[ecrea] Cfp -Signal Strength: women & media practice in conflict and crisis situations

*Symposium 2018, University of Sheffield*

**Call for Papers**

*Theme: ‘Signal Strength: women & media practice in conflict and crisis 
situations’*

Thursday *8th March 2018* (International Women’s Day)

Deadline for abstracts: *Monday **15^th January 2018.*

*Speakers confirmed so far include: *Caroline Vuillemin, CEO, Fondation 
Hirondelle, Lausanne; Dr Helen Turton, University of Sheffield; Tala 
Halawa, BBC - West Bank, occupied Palestinian territories.**

This symposium 
(https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/journalism/events/signal-strength/cfp) aims 
to examine the extent to which radio – and other forms of media – 
provides a platform for women who are, or have been, in conflict and 
crisis. Drawing on practice and academic research, discussions will 
explore multiple angles such as:- gendering media strategies to improve 
the recognition and representation of women in peril; issues surrounding 
the safety and protection of women journalists and aid workers; and the 
limits and limitation of media freedoms.

We invite contributions from academics and practitioners with experience 
in radio and international conflict with the aim of exchanging knowledge 
and best practice. We welcome papers related to these themes or to the 
broader topic:

·Use of radio and media in conflict environments

·Use of radio to support women

·Local and/or community radio in conflict/crisis

·Women as (radio/media) audience in conflict/crisis

·Empowering of women – and local communities – through radio (and media)

·Radio in society in conflict-affected areas

·Safety and protection of women journalists

·Representation of women in conflict/crisis by the radio

·Women and broadcasting technologies

·Media freedoms – the limits and limitations of media strategies and 
policies, domestic and foreign

·Stereotyping on air and in the media

·Resourcing women's radio journalism in conflict/crisis environments

·Women in radio and on air - pedagogy and practice

*The context: *According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (2017), 
women comprise approximately 50 per cent of refugees worldwide, mostly 
as a result of conflict, and are often put at greater hardship than men 
in these situations based upon their gender. With men either killed or 
at war, women become the heads of households, conservers of the 
community and rebuilders of the economy. The significant impact of 
conflict and crisis on women, who have also often become targets of 
sexual violence, is recognised in the UN Security Council’s resolution 
1325.   As media coverage of women in conflict and crisis is increasing, 
the role of radio within this merits further exploration. Of all forms 
of media, radio occupies a particular place in conflict-affected areas, 
providing a low-tech and low-cost public space, being cheap and 
portable, not relying on a mains source of electricity and being able to 
target illiterate or orally-based cultures.

In certain circumstances, digital technologies also provide for the 
production and circulation of audio and visual media material. Such 
access to online communication channels facilitates conversation and 
dialogue from the comfortingly mundane to life-saving. For women in 
unstable societies, the intimate nature of radio also ensures a safe 
haven, away from male or mixed environments, in which to seek comfort, 
advice and helplines. It also provides the opportunity for women, as 
practitioners, to represent their female audiences and reach out to them.

When conflict and crisis necessitate migration, and when women and 
families are forced to move and live in foreign countries, media – and 
radio in particular – can play a significant role in the settling-in 
process. Not only can digital technologies enable the tuning-in online 
to estranged stations and the familiar voices of home, but local 
services can proffer the welcoming hand of friendship and provide 
opportunities for empowerment through cultural and linguistic guidance, 
as well as moral support.

Drawing on practice as well as academic research, this symposium aims to 
provide a platform not just for the theory but for voicing lived 
experiences too.**

*Submission guidelines: *

Please send 150-200-word abstracts, with short bio, to 
(e.heywood /at/ sheffield.ac.uk) <mailto:(e.heywood /at/ sheffield.ac.uk)> *by 15th 
January 2018*. Speakers will be notified of acceptance by 30th January 2018.

Registration fee – £35 (£25 for early bird booking). The symposium is 
open to anyone interested in this topic, regardless of whether they are 
presenting a paper.

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/journalism/events/signal-strength/cfp


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