GNMI conducts training on gender sensitive digital reporting at Sukkur IBA

The Global Neighborhood for Media Innovation (GNMI) conducted an intensive one day training on ‘Blogging and Vlogging for Social Change and Impact: The use of digital media for addressing human rights and gender based violence’ at Sukkur, IBA, on October 26.

Najia Ashar, trainer of the session and founder of GNMI, briefed the students over key gender issues, differences between sex and gender, as well as appropriate content and knowledge that can be incorporated in blogs and vlogs covering human rights concerns and gender based violence.

The training was attended by over 70 students with a sizeable section of them being female students. Ashar directed the students to present their respective vlogs based on real life case studies while taking into consideration the ethical limitations linked with gender reporting. She added that new media tools and platforms must highlight the issue with a fresh perspective and leave aside the baggage carried by the traditional stereotypes and myths surrounding gender issues.

“The students through their reports must use their Vlogs to challenge established narratives prevalent in society in view of promoting gender equality. The social norms that stand for gender biases are now outdated all over the world and through students we can scrape them out,” the trainer said. 

The Sukkur IBA student groups presented Vlogs after an intense deliberation among the group members. The Vlogs ranged from serious social commentary to video podcasts and comic skits. The GNMI team was impressed with the dedication and motivation shown by the students to make the Vlogs as professional as they could. The content was complimented with masterful editing while taking into consideration the audio mixing and lighting – which made the message more interesting for a viewer.

The efforts that were exercised by the students were appreciated by GNMI and the university faculty. The trainer also gave tips for further improvement on their video productions. The students promised to produce videos on the subject matter and remain in touch with the organization for value addition on their content.