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	WFS CONSULTANCY

	WFS has been providing a variety of consultancy services since 1990. A selection is given below 2009 Women's Feature Service and the International Committee of the Red Cross came together for a project that generated features on the theme of 'Women and Conflict'. The first story in this series was launched on March 2, 2009 to mark International Women's Day and the 60th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Over the next few months, 25 reports and related images of women in conflict situations - including current developments like Lalgarh, Nandigram and the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, were generated under this project. Based on this series a seminar entitled, 'Women in Conflict Zones: Survivors and Peacemakers', was held at India International Centre, New Delhi, on September 22 and 23, 2009. A public exhibition of the images from this series was also staged in the week the seminar took place. WFS, in association with ICRC and with assistance from Prabhat Khabar, organised a workshop on media reporting conflict, in Ranchi, on November 20. Around 30 reporters from various corners of the state participated despite the incidences of violence, and the fact that elections in the state were just round the corner. In April-May 2009 - during the General Election to the 15th Lok Sabha - WFS along with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) did a series of 10 stories on the major campaigns conducted by women politicians in the country. Continuing on the theme of women in politics, WFS and FES, with Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC), conducted a half-day seminar on the Women's Reservation Bill at the IWPC premises in Delhi on August 29, 2009. A number of Members of Parliament (MPs) from both the Treasury Benches and Opposition participated in the discussions. WFS is currently running a features series entitled, 'Climate Change, Gender and MDGs in India'. WFS covered a national series of public hearings on climate change spearheaded by Oxfam India in association with various NGO partners. The 7-part weekly series began in October and culminated on November 30. WFS, in partnership with Unnati Features, organised a contest for Indian youth. Titled, 'Mera India, Bridge The Gap', the contest invited participants to suggest ways in which India can help meet its commitments on MDGs and to do this through the medium of an essay, pictorial strip or film. Some 500 young people signed up. About 100 sent in entries and 15 were awarded handsome prizes at a special awards ceremony at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on November 10, 2009. 2008 In 2008, apart from producing around 350 national and international features, Women's Feature Service also undertook a wide range of activities which focused on two broad objectives: raising the visibility of gender issues within civil society and informing and educating media professionals on the big social themes of the day. The features generated by WFS in 2008 covered a wide range of subjects. We had inspiring stories of women changing their lives and their communities against great odds. Women like Koma Mohanty, an illiterate woman living with HIV/AIDS in an Orissa village, who is fighting ignorance and social prejudice against people like her. WFS also carried an exclusive first-person account by Planning Commission Member, Syeda Hameed, on why she agreed to become the first woman in India to conduct a nikkah. WFS highlighted how village ten-year-olds dream of becoming national swimming champs in Bihar's backwaters and how young women find self affirmation in the wrestling rings of Delhi. WFS also covered every major development that had a gender dimension in 2008, from the plea of a Mumbai couple to abort their 25-week-old foetus to the Hillary Clinton phenomenon; from the passing of the Women's Reservation Bill in India's Upper House, to understanding why the Beijing Olympics was important for Chinese women. There were serious critiques of the new draft Indian law on surrogacy, the legal provisions meant to address sexual harassment in the workplace and the handling of the Scarlet Keeling and Arushi Talwar murder cases. WFS stayed abreast of events during a tumultuous year that saw world markets collapse, terrorists strike in Mumbai, the River Kosi change course and flood large stretches of Bihar, riots in Orissa and which witnessed the overthrowing of the monarchy in Nepal. Fellowship Project CARE India and Women's Features Service came together for the CARE-Women's Feature Service Media Fellowships 2008. Fifteen fellowships were made available to journalists and writers chosen from WFS's network of correspondents from across the country. Each fellow had to submit three features on the theme of women as agents of change. These features, which highlighted the inspiring work done by thousands of unknown women all over India, were then published in various national, regional and international publications, as well as on several websites. Photo Exhibitions WFS-CARE India fellowship process were showcased as an attractive photo exhibition that was staged in two venues at the heart of New Delhi. Entitled ‘Engendering the New- Women as Agents of Change’', the exhibition (held at the India Habitat Centre from September 24 to 27 and at India International Centre from Sept 30 to Oct. 3, 2008). The exhibition highlighted the role of women in innumerable social interventions on the ground, ranging from livelihood generation and healthcare to agricultural innovation and personal empowerment. December: As a lead up to Human Rights Day WFS photographs of women transforming their personal space by working for better sanitation and potable water, were exhibited on the lawns of the United Nations in Delhi. Workshops In the shadow of the elections to the Delhi assembly, Women's Feature Service (WFS) in association with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), conducted a very relevant and topical workshop on the theme, *'Translating Politics Into Participatory Governance'* at the India International Centre. Over 25 journalists and students of political science participated in the day-long workshop. The objective of the workshop was to raise awareness among journalists on crucial human development issues that emerged in the run-up to the Delhi elections.The Chief Minister of Delhi, Ms Sheila Dikshit, delivered the inaugural address in which she presented her vision for Delhi. Recognising that one of the hurdles in the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in India is the asymmetry of information flows, Women's Feature Service in association with UN agencies (UNRCO/UNDP/UNICEF/UNFPA), and the Indian Media Center For Journalists (IMCFJ), organised a one-and-a-half day media workshop on the theme, *'From Goals to Media Stories/ From Media Stories to Goals'*, in Lucknow. Twenty-eight journalists from Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar and Jharkhand, some of them located in small towns, and writing for small and medium size newspapers, attended this workshop that was conducted entirely in Hindi. 2007 A brainstorming meeting of senior editors of South Asian newspapers (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal), political leaders' consortium on population & development (AFPPD and IAPPD), activists, CSOs/INGOs, and the UN Millennium Campaign team was organised in Delhi. The focus of the discussions was maternal health (MDG 5). (In collaboration with United Nations Population Fund, Country Technical Support Team, South & West Asia). A media advocacy and training initiative was undertaken that focussed on the UN's MDG 5 (Maternal Health). Six journalists (from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan) traveled to a South Asian country other than their own and undertook a short field trip. WFS organised their travel, meetings with NGOs, maternal health experts, field visits, etc. Based on their field trips, the journalists filed articles that were published in their respective newspapers. The same articles have also been put up on the websites of Women's Feature Service and UNFPA. (In collaboration with United Nations Millennium Campaign and United Nations Population Fund, Country Technical Support Team, South & West Asia) 2006 South Asian Capacity Building Workshop, held in Delhi (India), to discuss issues related to Reproductive Health and HIV &Youth. Print journalists from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives participated in this seminar. (In collaboration with Population Reference Bureau, USA and with technical support from United Nations Population Fund, Country Technical Support Team, South & West Asia) Media Training Workshop to sensitise and train Hindi and English journalists (print and television) from Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal on reporting on the UN's Millennium Development Goals. (In collaboration with UNDP and DFID, India) Media Training Workshop to sensitise and train Hindi and English journalists (print and television) from Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand on reporting on the UN's Millennium Development Goals. (In collaboration with UNDP and DFID, India) 2005 South Asia Editors' Roundtable, held in Delhi, to discuss how coverage of development issues can be improved. The consultation was attended by editors/ media owners from Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. (In collaboration with UNFPA-CST, South and West Asia) Media training workshop to sensitise journalists (print and TV) to issues related to sex determination and unequal sex ratio. The workshop was conducted in Hindi and was attended by journalists from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. (In collaboration with UNFPA, India) Media training workshop to sensitise and train journalists from Madhya Pradesh and Delhi on reporting on the UN's Millennium Development Goals. (In collaboration with UNDP and DFID, India) Media sensitisation workshop for radio professionals on issues related to sex determination and unequal sex ratio. (In collaboration with UNFPA, India) Media training workshop to sensitise and train journalists from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on reporting on the UN's Millennium Development Goals. (In collaboration with UNDP, India, IIM-Bangalore, and Dept of Personnel and Training) Talks to students of communication in five Delhi colleges on issues related to HIV and Gender. (In collaboration with UNIFEM, SARO) Editing of profiles and preparation of press releases for screening of short documentaries on HIV by young filmmakers from Asia. (In collaboration with UNESCO, Asia) Editing of profiles of 160 'peacewomen' from South Asia who were nominated for the 1000 Women for the Nobel Prize 2005. (In collaboration with Sangat, India and Association for 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005, Switzerland) 2004 TV monitoring project of selected TV channels in India that broadcast news or current affairs programmes, and researching and writing an overview of television journalism in India. This project was a part of a TV monitoring project that compared the 'communicative architecture' and production practices of television journalism in Australia, USA, UK, India, Singapore and South Africa. (In collaboration with University of Melbourne, Australia) Media training workshop on the UN's Millennium Development Goals, attended by civil servants and journalists (print and TV) from Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana , Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. (In collaboration with UNDP, Dept for Personnel and Training and Indian Institute of Public Administration) Workshop on community radio, attended by stakeholders and those interested in community radio policy. (In collaboration with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, UNDP and UNESCO) Media monitoring project to analyse newspapers from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India for reportage on peace and conflict. Angana Parekh presented a paper based on the findings at a conference in Sri Lanka on 'Peace, Conflict Transformation, Development and Gender' and Tripta Batra conducted a working group session to build the capacity of NGOs to analyse print media and establish working relationships with mediapersons. (Supported by EED) 2003 A paper on the outcome of the above workshops was presented by Angana Parekh at a conference on 'Access to Information, ICTs and Cross Media Partnerships - The Empowerment Agenda' organised by UNDP in Goa, India. (Sponsored by UNDP) Two workshops on 'Development Reporting' designed for Hindi language newspaper and TV journalists from seven Hindi-speaking states of India. A total of 49 mediapersons were trained and sensitised on issues like local self-governance, HIV and gender, ICTs for development, Tools for development reporting and Right to Information laws. (In collaboration with UNDP.) A series of 10 articles and one half-hour radio programme on adolescent sexual and reproductive health. The target readers and listeners were teenagers so several features were placed in the city supplement of a leading national daily that is widely read by young people. (Supported by Population Council) Produced 10 articles on the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction work of NGOs in Kutch, Gujarat. (Sponsored by the America India Foundation) In collaboration with Centre for Women's Development Studies (CWDS), WFS organised a training workshop for women's NGOs on 'Internet and its Applications' in Delhi (India). (Supported by SID) 2002 Organised two training and sensitisation workshops in Bhopal (India) and Lucknow (India) for Hindi language journalists on reporting on HIV and gender issues. (Supported by UNIFEM) 2001 A series of articles and news briefs on informed and expanded contraceptive choice; for publication in mainstream media, and two 30-minute radio programmes broadcast on FM and AIR. (Supported by Population Council) UNESCO workshop on 'News Agencies and the Internet' in Amman (Jordan): Angana Parekh presented a paper on 'Key Challenges and Strategies in the Electronic Age'. A series of articles on women, religion and the media; for publication in mainstream media, and a 30-minute radio programme broadcast on AIR Vividh Bharati. (Supported by Ford Foundation) Organised a workshop in Bhopal (India) to train Hindi language journalists on reporting on gender and development issues. (Supported by FES) A series of articles on urbanisation; for publication in mainstream media and also put up on a specially-created 'Citylife' section on the WFS website. Also created links with associated websites. (In collaboration with TVE) Asia-Pacific Conference on Media and Transformative Leadership in Manila (Philippines): Angana Parekh presented a paper on 'Partnership with Media for Transformative Leadership'. A series of articles from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on the situation vis-à-vis rape and dowry; for publication in mainstream media. (Supported by Oxfam) 2000 Organised an electronic discussion on 'Women, Religion and the Media: Searching for New Interpretations' Report on a workshop (organised by the Department of Women & Child, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India) 'Best Practices in Group dynamics in Micro Credit' WFS took a team of journalists from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India to cover the meeting of the SAARC People's Forum in Kathmandu (Nepal). (Supported by UNIFEM)	BACK TO TOP
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