Panel 4: New Media

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What is the impact of new media in humanitarian reporting and advocacy?

Thursday 25 October (14:00 - 15:30) – Room XIX

Within minutes of a disaster or conflict, the first images are seen on YouTube rather than CNN, and probably to a larger audience. YouTube, Flickr and blogging are bringing wars, disasters and their humanitarian consequences to the attention of the public, government and aid agencies more efficiently than ever. It’s now possible to keep watch on a Darfur village through satellite imagery, or take a virtual tour of a refugee camp. This panel discussed whether ‘citizen journalism’ and new collaborative/ networking technologies are improving humanitarian response, whether the principles of information management and good journalism are at risk and reviewed how the humanitarian community is faring in this new environment. It also looked at the latest innovative approaches in humanitarian advocacy through the internet. Panelists from the blogosphere, media and the humanitarian community discussed these innovative approaches and attempt to answer the question: What is the impact of new media in humanitarian reporting and advocacy?

Biography

MARTYN BROUGHTON Editor, AlertNet, UK Moderator Martyn joined Reuters AlertNet in November 2006, taking over from Mark Jones as Editor. He came from the aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres, where he spent more than six years as Head of Communications for MSF UK. Before that, Martyn worked for more than 20 years with BBC World Service Radio as a producer and editor of current affairs and feature programmes. He also worked with the BBC’s Arabic language service and has a particular interest in the Middle East and Africa.

ARIELA BLATTER Director, Crisis Prevention and Response Centre, Amnesty Ariela is an international human rights lawyer and founding Director of the Crisis Prevention and Response Center at Amnesty International. In this role she has directed strategic operations on crises in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Since 2005 she has been involved in a project using satellite imagery as a global human rights detection system for mass violations and genocide. Most recently, she launched the widely acclaimed “Eyes on Darfur” project (www.eyesondarfur.org).

BEN PARKER Editor in Chief, Integrated Regional Information Networks, Kenya Ben has worked in media, information and humanitarian issues since 1989, mainly for UN agencies in Africa, but also as a freelance writer and technology consultant. Co-founding IRIN in 1995, he set up the initial editorial and technology systems, and subsequently worked for Africa Online. As a UN communications officer in Sudan 2003-2006, he released some of the first widely-available photos and TV footage of Darfur. After a brief stint at ECHO, he returned to IRIN as global Editor-in-Chief in late 2006.

NEHA VISWANATHAN South Asia Editor, Global Voices, India Neha is a regional editor for Global Voices Online, a non-profit global citizens’ media project founded at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. She is also involved with the World Wide Help group which started as a response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, helping people access information about the Tsunami, and engaging them in relief efforts. Her work with World Wide Help also included use of new media to support rescue efforts and information access after Hurricane Katrina.

TARIK KAFALA Middle East Editor, BBC news online Tarik edits Middle East coverage on the BBC News website. He has worked for the BBC since 1991 – in radio, television and online formats ranging from news bulletins to documentaries. He has also reported from a number of countries in the region. Tarik has worked at the website for eight years – specialising in marrying technical developments to web journalism. He has led a team of journalists working on Middle East news, reporting and reference material for the last four years.