Nordic Perspectives
Time for some updates. 
Since the Zagreb conference on Women and Media the fabulus Viktorija Car edited a great volume of Media Studies/Medijske studije where all the keynote speakers contributed. It is all open access, My article has the title  'Is There a Nordic Way?: A Swedish Perspective on Achievements and Problems with Gender Equality in Newsrooms .
The whole volume can be found here: 

Cross discussions in Zagreb

Today at the Women and Media Conference and Round Table in Zagreb the topic will be both national and international trends when it comes to women's (mis)representations in the media. Both the IWMF-study and the GMMP-study will be up for discussion.

Viktoija Car on the move,

The participants are an interesting mix of researchers, journalists, officials and students. A representative from Croatian media watch group B.a.b.e will also be there.

It is all thanks to this woman, Viktorija Car, from the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb. And three very devoted embassies, Sweden. France and the United States.

Thank you very much!

Zagorka- A Croatian pioneer

Ever heard of Marija Juric Zagorka? I hadn't until today.

She was the first female journalist of the South Eastern Europe, well known for her novels but not so much for her feminist work.

When she died in 1957 she had been both celebrated and banned. And almost forgotten. Thanks many efforts Zagorka is now being remembered not only for her popular novels but for her crucial political and emancipatory work. The apartment where she lived at the market square Dolac has become a kind of museum, run by the Centre for Women’s studies. There is a statue of her in the old town and there is a small exhibition of her books at a library.

Together with the students of the faculty of political science I watched the documentary Zagorka by Biljana Cakic Veselic. After the screening Biljana said that the situation for her today, as a female documentary filmmaker, was basically the same as for Zagorka. Quite depressing to hear.

Swedish editors - Start signing!

News media leaders all over the world are signing the IWMF Declaration of Principles on Equity in the News Media. Still waiting for the first Swedish editor to sign.

We did an open call for it on May 7th in Stockholm, maybe it is time for a direct call.

The discussion continues - in Croatia

Both the IMWF Report and the GMMP Report will be up for discussion on the Conference and Roundtable on 'Women in Media' in Zagreb, May 26, 2011.

The conference is held by the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Political Science, Study of Journalism and the Croatian Communication Association with the support of the embassies of France, Sweden and the United States.

I am proud to be part of the Roundtable with prominent speakers such as Barbara Cochran, Anne-Cécile Robert and representatives from Croatian B.a.b.e, (Be active, Be emancipated)

Organizing Committee:
Viktorija Car, Faculty of Political Science
Smiljana Leinert-Novosel, Croatian Communication Association and Faculty of Political Science
Karin Sedlaček, Embassy of Sweden
Anja Picelj-Kosak, US Embassy
Frédéric Frapaise, French Embassy in the Republic of Croatia

Keep you posted.

The full Speech of Melanne Verveer, Ambassor at large for Women's Issues, from the IWMF conference Womens Stories Unfettered can be found here. See also my former blog post " There is nothing that is not about us"

Qoute from the speech:

"I know that this morning you released the ground breaking report of the status of women in the news media and that it illustrates the progress that has been made by women in the profession—but also the distance yet to be traveled to end discrimination, to end under-representation, and to end the untapped potential of women in the media. I know that among you are so many who are the exceptions, who have made a difference in your companies, and who are committed to tapping the potential of women and to greater inclusion more broadly and the talent that they represent. But the study that was released by the foundation mirrors so many other studies with which I am familiar. Whether it is women in politics or women in corporate boards—the story line is all too familiar.

And yet, humanity has no greater underutilized resource than women. The right thing to do—and what we are all in fact beginning to do better—is to ensure that women have full access to the educational, economic and political opportunities that they can touch. Given that access and those opportunities, women can and are changing the world and I see it wherever I go.

I particularly like the fact that you have arranged these proceedings so that they will lead to a “Platform for Action” to achieve greater equality in newsrooms and news coverage."

IWMF conference in Swedish

I wrote two articles för the Swedish newspaper Feminist Perspective about the IWMF conference and the study.

About the study:

http://feministisktperspektiv.se/2011/04/01/manga-man-i-nyhetsredaktioners-topp/

About the conference, with several pictures ...

http://feministisktperspektiv.se/2011/04/01/global-pakt-jamstalld-journalistik/