AsiaNet-Pakistan Premier Editorial Content and Press Release Distribution Service
Islamabad: Uks Research Centre, Islamabad, today organized a one-day consultative meeting as part of its ongoing project with the National Endowment of Democracy (NED) titled ‘Promoting Public Discourse on Media Content in Pakistan’, at Hill view Hotel, Islamabad.
Uks has partnered with 8 universities from all over Pakistan in order to promote media literacy and public discourse and discussion on media content in Pakistan. As part of this project, these universities undertook a 4 month long media monitoring exercise at their locations which included monitoring and analyzing different newspapers and TV channels in Pakistan, and conducting focus group discussions with various segments of the society based on this monitoring and analysis.
The aim of this conference was to bring together media representatives from a wide range of backgrounds as well as the coordinators from some of Uks’s partner universities to share and discuss the progress and findings of the media monitoring and focus group discussions that have been conducted at these partner universities, and to seek the feedback and opinion of the media.
The guests present at this occasion included senior and notable media personalities such as Amir Mateen, Muhammad Malick, Talat Hussain, Asma Shirazi, to name a few. In addition, the project coordinators from 3 of Uks’s partner universities – Mr. Zafar Iqbal, HOD, Media and Communication Studies from International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), Ms. Ismat Waseem, coordinator BS-MS/SS program at Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) Islamabad, and Mr. Shujaat Ali Khan, Station Director at Hazara University Mansehra were present at the occasion.
The project coordinators from these 3 partner universities delivered presentations detailing the progress of the activities at their respective universities and presenting their findings and analysis on the media monitoring and focus group discussions that have been done at their universities. These presentations started off with a brief background of the university and its gender studies/media sciences department. This was followed by a list of activities which have taken place over the course of the last 4 months at these universities, including the media monitoring, content analysis and focus group discussions with the general public. The coordinators shared the findings with the media, and shared their own views, thoughts and perspective on this exercise as a whole.
The media present at the occasion also gave their feedback and views on this exercise. They greatly commended the effort and work that has been done at these universities as part of this project, and urged that projects and initiatives such as this should not only be continued but encouraged and promoted in Pakistan. They greatly emphasized on the need of public discussion and a more responsible media in our country and said that such initiatives are precisely what’s needed to achieve that.
Uks is a research, resource and publication centre dedicated to the cause of gender equality and women’s development. Uks is an advocacy and rights-based group seeking to raise awareness and assist implementation of our goals and ideals. The Centre focuses on the women-media relationship; a concern that has hitherto remained poorly represented by organizations working on women’s rights.
For more information, contact:
National Endowment for Democracy
House # 51-A, Street 63, F-8/4
Islamabad – Pakistan.
Tel +9251-2850906, +9251-7111419.
Tel/Fax +9251-2850908
Email: uksresearch@gmail.com, Website: www.uksresearch.com