6 February 2020 – Balkans Group organised a workshop discussion part of the “Fostering the Women Caucus’ role through regional outreach & establishing their relationship with the media”. The workshop discussion promoted a constructive debate on the challenges that women MPs and municipal assembly members face in securing sufficient media coverage for their relevant activities.
The workshop discussion brought together women municipal assembly members from various regions of Kosovo, media representatives from Klan Kosova, RTK; and women MPs, Mrs. Blerta Deliu-Kodra, Mrs. Time Kadriaj, Mrs. Lirije Kajtazi and Mrs. Ariana Musliu Shoshi.
Women MPs and Women Municipal Assembly members voiced a number of challenges that hinder their relationship with the media. At the local level, municipal assembly members highlighted the lack of media coverage of their efforts and activities. They stressed the failure of the media to cover issues other than those relating to political headlines.
Women MPs from the Kosovo Assembly underlined their support for their local counterparts in addressing this gap. Women MPs urged municipal assembly members to inform them sufficiently in order to mobilize towards securing necessary media coverage. They further underlined their commitment to serve as liaisons between women municipal members and media outlets.
Media representatives provided a number of recommendations on how to address this discrepancy. Representatives from Klan Kosova and RTK clearly emphasized the process and methods of conducting media coverage. They insisted that women municipal assembly members be more proactive in contacting media representatives at the local and central levels. In addition, media representative shared a number of best practices on approaches to contacting and securing necessary media coverage that women municipal assembly members could benefit from.
The project aims to enhance relations between local and central women decision-makers and the media in order to ensure more effective coverage of gender issues. The project will help women MPs and women municipal assembly members work more closely with media and help initiate public dialogue at the local and central level, forging a sustainable relationship between the caucus and the media through continuous activities. Other project activities include: an intensive training on the use of social network for women MP’s and a concluding conference.
The project “Fostering the Women Caucus’ role through regional outreach and establishing their relationship with media” is funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) – an initiative of the Government of Canada.
