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Direct Link to FULL 7-PAGE Document:
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/gamag_call_to_action_on_sdgs_en.pdf
Gender, Media, ICT’s &
The Post-2015 Agenda – GAMAG Position Paper
A Call to Action
It is incredible that we are heading into the post 2015 era,
in which media and ICTs will play a crucial role in shaping attitudes, norms
and perceptions, with barely any mention of these powerful forces or their
gender dimensions. While it may be too late to rekindle the call for a
stand-alone goal on media and ICTs, GAMAG calls for:
A specific target and indicators on gender equality in and
through the media and ICTs under goal five (gender equality).
Stronger indicators in the provisions on ICTs in Goal Five.
Indicators on gender, media and ICTs and in goal 16.
Detailed recommendations in the Table at Annex A.
Synopsis
This is an urgent call by 500 media and freedom of expression
organisations across the globe to governments meeting in New York from 23-27
March to get gender and the media on the post 2015 agenda before it’s too late!
The Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG) brings
together over 500 organisations and networks concerned with gender equality in
and through the media across the globe
(http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/crosscutting-priorities/gender-and-media/global-alliance-on-media-and-gender/about-gamag/international-steering-committee).
GAMAG used the 59th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) media side event to
issue a strong call for the inclusion of specific and measurable global targets
and indicators on media, ICTs and their gender dimensions in the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) – see http://www.genderlinks.org.za/article/csw59-gender-media-and-communication-are-intrinsic-to-who-we-are-2015-03-12.
In the absence of a stand-alone goal on media and ICTs, GAMAG
calls on the UN to integrate media indicators in the existing goals and
targets. “To forge a development agenda so blind to both the possibilities and
dangers of the information revolution, including for gender equality, is ill
advised,” noted GAMAG Chair and Gender Links CEO Colleen Lowe Morna.
Rationale
Media access and the right to communicate are a basic human
right, espoused in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) on freedom of expression and access to information. Media access and
freedom of expression are therefore enablers to the achievement of development
goals.
Gender equality is intrinsic to freedom of expression,
participation and human rights. UNESCO and World Summit on Information and
Society (WSIS) stipulate “ Access to information and the capacity to be able to
enjoy the “right to communication” are essential to the realisation of greater
equity in a global society. Information and communication are both ‘resources’
whose ethical usage and distribution create the conditions for democracy and
greater well-being.” 1
…………………………………Click above link to additional pages of GAMAG Position Paper………………………….