AMWIK

Starting January 2009, AMWIK implemented the ‘Promoting Awareness of Women’s Human Rights through Community radio listening groups and media in Kenya’ programme to raise awareness of women’s human rights among six communities in Kenya through human rights advocacy interventions particularly targeting marginalized and vulnerable groups.  The programme is funded by

The United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) and managed locally by UNIFEM.

The projects objectives are to;

• Raise awareness on gender and human rights in 6 marginalized districts in Kenya
• Equip these communities with skills to hold government accountable to ensuring human rights realization
• Create communities that are able to claim their rights
• Promote a media that reports from a gender and human rights based approach.

AMWIK recruited 30 radio listening groups from the six districts to participate in the programme. These are as follows;

About Community Radio Listening Groups

Having noted the importance of radio in directly addressing crucial issues affecting communities, AMWIK has since 2004 used the radio listening groups concept to disseminate information on economic, social, cultural and environmental issues. The radio listening groups is a localized media concept that is used to address communities’ information needs as well as promoting awareness on various issues of concern. While the mass media aims at reaching a wide audience, the community radio listening groups concept aims at addressing issues that are of particular interest to specific communities. Community radio listening groups is a strategy developed by AMWIK for use in her programmes because of its ability to prompt community based action plans after the awareness creation.

FK South-South Exchange Programme

Every year, since 2002, five media women associations including AMWIK, Ethiopia Media Women’s Association {EMWA}, Tanzania

Media Women Association (TAMWA}, Zambia Media Women Association {ZAMWA}, Uganda Media Women Association {UMWA} exchange members for a period of ten months to participate in the South – South Journalists Exchange programme supported by Fredskorpset (FK) , Norway.

The programme has expanded to Asia, bringing on board the College of Journalism and Mass Communication from Nepal.

This year, AMWIK is currently hosting Abiyot Asrade from EMWA and Sabra Ali Mohammed from TAMWA while AMWIK members,

Irene Mwivano and Triza Mwanyika are being hosted by EMWA and TAMWA respectively.

The FK Exchange Programme is a Norwegian government development programme. The aim of the programme is to enable participants share experiences and expertise, improve organisational capacity as well as professional performance of the individual participants. The programme also exposes participants to other cultures which they learn and appreciate.

FK North – South Exchange

AMWIK has been privileged to be among the two media women associations in Africa taking part in the FK North – South journalists exchange programme.  The programme involves exchange of journalists between the Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication (GSJC)/ Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) and AMWIK.  Uganda Media Women Association (UMWA) is also on the programme. Under this programme AMWIK is currently hosting Ellen Paalgard from Norway while Diana Etsabo is being hosted in Norway.

The exchange programme is funded by Fredskorpset (FK), a Norwegian Government body under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The objective of the programme is to contribute to lasting improvements in economic, social and political conditions in the world. While implementing the government’s development assistance, FK promotes international understanding and mutual learning by supporting an exchange of personnel through the framework of international cooperation. 

The programme enables participants to share experiences and expertise, improve organisational capacity as well as professional performance of the individual participants. The programme also exposes participants to other cultures which they learn and appreciate.