The National Press Club (NPC) of South Sudan, in collaboration with several media institutions, on Friday disclosed plans to establish a media coalition to promote gender sensitization and an inclusive media space in the country.
Speaking during a one-day round table dialogue which brought participants from media houses, women, and representatives from various organizations, Delphina Roba, the deputy chairperson of the NPC board, said the purpose of establishing the media coalition group is to address inadequate representation of women voices in the media.
She noted that despite the media being a great tool in shaping opinion in South Sudan, women’s voices remain absent in the media space, assuring that the media coalition group can act as a solution to this gap.
“Media in South Sudan, especially radio, plays a great role in our communities by shaping the opinion of our people and influencing political and social participation,” she stated. “However, there are inadequate women’s voices in the media space, and to address this, NPC, in collaboration with the media stakeholders and gender advocates, proposes the establishment of a media coalition.”
“The coalition will work towards building a more inclusive media environment that involves women and promotes their participation in social, economic, and political life,” Roba added.
The initiative is part of a UN projects and is titled “Women’s Leadership and Political Participation During Transition.”
The roundtable discussion also explored the role of media in shaping women’s public image.
“Through this dialogue and commitments, women’s voices will be respected and represented in the media families,” Roba said. “One of the goals of this roundtable dialogue is to first have a dialogue between media representatives and women activists or leaders on the role of the media and promoting women’s participation. The establishment of a coalition is a strategic step towards transforming the media landscape in South Sudan into an equitable and empowering space.”
For his part, Kido Joseph, the Director General in the National Ministry of Peacebuilding, said it is paramount to ensure that once established, the media coalition should indeed support women to achieve their goals.
“How can the media coalition support our women leaders in politics, business, civil society organizations, grassroots movements, gender, and the development partners achieve their objectives?” he asked. “The second question is what benefits do governments and organizations gain from having women in leadership positions? Remember, we have keywords today like leadership and political participation. That means that as we envision our elections, we are going to have several young women contesting for key positions, and those who will succeed will also be participating in the political leadership positions.”