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Norway commits over 3bn/- to independent media
2008-05-10 11:06:56
By Guardian Reporter
Norway will increase funding by USD 3 million to enhance freedom of expression and independent media in countries of conflict and where journalists are under threat.
Norwegian Deputy Minister for Culture and Church Affairs Wegard Harsvik said the Norwegian government was keen to support independent media efforts in fighting corruption, promoting democracy, good governance, diversity and cultural tolerance.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the third Global Inter-Media Dialogue (GIMD) in Bali, Indonesia, this week, Harsvik said journalists seeking to report truth both in conflict and non-conflict areas were at risk, thus needed to be supported.
He said in recent years there had been a dramatic increase in the killings of journalists.
A report issued by Reporters Without Borders showed that last year alone, 86 journalists and 20 other media workers were killed.
Harvisk reiterated his government\'s resolve to seek appropriate ways of supporting independent media as an international agenda.
``We will do so together with countries that share our approach,`` he said.
The Norwegian government is currently sponsoring media projects in Middle East and East Africa and will also support the Global Investigative Journalism Conference to be held in Norway this September.
He said Norway would also sponsor GIMD on freedom of information which will take place in Oslo, Norway, in 2009.
The event is being organized jointly by the Freedom of Expression Foundation (PEN) of Norway and the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX).
Speaking at the same occasion, Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda urged media practitioners across the world to work towards creating a better world for all by being sensitive to diversity.
He said: ``A better world will come about when we all have learned to accept and appreciate the immense variety of the human race.``
The GIMD is an annual event initiated and sponsored jointly by the Indonesian and Norwegian governments after controversial cartoons published in 2006 that depicted Prophet Muhammad in an extremely irreverent way.
The cartoons set emotional reactions all over the Muslim world, leaving more that 139 people in different countries dead.
This year`s GIMD is being held under the theme `Ethical Journalism in Extreme Conditions: Challenges of Diversity` and is being attended by 130 media practitioners from 64 countries across the world.
Participants to the meeting recommended that schools of journalism needed to introduce into their curriculum a subject on reporting with diversity sensitivity.
``What makes us journalists different from other writers is the fact that we understand ethics,`` noted Akbar from `Covert` magazine in India.
Akbar advised that training was an important prerequisite in the develoment of a vibrant media.
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