In Honor of World Press Freedom Day: IWMF Courage in Journalism and Lifetime Achievement Award Winners Announced

Women from Ethiopia, Palestine, Azerbaijan and Pakistan honored.

Each year, the IWMF honors women journalists who have shown extraordinary strength of character and integrity while reporting the news under dangerous or difficult circumstances.

This year’s winners are:

Reeyot Alemu, 31, an Ethiopian columnist currently imprisoned on charges of terrorism after writing critiques of her country’s government; Asmaa al-Ghoul, 30, a Palestinian blogger and freelance writer who has received death threats for her commentary on the culture and politics of Gaza;Khadija Ismayilova, 35, a radio reporter from Azerbaijan who was blackmailed and threatened after her investigation into charges of malfeasance against members of the Azerbaijani president’s family. These are the International Women’s Media Foundation’s 2012 Courage in Journalism Awardwinners.

“I am humbled to work in the same profession as these heroic women,” said Katty Kay, co-chair of the IWMF. “It is my honor to be involved with the IWMF as it recognizes their dedication and bravery. It is journalists like Reeyot, Asmaa and Khadija who set an example for all of us.”

The IWMF’s 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to Zubeida Mustafa, 70, a Pakistani journalist who has worked for three decades atDawn, one her country’s oldest and most widely circulated English-language newspapers.

Theodore Boutrous, Jr., IWMF co-chair, said “A free and independent press is vital to freedom and liberty. The IWMF believes that no press is truly fee if women do not share an equal voice. As the first woman to work at Dawn, Zubeida blazed a trail for women journalists in Pakistan, changing hiring policies and mentoring young women. She showed that women journalists can cover serious topics such as healthcare and economic inequality.”

The 2012 awards will be presented during ceremonies in New York on October 24 and in Los Angeles on October 29.

“The IWMF is grateful to the Bank of America, National Presenting Sponsor of the Courage in Journalism Awards for the seventh year and steadfast supporter of heroic women journalists around the world,” said Elisa Lees Munoz, Acting Executive Director of the IWMF.

About the IWMF
Founded in 1990, the International Women’s Media Foundation is a vibrant global network dedicated to strengthening the role of women in the news media worldwide as a means to further freedom of the press. The IWMF network includes women and men in the media in more than 130 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.iwmf.org.


About the 2012 Courage in Journalism Award Winners
Reeyot Alemu, 31, worked as a columnist for independent Ethiopian newspaper Feteh until her arrest in June 2011. She was held without charge until September of that year, when she was accused of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and participation in a terrorist organization. The Ethiopian government presented articles Alemu wrote criticizing its actions as evidence at her trial, as well as telephone conversations she had regarding strictly peaceful protests. Based on these materials alone, a judge sentenced Alemu to 14 years in prison. Prior to these events, Alemu was one of her country’s only female reporters who wrote critically about the political climate in Ethiopia, including analysis of government figures. Now, Alemu has fallen ill in prison. Her associates suffer harassment because of their connections with her. Despite this, Alemu has rejected offers of clemency in return for information about her colleagues.



Asmaa al-Ghoul, 30, is a blogger and freelance writer working in Gaza. Her stories analyze social and political life in the Middle East, focusing on the ongoing divisions among Palestinians and abuses of civil rights by both internal and external forces in Gaza. In 2007, al-Ghoul wrote an article in the form of an open letter to her uncle, a Hamas commander, questioning the methods of certain entities claiming to seek peace for Palestine. The article resulted in al-Ghoul’s uncle threatening to kill her. This is not uncommon: al-Ghoul regularly receives death threats against her own life and that of her young son. She has been beaten by Hamas security forces while covering popular protests and went through a period of sleeping in her office for fear of being killed on her way home.



Khadija Ismayilova, 35, is a reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Azerbaijani service. She investigates corruption and power abuse among her country’s elite. In May of 2012, Ismayilova became the target of a massive smear campaign threatening to defame her and put her life at risk unless she stopped reporting. This included an anonymous letter with photos from surveillance cameras planted in Ismayilova’s apartment, depicting her in an intimate situation with her boyfriend. It was made clear that she would stop her reporting, or risk having the photos made public. In the largely Muslim country of Azerbaijan, “honor killings” still occur. This is not the first time Ismayilova has been the subject of attempts to silence her.She is the victim of regular slander campaigns in pro-government media. The Azerbaijani president has personally tried to have her fired. During the many attempts to discredit her, Ismayilova has refused to stop working and has publicly denounced her accusers.



About the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner


Zubeida Mustafa, 70, is a Pakistani journalist who worked for more than three decades at Dawn, one of Pakistan’s oldest and most widely circulated English-language newspapers. She was the first woman to work at the paper, which she did in the capacity of assistant editor and columnist. She helped to enact hiring policies favorable to women and promoted women’s equality in the newsroom. She has mentored dozens of young women in media and has spent her career writing serious and in-depth stories on issues including health care, economic inequality and political agency for women. Today, despite weakened eyesight, she continues to write prolifically and regularly contributes columns to Dawn.



About the Awards



The IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards honor women journalists who have shown extraordinary strength of character and integrity while reporting the news under dangerous or difficult circumstances.



The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a woman journalist who has a pioneering spirit and whose determination has paved the way for women in the news media.



Including this year’s award winners, 75 journalists have won Courage Awards and 21 journalists have been honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Tech. CrowdSourcing. The Rest Of Us

Here is the article ( Ventures Africa) about how young people crowdsourced a strategy document for UNAIDS:

Imagine a crowd converging to brainstorm ideas on how to tackle an issue. Except, this crowd do not meet physically- they converge online, spread across different locations. This is what crowdsourcing is about. It is a very powerful tool used to develop fresh ideas on critical issues affecting an individual, society or an organization. Crowdsourcing is fast becoming a trend on the African continent. As Internet penetrate more rapidly on the Continent through Internet enabled mobile phones, people are becoming more aware of the power of collaboration and are embracing the culture of crowdsourcing to proffer solutions to social issues.

UNAIDS, a United Nations (UN) agency, recently announced the launch of its first ever crowdsourced strategy document in the UN history. According to the press release, over 5000 young people from 79 countries, crowdsourced the strategy recommendations through CrowdOutAIDS, an innovative youth-led policy project initiated by the agency. Majority of the participants were from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Leveraging crowdsourcing technology and new media tools, the five-month project enabled young people to fully participate in the development of strategic recommendations for the UNAIDS Secretariat’s youth agenda. This was done in four phases of Connect, Share, Provide Solutions, Collective Action.

Through the process of crowdsourcing on CrowdOutAIDS, young people proposed six key recommendations for the UNAIDS Secretariat, including:

1. Strengthen young people’s skills for effective leadership at all levels of the AIDS response;
2. Ensure the full participation of youth in the AIDS response at country, regional, and global levels;
3. Improve young people’s access to HIV-related information;
4. Diversify and strengthen strategic networks between the UNAIDS Secretariat, youth networks, and other key players;
5. Increase the UNAIDS Secretariat’s outreach to both formal and informal networks of young people; and,
6. Increase young people’s access to financial support.

“We have worked together, using the simplest tools—each one of us in their own corner of the world—to create spaces of exchange and draft this important document in real-time, public online sessions,” said Zahra Benyahia, a CrowdOutAIDS drafting committee member.

“The most visible and popular application of crowdsourcing is Wikipedia; the free collaborative online encyclopedia, which relies on volunteers all around the world and now has over 20 million articles in English in the encyclopedia,” wrote Munya Chiura of Grow VC, a global, transparent, community-based platform dedicated to entrepreneurs and investors.

While citing examples of crowdsourcing platforms on the Continent, Chiura wrote on www.techzim.co.zw, “In Africa, we are also seeing some innovative ways in which crowdsourciing is being utilised. In Kenya for example,Ushahidi put Africa’s crowdsourcing on the map, as its platform was effectively used to monitor the 2002 Kenya elections. In Zambia, BongoHive, the country’s first tech hub, has created an exciting user-generated online map which reflects the number of tech business incubation hubs that have been set up around Africa. Closer to home in Kubanata, a Zimbabwean human rights and civic organization leveraged crowdsourcing to gather information to map the Typhoid cases in Zimbabwe, providing critical data to assist with managing the epidemic.”

Successful crowdsourced projects like Wikipedia, Ushahidi, BongoHive, CrowdOutAIDS etc. are lighting the bulb for others to follow. To learn more about the benefits of crowdsourcing, read GrowVC’s podcast interview with Carl Esposti, founder of Crowdsourcing.org.

The CrowdSourced Document:

Open publication - Free publishing

Back To School Hour and Thank You Oluwabusayomi!

I resumed school today, on the 4th day of resumption. And to my surprise the school was still empty. Did they postpone resumption? No. These days, students determine when school should resume- usually one or two weeks after the date the school authorities set. I am one of the students (ashamed to admit) who don't resume school on the first day of official resumption because I know our lecturers will not come to class :-). Well, not their fault. They don't come to class because they know most students are usually absent on the first-second week of resumption. It is is a ping-pong.

Anyway. My being at school today was not a waste of time. I met one of my classmates, who is also a good buddie- Oluwabusayomi. She is a prolific business writer. We spent the day curating stories for Ventures Africa.

The highlight of the day was when she brought this book, Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work, from her bag and wished me a happy resumption. I was like wow! thank you. I can't remember anyone ever giving me a "Happy Resumption" gift :-) Now, this semester is going to be a great one! Thank you so much lady!

I am looking forward to reviewing the book for Readers-Response Journal.

And yes, it is our final semester this year. What can be more exciting? Praise GOD!

Mobile and Music: Here comes Africa's iTune- Spinlet.com!

Spinlet’s Group CEO and Chairman, Eric Idiahi, is one of the guest speakers at the Mobile Web West Africa 2012 Conference, taking place today in Lagos Nigeria. Described as Africa’s iTunes, Spinlet is a company focused on meeting the needs of music lovers by bringing the latest music in Africa to user-friendly mobile platforms. In this interview, Mr Idiahi sheds more light on the brand “Spinlet,” its ambitious goal to maximize the mobile space and expand the music industry on the Continent. Click here to read the full interview

Photography and The Business of Photography!

I’m always fascinated by the art of photography. I almost adore photographers- both upcoming and established ones, that know their onions. When I first saw Steeve’s art, I was really stunned. No, to say I was stunned is an understatement.

Steeve Aukingso Photography as a brand might not ring a bell just yet, but I am happy to announce that this young man knows how to play his cards well, because he sees the field of photography as a business not just for pleasure. Read what he means in this short interview on Ventures Africa >> Photography is a Serious Business: Interview with Steeve Aukingso.

Samples of his art are also available on there!

Desert Flower: Interview with Waris Dirie

If you have seen the movie, Desert Flower, then you are probably already familiar with Waris Dirie’s remarkable story. A former super model, now an author and activist, Waris Darie was born in Gallacaio desert, Somalia, in 1965. She rose from a subservient state, at age thirteen, when she escaped a forced marriage to a 60-year-old man.

After fleeing, she lived in Mogadishu for a while before moving to London, further away from home. She made a living serving as a housemaid and doing other menial jobs. It was during this time that she was spotted by Terence Donovan, a British fashion photographer. She posed for a few photography shots with Donovan, and rose to become one of the world’s most celebrated super models, working with different high profile designers and labels. Patricia Turnier of Megadiversities.com writes,

Waris Dirie worked for these brands: André Courrèges, Chanel ‘Allure’ fragrance, Express Jeans, H&M, Levi’s, L’Oréal, Oil of Olay, Prescriptives make up, Revlon and so on. She did many fashion shows, such as “Ready to wear – Spring/Summer 1996 (John Galliano, Ralph Lauren”, “Ready to wear – Autumn/Winter 2000 (Xuly Bet)”. She did the cover of the 1987 Pirelli calendar. She also appeared in prominent magazines like Elle, Glamour, Vogue andMarie Claire.

Waris, which means desert flower in Somali, says of her modelling career “it was not my dream come true…it all just happened.” She did not allow the experience fade away as a fortunate stroke of serendipity. Modeling for her became a springboard to talk about her passion- Female Genital mutilation. Waris currently runs different advocacy projects through her foundation- “Desert Flower Foundation.” She has also authored several books, including Desert Flower, an autobiography, which was adapted to a movie. From being a runaway, Waris landed on the runway. The experience was not an easy feat. Nothing came off as easy as it sounds in written form. But her determination has kept her going.

Of course, not everyone who rebels against “tradition” live to tell his or her story. But for Waris, not only is she able to recount her story, she has continue to maximize every opportunity to empower and liberate others as well. In 2005, Waris became the first woman to be nominated for Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She has also received other awards including the “Woman of the Year Award” byGlamour Magazine (2000), the “Africa Award” of the German government (1999), as well as the “Corinne Award” by the umbrella association of the German bookselling trade (2002).

In this interview, Waris Dirie sheds light on her life, career and projects- speaking up for African women and women everywhere. Enjoy!

Why do you describe yourself as “always a nomad”?
Waris: Because despite living in “western world” for so many years, deep down I feel that my heart belongs to desert where I grew up, and that will never ever change.

You have been speaking against FGM and officially launched your organization now called Desert Flower Foundation in 2002. What has been your most fulfilling achievement since its launch?

Waris: When I started my Foundation, few people knew about the cruel practice of FGM and its consequences. The main goal for me was to raise the worldwide awareness, so that everyone would know about this cynical child abuse.

I therefore started to raise awareness through media coverage, to lobby against FGM with political leaders and other NGO´s to make people aware of the practice. And the response has been great! Thank to these campaigns, many African and European countries adopted or strengthened law against FGM, which was an important first step and a great achievement!

But my biggest goal, the worldwide eradication of FGM, is still to be achieved!



Waris with Kofi Annan, former UN Sec-General

Why do you think some cultures resist the idea of abolishing FGM? Is it any more political than it is cultural?
Waris: I believe that FGM is first and foremost a cultural issue or at least people´s belief that FGM is part of their culture. The problem is that the practice is very deeply rooted in different societies, where it has been practiced for thousands of years. Women are only willing to undergo this terrible procedure because without it, they are considered “dirty” or impure and they will not be accepted by any man as their wife. And because women are absolutely economically dependent on their husbands or fathers, they have no other choice than to undergo the cut.



What other root factors do you think is responsible propelling the practice? What should people be addressing when advocating against such a harmful practice?
Waris: As I said, it is people´s belief that FGM is part of their culture, tradition or religion. But let me say this loud and clear: FGM has nothing to do with religion, culture or tradition. It is nothing but the most cruel form of suppressing women and the most cynical form of child abuse. But of course people justify the practice by saying that it is part of their culture or that their religion demands that they mutilate their daughters. But this is not true. No religion in the world demands FGM; in fact, FGM is the breach of the most basic rules of many, if not all religions.

First, the communities need to be educated about FGM; about its health consequences and about the often untrue and misleading beliefs they have. My mother thought that she did the best for me, because in the society she grew up all women are genitally mutilated. She thought the whole world is practicing FGM, so she did not know better. That is the reason why we cannot simply tell these people that it is wrong, or prohibited by law, but we have to explain why!

And second, women of Africa need to become independent from their fathers or husbands, they should be able to work and have their income to be able to make their own decisions about their lives and their bodies. And that is what I currently work on in my new project.



Waris at the Filmset in Djibouti with Soraja and her mother

Tell us more about the project “Together for African Women.” What are you trying to achieve through this project?
Waris: The main purpose of this Project is to empower the women of Africa in communities where FGM is practiced, to provide them with work, their own income and vocational training. I am convinced that a confident, independent woman who has her own income will not choose to mutilate her daughters just so that they can be married for money.

If you were not running Desert Flower Foundation, what else would you love to pour your energy into?

Waris: My dream has always been to have my own farm in the middle of African nature which would employ and help African girls and women.



How do you combine being a mother with your other social roles? Do you ever feel overwhelmed?
Waris: It is not easy, but I do my best to find a balance. When I´m at home, I want to spend quality time with my children and I don’t want to be disturbed. Sometimes, it´s not possible of course and when I travel because of work, I take my little boy with me. Being mother is a mission. It is the most beautiful and at the same time the most difficult thing to do.

You definitely made an incredible mark as a model, if you were going to walk the runway for the last time, whom would you like to work with (designer) and why?
Waris: It would unquestionably be one of the African designers. Africa has so much potential and can produce incredibly beautiful fabrics and fashion. It is such a shame that its potential is not used to the fullest. I sincerely hope that this will change one day

You recently described modelling industry as a very tough industry. At what point in your career did you realize it was and how did you manage to stay on top?

Waris: From the time I started, I knew that modelling is very tough industry, especially for nomad girl, who was not used to conventions of western world. But to be honest, I never tried too hard to stay on the top; because it was not my dream come true…it all just happened.

Do you consider the modelling career more fleeting than other careers? If yes, why and if no, why not?
Waris: Yes definitely, modelling was always something momentary for me; I was just waiting for the right moment to speak out about FGM. Having gained fame and attention as a model, I knew that my statement on this issue would be heard.

Talking about exit strategy, from your experience when do you think is the safest time to exit full time modelling?
Waris: I don’t think there is any “safe” time to leave the modelling world. For me personally, after all efforts I had undertaken and all catwalks I walked down, it was not so important for me anymore to keep my career going. I knew a lot of important people in the fashion world and I was able to choose job offers at that time. And then suddenly I was very excited about becoming a mother and that was the best decision I ever made in my whole life.



As an outsider looking in, what disparities do you see between older models and the next generation of top African models?
Waris: I don’t see too much of a difference between the generations of models. I think they are still the beautiful and sometimes shy African girls who want their dream of becoming a super model to come true.

Some people may describe your life and your career as an epitome of serendipity. Do you see it that way?
Waris: I do believe that everything happens for reason… that I was meant to survive everything I did so that one day I could speak out about this torture and fight for little girls out there who are not able to fight on their own!

What inspired you to write the book “Desert Flower?” Did you think it was going to receive the level of accolade it did?
Waris: I wanted to reach people through my story; I wanted them to know about the pain and suffering that thousands of girls and women have to go through every day. I did not believe in such an amazing response it received, but I was sincerely happy and thankful for it!

Waris with her family on the Premiere of the movie “Desert Flower” in Addis Ababa


How did you feel during the adaptation of the book into a movie? Has its premiere and reviews met your expectations?
Waris: It was a very emotional but fulfilling experience. It was difficult for me to see my own childhood, my own family and my life on a huge movie screen. But I agreed to making this movie because I knew that it would reach much more people than the book did, and that is exactly what happened. I was deluged with e-mails from so many people throughout the world telling me that they saw the movie and [were grateful that I made] them aware of FGM. Many of these people wanted to do something about the crime and help in any way. Making the movie was absolutely right and all the difficulties and hard work were certainly well worth it after it was said and done.

If you could change anything about your life, what will it be?
Waris: Of course it would be the day when I was mutilated as a little girl. It was the worst moment of my life, something I can never forget. No innocent little girl should go through this kind of unnecessary cruel pain.

Who is your favourite model of African descent and why?

Waris: I am not able to choose one favourite. All African models are beautiful amazing women, whether from outside or from the inside. I just wish more African girls and women could use their beauty and potential in this world.



What three things would you want the world to always remember you for?

Waris: I would like the world to remember me for my fight against FGM and for the women of Africa, and then I would like to be remembered as survivor who never gave up…as I wish the people in this world would never give up on their dreams, their hopes and their life happiness.



To learn more about the Desert Flower Foundation, please visit the official website by clicking here
Follow Waris on Twitter: @Waris_Dirie and FaceBook

Photo credit: COPYRIGHT Waris Dirie portrait by Karl Holzhauser/ Desert Flower Foundation

As reported on Ventures Africa

CrowdOutAIDS and Opportunity for a young researcher

The strategy docs, fresh from the printer!

CrowdOutAIDS Strategy is finally launching! The process of crowdsourcing a new strategy to improve the way UNAIDS secretariat engage young people in development process kicked off last year October. Between then and now, over 5,000 have been engaged online and offline.

Young people were given the space to share their views on what they think is wrong with the current system. But it did not stop there. They also provided solutions to the critical issues raised.

This coming week, CrowdOutAIDS team will launch the New Generation Leadership Strategy document in Nigeria. Actually, majority of participants in the crowdsourcing process were from Nigeria. Not only did they actively participate online, about 8 Offline Open Forums were held in different parts of the country.


The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Mr Michel Sidibe, and Nigerian Government representative, Mallam Bolaji Abdulahi (Minister for Youth Development) will be present to receive the document from the youth representative- Gabrial and Wemimo.

The event will be held in a local community- grassroots involvement is key. Not the usual fancy-hotel conference rooms. Talk about walking the talk already!

If we want to really better engage young people in development process, then we have to first start by creating a level playing field. Close the yawning gap between elite youth and those at the grassroots. Also involve young people all through the process of creating programmes that concern them. These are new principles the new strategy is bringing into focus.

I hope the UNAIDS will embrace the document whole heartedly and ensure local organizations and government institutions imbibe the principles to improve youth engagement.

Meanwhile, as the process wraps up, there is an opportunity for a young researcher at CrowdOutAIDS! If interested, click here to read the TOR.

It is an honor to have served as the Blog Editor and Online Curator for this project. The team, from the lead @MikaHild to the others are a very passionate and dedicated set of people! I totally enjoyed working on this project with them. It has been an interesting process of learning, unlearning and growing.

It is not over yet! We'll keep working for a positive change!