Reporters in Nepal get media manual

EMU will now have a hand in how conflict gets reported in Nepal, thanks to a $35,650 United States Aid for International Development (USID) grant to the Conflict Transformation Program (CTP).

The grant, one of two awarded to CTP, has been given to create a media manual to guide journalists for Nepal's main newspaper, the Katmandu Post.

The manual will be studied by more than 45 journalists at the Post and at the Nepal Press Institute.

Proposed by a Nepalese student journalist, the program hopes to teach ways of reporting conflict that do not increase hostility.

The following year, another workshop will take place. There the "Best Conflict Reporter" will be awarded to the person who best applied their reporting knowledge. Associate professor of conflict studies at EMU, Jayne S. Docherty, will head the program. Helping her will be Ameet Dhakal and Prateek Pradhan, editors of the Kathmandu Post.

Another $39,971 grant will go toward the Summer Peacebuilding Institute and will be used to create a five-day workshop in summer of 2004. Twelve representatives from the Philippines, Zambia, Ghana, the South Pacific, Asia, and the Caribbean will attend the workshop. Many of the participants are involved in peacebuilding programs in their countries. Goals of the workshop are to design a handbook for new peace institutes and write a journal article on their discoveries. The program is also meant to bring peace workers together and help reduce isolation.

Pat Spaulding, co-director of SPI, said, "It is an opportunity for them to sit down in the same place and make plans. It's something we've really wanted to do."

"We're very excited," said Janice Jenner, director of EMU's Institute for Justice and Peacebuilding. "We're extremely pleased to continue our long-standing relationships with the U.S. Institute of Peace."

Since Jan. of 2003, CTP has received numerous grants totaling anywhere from $2,000-$1,000,000. Proposed grants go through a process of approval, and must be approved by the development and presidential offices. CTP is awarded grants most often from USIP, The Hewlett Foundation, Church World Service, and Victim Offender Mediation Association.