistan. The Day has been created by CIME to engage the media community throughout the world to have an open dialogue on media ethics.

The aim of the Media Ethics Day is to mobilize the journalism community and provide journalists around the world with an opportunity to discuss media ethics issues, examine case studies, and participate in role-plays and debates related to the various ethical dilemmas they might expect to face on the job.

AamirLatif, President Karachi Union of Journalist stressed on the need to highlight the ethical challenges faced by the Pakistani Journalists and sees this day as an opportunity for the journalists to work together to make their own judgments and identify their own strategies.

CIME aims to prepare and infuse journalists with the energy and support they need to make their own ethical decisions in reporting and negotiating with anyone or anything that might be trying to obstruct their own sound decision-making. The International Media Ethics Day events are especially important because local organisations volunteer to do it for local people and CIME provides support and expertise to help them said Suzanne Harris, Associate for the Center for International Media Ethics.

PurueshChaudhary, CIME Ambassador to Pakistan and the Director Content for MishalPakistan underscored the need for a joint code of conduct to agree upon basic guidelines for reporters and cameramen and encouraged the journalist community to take on a proactive role in defining ethical practices through the choices and decisions made at work on a daily basis.

The Center for International Media Ethics and Mishal Pakistan believe that it is essential for the local journalists to collaborate with one another on a national level, to express their opinions and become actively involved in enforcing ethical media practices. Mishal Pakistan, a strategic communication policy design social enterprise in collaboration with the Center for International Media Ethics is observing the International Media Ethics Day at the Karachi Press Club as part of the Agahi Initiative. Agahi, aims to utilize institutionalized, sustainable media structures in Pakistan to raise the bar of journalistic standards through training to increasing responsible, balanced reporting and investigative journalism.

Senior journalist Amir Zia said that a reporter while reporting on a terrorist attack should keep in mind not to glamorize militancy. He said that the western media served as a yardstick, and during the 9/11 attack, the bodies of people were not shown on television, and the privacy of the victims was respected. However in Pakistan, reporters and photographers barged into emergency wards when doctors were struggling with their patients.

Mishal Pakistan Chief Executive Officer, Amir Jahangir on the occasion said that, media in Pakistan is passing through a transition, it is accumulating a lot of information, making Pakistan an information society, however the synthesis of information into knowledge has still to be evolved. Initiatives like this would lead to better understanding of communication challenges, especially in terms of Dignity, Journalism and Leadership. 

The objective of the Center for International Media Ethics’ International Media Ethics Day is to mobilize the journalism community and provide media professionals with the opportunity to partake in local workshops. By participating in discussions conducted in their own language, local journalists can feel more comfortable and more enabled to talk about such a complex subject as the ethics of their profession. The center’s driving emphasis is that journalists together have the power to formulate and enforce a tacit code of ethics as a status quo of their profession.

The event was attended by leading journalists from print and electronic media along with representatives of media entities and civil society organizations.

KASHMIR PRESS CLUB TO COLLABORATE ON ISSUES OF SOCIAL INJUSTICE THROUGH INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM WITH AGAHI

JOURNALISTS TRAINED FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM AND RESPONSIBLE REPORTING

Mishal Pakistan, a strategic communication policy design social enterprise in collaboration with the Center for International Media Ethics, Zigron Training, Center for Investigative Journalists in Bosnia-Sarajevo, Naya Jeevan conducted a workshop on Investigative Journalism and Responsible Reporting in Kashmir Press Club in Mirpur Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The initiative, known as Agahi covered areas such as; Investigative Journalism and Ethics, Anti-Money-Laundering and Terrorist Organisation Funding, Journalism and Society “Millennium Development Goals’’, Reporting in Terrorism and Conflict, Social Media and Safety Training. The initiative was launched in Multan Press Club on August 22^nd 2011. 

Syed Abid Ali Shah,
President, Kashmir Press Club, Mirpur - AJK

Talking to the gathering of the members of the media, Syed Abid Hussain Shah, President of the Kashmir Press Club, Mirpur expressed his gratitude for creating an opportunity for the journalists and emphasised the need for for more training and assured his support from the press club for improving the state of media in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. There is a need to upgrade the skills of the journalists on new media tools such as social media and crowd sourcing journalism, he further added. 

    

Mishal Pakistan and Kashmir Press Club, signed a memorandum of understanding on capacity building and training initiatives. The initiative aims to empower the journalist community by creating learning platforms through interactive workshops, seminars and courses in specific sectors.

Puruesh Chaudhary,
CIME Ambassador to Pakistan and
Director Content MISHAL and AGAHI

On the session, Puruesh Chaudhary, Ambassador to Pakistan on Media Ethics on behalf of the Center for International Media Ethics emphasized on the formulation of a unified ethics policy for the entire journalistic community to be adopted, implemented and adhered to counter special interest groups and sensationalism. The session dealt with the problems being faced by journalists, which also underscored the need for a joint code of conduct for reporters and cameramen. Journalists in Mirpur proactively discussed issues such as lack of training, non-supportive management, unavailability of basic resources, pressure groups, wages and the absence of a unified code of conduct.

The trainers highlighted socio-economic disparities which included gender/social discrimination, access to clean drinking water, environment, health and education  that continue to impact the community and stressed on how investigations into such areas can reflect the changing needs and priorities.

There was a special session on safety for journalists on how to journalists can also acquire the knowledge of life saving, as journalists are usually the first people to reach a place of accident or an act of terrorism. 

Amir Jahangir, CEO Mishal Pakistan

Mishal Pakistan Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Amir Jahangir in his closing remarks announced two scholarships in collaboration with the Kashmir Press Club who wish to enroll for the Masters Programme in Mass Communication, Journalism or Media Studies at any public sector universities or any other degree awarding institution in Azad Jammu Kashmir and other parts of Pakistan. The Kashmir Press Club will help Mishal in identifying the most deserving candidate for this scholarship.

Agahi, aims to utilize institutionalized, sustainable media structures in Pakistan to raise the bar of journalistic standards through training to increasing responsible, balanced reporting and investigative journalism. The initiative is being carried in collaboration with the Press Clubs in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa and Azad Kashmir; In these series of interactions with the stakeholders a special Journalism Awards is being created to identify the most respectful and responsible journalists in investigative journalism.

The workshop was attended by more than 50 press club members. The Kashmir Press Club was founded in 1978 and has more than 70 full time members and almost 100 affiliated members.