Pacific's First Ever Gender Focused Journalism Programme to Start in 2013 at USP

The region’s first ever gender focused journalism programme will start at the University of the South Pacific (USP) next year.

The programme which has undergone a curriculum change to include gender in its various courses will allow journalism students not only understand gender in the media but also learn important commitments made by their governments at both the international and regional level such as CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action.

In 2010 UN Women in partnership with USP started the development of gender-related course mate¬rial and projects for students to ensure future regional journalists were gender sensitized from the classroom before entering the field of journalism.

A grant came by way of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed on 2010, between then UNIFEM and USP which saw the redesign of 12 journalism units to include gender in areas such as print, online and broadcast journalism.

The University’s Vice- Chancellor, Professor Rajesh Chandra said that this institutional MOU was of special significance, as this is the first time the two organisations have come together to systematically support and develop capacity on gender issues with future media professionals.

“This will go a long way in assist¬ing the USP’s award winning Jour¬nalism School in the building ca¬pacity of our media professionals in the region.” said Professor Chandra.

He added, “The generous financial support and continued interest, to assist USP in the future, in particular by supporting a feasibility study for a possible establishment of a Centre for Gender Studies at USP in the future”.

The Gender and media course has reached its final drafting phase following consultations between UN Women, gender experts and USP course developers.

The course is now being finalised and would be available for students to take up in the first semester of 2013.