By Roslyn Morris – AIPS Honorary Secretary-General
SYDNEY: AIPS and the Women in News and Sport (WINS) programme has engaged in a pioneering new partnership to support the professional development of women in sports media in the Asia-Pacific region.
WINS is a training and mentoring programme that provides women journalists in the Pacific and in Asia, with the tools to carve a career in the male-dominated world of sports media. It is delivered by ABC International Development and funded by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) under the Pacific Sports Partnership.
The partnership with AIPS will give WINS alumni the opportunity to connect with established support networks for women in sports media, both locally and internationally.
Through the partnership, eligible journalists will be supported in applying for an AIPS membership that will help establish their bona fides at events and with sporting officials, especially in traditionally male-dominated environments.
WINS alumni will also be encouraged to join other AIPS opportunities such as the Young Reporters Program, online seminars, and networking.
The partnership was officially launched via a Zoom conference with the presence of AIPS President Gianni Merlo, the AIPS Honorary Secretary-General, Jo Elsom, Lead – ABC International Development, and Karen Shrosbery, Program Manager/Trainer, ABC International Development. Journalists from Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, India and Indonesia were also present.
“I am very pleased to support this initiative,” Merlo said. “AIPS recently conducted four online seminars ‘The cost of reporting while female’ and our association is particularly proud to give women a much-needed platform,” Merlo said.
“In many countries, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, the majority of high-profile journalists and editors remain male. Although there have been considerable changes in the prospects for women working in the media in the past few decades, women are still noticeably in the minority in the top journalistic roles, despite making up the majority of journalism students. We aim to change this,” the AIPS President concluded.
