•Written by The Editors• ••Tuesday•, 10 •March• 2009 06:00•
An estimated 2.5 billion people (40 percent) of the world’s population lack access to clean water, toilets or proper sanitation. Another 600 million must survive without regular water. At the same time, two in five childhood deaths are caused by water-related diseases and infections. The Geneva-based non-governmental organization Media21 (www.media21geneva.org ) is seeking to provide greater public awareness of this dire worldwide situation by holding the first of its principal 2009 Global Journalism Network workshops next week in Istanbul (16-22 March) in conjunction with the 5th World Water Forum . Some 20,000 international aid, NGO, government, private sector and other participants are expected to attend this key global gathering overlooking the Bosphurus. Over the next several weeks, The Essential Edge will highlight some of these crucial issues through its own reporters plus dispatches contributed by journalists participating in the Media21 workshop.
The Media21 initiative on the value of water, which is being co-organized with the World Water Council , PATH International , Water Advocates , Water Aid, UN Office for the international 'Water for Life' Decade and the WSSCC , will bring in more than 40 editors, reporters, photographers and producers from all over the globe. Sixteen of these will take part in two separate field trips, one to India, the other to Ethiopia, to provide them with a chance to report first-hand the broader challenges of providing people with clean water and accessible sanitation.
The Media21 initiative, which focuses on key global themes, such as climate change to peacekeeping and security, humanitarian relief, human rights and access to health, is designed specifically to provide journalists with a broader and more global awareness of these issues. It also provides journalists with a practical platform to interact informally with key players, whether government officials, UN agencies, private sector, NGOs or military.
Daniel Wermus, head of Media21, maintains that it is crucial to recognize the role of the media as a player. “Unless there is more informed, critical and consistent independent reporting of these issues, there will be no proper accountability or transparency vis a vis the public-at-large.” He added that for the international community to undertake humanitarian and development assistance without involving the media is not only irresponsible but missing the point. “People have the right to be informed and a media that understands what is going on represents the most effective tool for achieving this.”
The Istanbul workshop plus the field trips will have a specific focus on health, but will also explore the impact of water and sanitation on poverty, development, and human rights. It will seek to draw attention to relatively simple and inexpensive forms of intervention, whether by governments, aid agencies or the private sector, for improving the quality – and use - of water. Another aspect is whether the planet will finally place a proper value on water, increasingly viewed as the “new petroleum,” but in a manner that will achieve a more equitable and sustainable distribution of this increasingly scarce resource, whether for drinking, agriculture or industry.
Media21 will publish online and in print a compilation of selected articles, broadcast reports and photographs in its next special edition of ON ASSIGNMENT. This can be found on the Media21 www.media21geneva.org website.
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