Women Make the News 2013: Towards a Global Alliance on Media and Gender

On this occasion of International Women's Day (IWD), 8 March, UNESCO joins forces with international and regional partners to launch the annual Women Make the News (WMN) initiative under the theme, Towards a Global Alliance on Media and Gender.

Launched annually, Women Make the News is a global initiative aimed at fixing attention on an issue relating to gender equality in and through the media, driving debate and encouraging action-oriented solutions until global objectives are met. It is to this end that UNESCO has developed resources such as the Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media.

This year's theme is related to the Global Forum on Media and Gender (GFMG) to be held in November 2013. UNESCO intends to draw attention to the need for a global means, including media partnerships, to follow-up on the gender and media objectives of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

The theme of the United Nations observance of IWD 2013 is "A Promise is a Promise: Time for Action to End Violence Against Women". This theme will be one of the main topics to be addressed during the Global Forum on Media and Gender. Another key topic will be integrating media in national gender policies and strategies.

• Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of International Women's Day

Join the Initiative

UNESCO and its partners are inviting media organizations, professional associations, journalists' unions, women and men working in the media and civil society to use 8 March to share their thoughts on what could be the possible form of the Global Alliance for Media and Gender, what it should do and what priority themes it should address. Share your experiences and best practices in reporting or advocating for the end of violence against women. Do national gender policies and strategies exist in your country? Are media featured in these policies and strategies? What has been the impact of media involvement in these gender policies and strategies?

• Participate online
• 12 ways to celebrate International Women's Day
• Spread the word

Additional links:

• More from UNESCO...
• International Women's Day (IWD)