About: IWPR Annual Report 2015 | Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Annual Report 2015
For IWPR, 2015 was indelibly marked by the death of Ammar al-Shahbander, our dear colleague, friend, and long-standing chief of party of our Iraq programmes. This was followed five months later by the death, in different circumstances, of Jacqueline Sutton, his acting replacement. This twin blow shook the organisation deeply and we miss them on both personal and professional levels.
Within IWPR and around the world, these tragedies were met with a profound rallying of support for which we will always be grateful. This solidarity has inspired us, in their memory, to re-commit to the work of strengthening local voices in areas of crisis and conflict, even in the world’s most challenging environments. The continuing open conflict and growing extremism in Syria, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere, and the massive migration into Europe from Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa, have driven home the imperative of building independent media, civil society and voices of moderation.
Anthony Borden
IWPR Executive Director
With an improved structure for management and day-to-day oversight of programs, IWPR’s priority was to refine and focus our projects to increase impact, and monitor and evaluate our efforts to document and demonstrate strong results across regional divisions for the Middle East and North Africa, Africa, Asia, Eurasia and Latin America.
IRAQ LIBYA SYRIA
Exercises at the Tripoli Media Lab, a facility established in partnership with IWPR to provide practical journalism training. (Photo: IWPR)
IWPR continued implementing activities under distinct but interrelated projects that strengthen the capacity of local Libyan media to produce civic debate programs related to the country’s democratic transition, provide hands-on training for young journalists at the universities of Tripoli and Zawiya, and enhance the quality of journalistic content produced in country.
REGIONAL KYRGYZSTAN KAZAKSTAN TAJIKISTAN
IWPR staff held a lecture on “The principles of religious tolerance, tolerance and human rights in Islam” for students in Almaty, Kazakstan. (Photo: IWPR)
IWPR strengthened the capacity of women’s networks to lead evidence-based advocacy efforts in the Kazak state, with the goal of integrating gender and HIV issues into gender strategies on the national level.
REGIONAL ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN GEORGIA
Torchlight procession through Yerevan to commemorate the anniversary of the Armenian genocide. (Photo: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
IWPR trained and provided an international reporting platform for 50 local journalists through IWPR’s flagship weekly Caucasus Reporting Service electronic publication. Armenian journalists covered issues ranging from conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh, ethnic minorities, rights of people with disabilities, key legislative changes to governance and environmental issues.
REGIONAL CUBA
IWPR’s digital security program, which was developed in the Middle East and North Africa, for the first time incorporated a Latin American component, to provide online safety awareness for human rights defenders working in Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Honduras. These programmes play a vital role in enabling journalists and human rights activists, who are often vulnerable to serious digital and physical threats, to continue to communicate and network safely and securely online.
AFGHANISTAN BURMA/MYANMAR PHILIPPINES SRI LANKA
Building on our long-standing work to strengthen independent media in Afghanistan, IWPR programming focused on supporting public discussion to challenge officials and connect them to the public, and provide a public forum for the discussion around peace efforts.
IWPR’S OPEN MINDS AFGHANISTAN AND AFGHAN RECONCILIATION PROJECTS
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA UKRAINE
IWPR launched its first programming in country in 2014, training an initial cohort of 24 journalists in hostile environment, safety and security and conflict reporting. Building on that initial programming IWPR launched a larger project to extend the hostile environment and conflict reporting training, and to improve media and civil society oversight of Ukraine government’s reform agenda and address corruption.
For more see Annual Report (PDF) >>
Ukrainian journalists in a simulation exercise, part of IWPR’s hostile environments course. (Photo: IWPR)
NIGERIA RWANDA SIERRA LEONE SOUTH SUDAN
In South Sudan, IWPR expanded discussion of the rule of law and issues faced by women through a series of radio programmes produced by women journalists. In partnership with the Catholic Radio Network, the radio series gave women a stronger voice and provided an alternative to Sudanese government radio in a region starved of media and information sources.
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“The knowledge I acquired during the training will help me in the war zone, and will probably save my life.”
IWPR's work had a profound impact, “changing the face of independent journalism in Cuba” according to a leading writer and former political prisoner, “creating a new generation of journalism” focusing on fact-based reporting.
“The IWPR debates gave people the ability, for the first time, to discuss issues directly with officials. They found this incredible. A kind of trust in the democratic process was created.”
“I learned multiple journalism skills and how to be engaged on several levels, unlike internships in media outlets in Libya where an intern stagnates at the same place for the entire time.”
“I see so many things, so much corruption in society. I want to highlight the concerns of people.”
GIVING VOICE, DRIVING CHANGE
The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) empowers people’s voices at the frontlines of conflict and transition to help them drive change. IWPR builds skills, capacity and networks for citizens and their communities so their voices can make a difference – strengthening accountability and supporting development, advancing justice and forging peace.
IWPR was founded in 1991 by a group of concerned media professionals, with the aim of supporting the voices of local journalists, human rights activists and others in areas of conflict. Working in three dozen countries, IWPR’s innovative programmes are crafted to respond to the needs of the people they serve. Projects prioritise locally informed objectives and lead to sustainable outcomes. Beneficiaries include citizen and professional journalists, human rights and peace activists, policymakers, educators, researchers, businesses, and women’s, youth and other civil society organisations and partners.
