SAFMA Documentary Film Festival 2009

SAFMA Maldives and Maldives Film Association are pleased to launch SAFMA Documentary Film Festival 2009 in the Maldives.
The inauguration function is to be held on 6th August 2009, Thursday from 1600hrs to 1700hrs at Seminar Room, Youth Centre and is open to all interested individuals & production houses.
The purpose of the national level festival is to select two films to be sent to the South Asian Interactive Documentary Festival (SAIDF) 2009, held in Mumbai, India from 27th to 29th November 2009.
The theme for local film makers in Environment, and how climate changes, as a result of global warming, now pose an imminent threat to the human existence and our environment. Climate change is also affecting the socio economic development in South Asia, especially the Maldives, and the need to preserve our traditionally eco-friendly life styles and natural resources has never been greater.
The winning entry receives US$1000, in addition to the opportunity to represent the Maldives at the SAIDF 2009.

For more information please contact Irushaadha A. Sattar, 7784307

SAFMA Maldives Media Statement

SAFMA Maldives expresses concern over the recent attacks on media personnel, and calls on all concerned parties to respect the ideals of freedom of expression and media enshrined in the Maldives Constitution.
The three incidents that are of concern to this Association had occured within the scope of 10 days are the attack on Haveeru Executive Editor, Hiriga Ahmed Zahir while covering the unrest near Parliament, the protest against Minivan News following an article published in the online English news site by its Editor, Mariyam Omidi and the most recent case of verbal and physical abuse to Ibrahim Rasheed, Newscaster from Television Maldives on Monday night.
SAFMA Maldives also reiterates that it is not necessary that all media organizations share the same opinions and editorial policies, and believe that the public should be able to formulate its own opinion based on the different viewpoints and information accessible from the various media, and call on the Government, political parties and the general public to respect journalists working to acquire true information in order to carry out a public service.

Congratulations to the new Executive Board

SAFMA Maldives Annual General Meeting was held yesterday afternoon at the Seminar Room in Youth Centre.
After the announcement of the Annual Report for 2008, and the budget report for 2009, the Executive Board for the Maldives Chapter was elected.
Mariyam Suhana, Chairperson of THE VOICE was elected President, and Fayyaz Faisal, Editor of Jazeera Daily elected as the Vice President, with VTV Video Journalist Zeena Zahir appointed Secretary General. Shifza Mustafa, Newscaster for VTV was elected Deputy General Secretary and Aishath Shaheen from Haveeru Daily was appointed Executive Member.
The first meeting of the new Executive Board will be held later this month. SAFMA Maldives thanks the work of the previous Executive Board, and especially the former President of SAFMA Maldives, Aminath Najeeb for her untiring contribution to the association.
SAFMA also thanks MADULU for its assistance in setting up SAFMA Maldives in the country, and the continued assistance extended to the association throughout the past two years.

Annual General Meeting postponed

SAFMA Maldives first Annual General Meeting has been postponed to 30 June 2009, as the necessary number of members required for having the meeting didn't show up.
The next meeting is scheduled for 30 June 2009, Tuesday from 1400hrs to 1600hrs at Seminar Room, Youth Centre.
Members - Kindly RSVP your attendance to 7784307 or 9779400 or email to safma.maldives@gmail.com

SAFMA Maldives registered

After two years of working under MADULU, Safma Maldives has finally been registered at Ministry of Home Affairs.

As per regulations, SAFMA Maldives will be electing the Executive Board during its General Annual Meeting to be held on 17 June 2009, from 2100 to 2330hrs at Youth Centre Seminar Room.

The following positions are on the Executive Board, and members can contest for these posts and will be elected with majority vote.

1. President
2. Vice President
3. General Secretary
4. Deputy General Secretary
5. Executive Member

Interested members are free to start their campaigning for these positions.

MA South Asian Studies

Under Madanjeet Singh's Foundation - Centre for South Asian Studies is providing two fellowships (one boy and one girl) to undertake MA South Asian Studies program at Pondicherry University.
The scholarship covers the entire tuition fees, travel (round trip economy airfare), boarding and lodging at Pondicherry University for two years.
To be eligible for the fellowship, candidates should have secured at least 50% in their graduate degree program (any degree).
Interested candidates will find more information on the program at www.pondiuni.edu.in or by emailing safma.maldives@gmail.com
Deadline for submission of CVs and copies of certificates is 11th June 2009, Thursday

BA in Visual Arts Scholarship

BeaconHouse National University in Pakistan is offering a 4 years Visual Arts BA program Scholarship from their University.
Two positions are available from this institution for this course- one for a male and another for a female candidate.
Candidates must have completed 12 years of school and demonstrate talent for art in the form of a portfolio of work, which can be shown electronically.
Selection Procedure: Candidates shortlisted will be called in for an interview to SAF Advisory Board after which final admission list will be drawn up.

DEADLINE: 11th June 2009
Please send your applications with CV and supporting documents to:
South Asia Foundation
c/o SAFMA Maldives
G.Uthurubin,
2nd Floor,
Alikilegefaanu Magu,
Male’

MADANJEET SINGH SCHOLARSHIP

The SAF-Madanjeet Singh Scholarship is a one year postgraduate course at the Asian College of Journalism Pakistan. The course offers four streams of specialization: Print, Television, Radio & New Media.
Two positions are available from this institution for this course- one for a male and another for a female candidate.
Candidates should have cleared an undergraduate course in any discipline. Equivalent course in different SAARC countries would also be considered on a case by case basis. They must be proficient in English since all instruction and assignments at ACJ are in English.
The scholarships cover:
(a) Tuition fees
(b) Economy air travel from the scholar's place of residence within SAARC to Chennai and back
(c) Accommodation on room sharing basis
(d) Monthly pocket allowance of INR 3000/-.
Selection Procedure: Candidates shortlisted will be called for an interview to the SAF Advisory Board, after which the final admission list will be drawn up.

For further information visit: www. asianmedia.org

DEADLINE: 11th June 2009
Please send your applications with CV and supporting documents to:
South Asia Foundation
c/o SAFMA Maldives
G.Uthurubin,
2nd Floor,
Alikilegefaanu Magu,
Male’

Website developers wanted

South Asia Free Media Association Maldives invites interested parties to send in proposals to develop its website, www.safmamaldives.org.
Parties will be selected on the following criteria: quoted best price, portfolio of previous work, experience and technical expertise. For further information, please email safma.maldives@gmail.com or call Iru on 7784307
Deadline for submission of proposals - 24th May 2009.

SAFMA Maldives
2nd Floor, G. Uthurubin
Alikilegefaanu Magu,
Male' 20118
Tel no: 3300091
Fax no: 330096

World Press Freedom Day

SAFMA Maldives and Department of Information is hosting a working lunch on 3rd May 2009, to commemorate World Press Freedom Day.

President Mohamed Nasheed will be attending the lunch, and meeting with various editors from leading newspapers and News Department Heads from the media outlets.

The working lunch is part of the activities organised by SAFMA Maldives, in order to bring together media personnel working across the country and providing a panel for information sharing with key Government officials in an informal setting.

If your organization would like to cover the event for news, kindly contact Ms. Naaifa Ibrahim on 7838884
For more information please contact Ms. Irushaadha A. Sattar, Country Coordinator on 7784307

SAFMA express concern over criminal defamation

News article via thevoice.mv

The decision of Prosecutor General’s Office to consider defamation as a criminal offense is a threat to media freedom and a step taken backward in achieving a fully fledged democratic system, Irushadha Abdu Sattar, the Country Co-coordinator of SAFMA Maldives has said.

South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) published a newsletter on the 27th April calling the President Mohamed Nasheed and the Parliament to reconsider the criminal defamation article as it might hinder the vital role played by media in a democratic state.

Safma Statement says "SAFMA Maldives expresses concern over the Prosecutor General’s decision to implement criminal defamation as stated in the Penal Code. SAFMA believes that defamation should be set to civil defamation in accordance with international democratic standards, and calls on the People’s Majlis and the Maldivian Government to seek a remedy for this as soon as possible. SAFMA draws attention to the idea that criminal defamation curbs freedom of expression and causes journalists to self-censor, which in turn undermines the principles of democracy."

Speaking to The Voice, Irushadha said that in most of the democratic states defamation is civil in nature and stressed that government should find a solution to “criminal defamation” even if it meant amending the judicial penal code which states defamation as a criminal offense.

“If influential people like politicians are able to get back at the reporters by criminal defamation arraigns, reporters will fear to speak out the truth if the PG Office’s decision is not changed. There will be no freedom of expression. Criminal defamation is a trait of an autocratic system” said Irushadha.

Civil defamatory regulation was enacted by Communication Minister, then Justice Minister Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed on January 21, 2007 after years of disregarding criminal defamation as per the existing law.

According to PG Office and some lawyers, prosecution of defamation under the criminal court is strictly set out under the Penal Code of the Maldives and hence it is constitutional, whereas the previous regulation enacted by former justice minister Dr. Jameel to prosecute defamation in the civil court was a breach of penal code.

Dr.Jameel has recently announced that PG Office’s decision regarding defamation was to deceive the public and gain a political score and stressed on the fact that civil defamation is practiced in the modern democracies.

Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) and International Human Rights Organization have also appealed the government and Parliament to set defamation as a civil offense in accordance with international standards.

SAFMA: Political parties urged to unite against Taliban

News article via Daily Times, Pakistan

LAHORE: The Taliban are a threat for the society, and all the political parties, keeping aside their partisanship, should join hands against them, speakers said at a seminar at the South Asian Free Media Centre (SAFMA) on Sunday.

The South Asian Policy Analysis Network organised the seminar titled ‘Nizam-e-Adl - a critique’. SAFMA General Secretary Imtiaz Alam opened the debate and Khalid Chaudhry hosted the event. Speakers stressed the political and military leadership should come out of denial that the Taliban were not against the writ of the government and basic rights of the people. They said the Taliban wanted to take over our society ....

For rest of this story click here.

SAWM Statement on Women's Day

On this International Women’s Day, South Asian Women in Media Maldives expresses concern over the raising number of pedophilia cases that has come to light, and calls on the media to act responsibly and ethically towards the survivors of such violence against them.

SAWM Maldives also expresses concern over the lack of a professional guideline for media professionals reporting on such crimes, and bringing these issues to the forefront of public awareness. We understand that the lack of a code of ethics for journalists working on these social issues can lead to difficult situations with the law and compromise the police investigations.

SAWM Maldives is also concerned over the reports of girls being denied education in various parts of the country, and calls on all responsible agencies to ensure that education remains a universal human right for all. SAFMA also calls on the media to bring such incidences to the limelight, in order to correct the misconceptions that are fostering such behaviours among parents.

With this year’s theme Unite to End Violence Against Women, the responsibility to raise awareness on this issue lies with the media. Violence is not only physical, and it can manifest in different forms. It is the media’s responsibility to ensure that practices that perpetuate violence and attitudes that fester violence against women are taken to the forefront of every public discourse.

Attack on Imtiaz Alam

LAHORE: South Asian Free Media Association and South Asia Media Commission Thursday condemned an attack by unknown persons on SAFMA Secretary General Mr Imtiaz Alam and asked the government of Pakistan to thoroughly probe it. "We strongly condemn this attack on a journalist and an advocate for peace," said SAFMA President Mr Reazuddin Ahmed and SAMC Chairman Mr N. Ram and Secretary General Mr Najam Sethi in a joint statement. Mr Alam was attacked by four young men with hockey sticks as he drove back home from the SAFMA office Wednesday night.Both the regional organisations asked the government in Pakistan to "forcefully and immediately act against perpetrators of such crimes".
They said the use of threats, intimidation and violence to silence voices of peace was quite dangerous for media freedom. "This trend of smothering free media should be stopped immediately

Photographers Association

SAFMA calls out to all local photographers interested in representing the Maldives in the regional arena by forming the local branch of its Photgraphers Association.

Professional and freelance photographers interested in coordinating this activity for the Maldives, please contact Iru, our Country Coordinator on 7784307 or Naai at SAFMA Office on 3300091 before 21 February 2009.

Or you can drop by SAFMA Office at G. Uthurubin, 3rd Floor during office hours (1000hrs to 1500hrs, Sun-Thurs).

Documentary Film Making Course

Congratulations to Aishath Thanee, Ahmed Afrasheem and Sauda Saleem, the trainees who were selected from Maldives to attend the Documentary Film Making course that is being held at the South Asian Media School (SAMS) in Lahore.

Also a big thank you to all those who sent in their CVs for this training. As always we appreciate your continued enthusiasm in our activities.

Gender & Media training

Congrats to Fathimath Maisha from VTV for winning the spot in the Gender & Media training course held at South Asian Media School (SAMS) in Lahore. All the very best for your studies.

Job Vacancy

South Asia Media Net

Post for
ASSOCIATE EDITOR

EXPECTATIONS:

• The associate editor will work on the website to feed its news, opinions, profiles, major issues and other pages relating to the country after editing the material for good journalistic standards.

• The associate editor will monitor the country’s media, including the vernacular medium, for any violation of media freedom and developments on media, upload stories daily on the website and prepare a monthly report for Media Monitor

• The associate editor will draft statements of any incident of media rights violations or any developments in the media.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• The associate editor should have a good command over English Language.

• The associate editor must be web friendly

SALARY:

• The associate editor will be paid a total of USD 500.00 inclusive of all internet and telephone expenses.


DEADLINE:
Applications with CV attached should be before 2nd February 2009 to:
SAFMA MALDIVES
G. UTHURUBIN
Fax -3330096
Tel:- 3330091
Email- safma.maldives@gmail.com

An interview with the applicants will be arranged before selection

Living allowance for trainees

In answer to the questions we have been receiving regarding a living allowance for trainees attending the SAMS training, we recommend employees give their trainees a pay leave, or arrange for some pocket money or travel allowance.

The other option trainees take their own pocket money, which depends on the lifestyle they want to have during their stay in Lahore.

Gender & Media Training

We are looking for female journalists to send on SAMS Television Training Course.

This is a 5 week course focusing on gender and media, and is a great opportunity for women from the region to interact and work with one another.

We will provide airfare, accommodation, training materials; however, as per previous practice, we will not offer a daily allowance.

The nominee should be in Lahore at the 1st of February 2009 and can leave on the 8th of March.

Please note that Maldives has received only one allotment for this training.

Kindly send in your CVs to safma.maldives@gmail.com by 25th January 2009.

Extension of deadline

We are pleased to extend the deadline for applying to the training course Documentary Film Making, to be held in Lahore, Pakistan from April 6th - May 30th 2009.

Please find below details of the course:
Two weeks will focus on South Asia with regards to politics, economy, conflicts, terrorism, religion and media with a special focus on each country and its dynamics within the region and globally. One week will focus on related issues like human rights, gender, politics of identity, understanding your audience and aesthetics of production.

The next five weeks will encompass practical technical training. One week will be technical training which will cover the basics such as handling of equipment, lighting, editing etc. The next four weeks will be practical documentary making from conceptualisation to final production.

We invite fresh graduates who have some experience in film making, with a special interest in documentary making. Fluency in English is required as all lectures/ training is conducted in English.

SAFMA will be arranging return tickets, accommodation and food during their stay in Pakistan.

So interested candidates, please send in your CVs to safma.maldives@gmail.com on or before 22 January 2009.

SAMC, SAWM slate radio journalist’s murder in Nepal

LAHORE: The South Asia Media Commission (SAMC), a regional media watchdog, and the South Asian Women in Media (SAWM), a region-wide association of women journalists, have condemned the murder of Uma Singh, a young woman radio journalist, in southern Nepal.

The SAMC Chairman N Ram and Secretary General Najam Sethi and SAWM Regional Coordinator Zebunnisa Burki called on the authorities to identify those responsible for the murder of the Radio Today reporter in Janakpur and bring them to justice.

“Journalists in Nepal had long lived with violence or the threat of it. The authorities should take the necessary action to ensure the security of journalists,” they said in a joint statement.

Two journalists were killed in Nepal in 2008. International media watchdogs place Nepal on a list of 13 countries where journalists are murdered on a recurring basis and governments fail to prosecute the killers.

Documentary Film Training

We are pleased to announce SAFMA's next training course: Documentary Film Training. The training will be held in Lahore, Pakistan.

It will be an 8 weeks course, taking place from April 6th - May 30th 2009.

Please find below details of the course:
Two weeks will focus on South Asia with regards to politics, economy, conflicts, terrorism, religion and media with a special focus on each country and its dynamics within the region and globally. One week will focus on related issues like human rights, gender, politics of identity, understanding your audience and aesthetics of production.

The next five weeks will encompass practical technical training. One week will be technical training which will cover the basics such as handling of equipment, lighting, editing etc. The next four weeks will be practical documentary making from conceptualisation to final production.

We invite fresh graduates who have some experience in film making, with a special interest in documentary making. Fluency in English is required as all lectures/ training is conducted in English.

SAFMA will be arranging return tickets, accommodation and food during their stay in Pakistan.

So interested candidates, please send in your CVs to safma.maldives@gmail.com on or before 15 January 2009.

Condemn the murder of Mr. Wickrematunga

SAFMA Maldives strongly condemn and express concern about freedom of media in Sri Lanka, following the murder of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunga, who was shot dead by two men on a motorcycle as he drove to work in Colombo.

On this sad occasion, the President of SAFMA Maldives, Ms. Aminath Najeeb and all the members of SAFMA Maldives extend our profound sympathy and sincere condolences to the members of the bereaved family of Mr. Wickrematunga.

We also call on Sri Lankan authorities to take all necessary steps to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice, and to take measures to grant protection for the safety of journalists working in Sri Lanka for the benefit of its people.

Membership drive for 2009

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, we at SAFMA Maldives Office are pleased to announce a membership drive for 2009.

After a successful year of activities for 2008, we look forward to the support and enthusiasm from our members to continue pushing the media forward.

Among the activities planned for 2009 are SAFMA's national elections for the SAFMA Executive Board, workshops both regional and local, and a host of other exciting things that would challenge and inspire the professional in all of us.

So anyone interested in joining SAFMA, please fill in the form and send it to us by the end of the first week of January 2009.

For more information, please feel free to call us on 3300096 or email to safma.maldives@gmail.com