Although he promised to remove his uniform and return power to an elected, civilian government, General Musharraf and the army continue to rule Pakistan. And despite a degree of open space where press and civil society organizations manage to operate relatively freely, the political environment, particularly in the rural areas, is often hostile to the promotion of liberal, democratic values. One organization working to counter that resistance is the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), which has been working for the protection and promotion of independent media in Pakistan since 1967.
The Pakistan Press Foundation organized workshops like this to train rural journalists about the role of media in democratic systems.
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Although the local press plays an important role in raising awareness about issues in their respective communities, and civil society groups push for greater respect for human rights and democracy, there is little collaboration between journalists and activists. By their efforts to build a network connecting the two groups, PPF is working in rural areas to increase understanding and cooperation between members of the press and civil society who are committed to the promotion of human rights and democracy.
In 2004, the Foundation used Endowment funds for their Rural Media and Democratic Governance Project in the Sindh province. The project aims to increase civil society organizations’ understanding of the media and develop their capacity to work productively with the media. In addition, the project educates rural journalists about the basic principles of democratic systems and human rights protections, and, in particular, the unique role that the media should play in democratic systems. To date, nine workshops have taught civil society activists how to write press releases, organize press conferences, give interviews, prepare letters to the editor and cultivate press contacts. Rural journalists who write both for local papers and serve as stringers for the larger regional and national papers have also been encouraged to write more frequently and with greater intensity about human rights and democracy issues. Features produced by workshop participants are distributed through PPF Feature Service and used regularly by newspapers in all parts of the country.
The project has been very well received in rural areas and there has been a noticeable increase in the interaction between journalists and participating civil society organizations. The Foundation is also providing further encouragement and support to workshop participants who go on to organize trainings in their local areas. PPF hopes that this type of continued exchange and collaboration between journalists and civil society activists will lead to greater mutual understanding and a productive relationship that will help to maintain and strengthen democratic institutions throughout Pakistan.
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