SAFMA’s tenth anniversary
Bhutan chapter will be revamped to make it more vibrant
South Asian Free Media Association 5 July, 2010 – Almost three years after the south Asian free media association (SAFMA) Bhutan chapter was launched, reporters and editors from various media organisations this week stressed the need for active participation and reorganisation within the association.
Bhutanese journalists had gathered in Thimphu on June 3 to mark SAFMA’s 10-year celebration. Bhutan on August 5, 2007, became the last of the eight south Asian countries to join SAFMA, which was established in 2000 as an associate body of SAARC.
The chapter president and editor of Bhutan Observer, Needup Zangpo, spoke on SAFMA’s achievements in the region, and also pointed out the need to strengthen the local chapter. “SAFMA activities haven’t been very visible, but we’re planning several activities for the coming months,” he said, while urging members of the Bhutanese media to cooperate in achieving SAFMA’s objectives.
The association strives to strengthen media capacity, increase interaction, promote access to and free flow of information, strengthen regional cooperation through SAARC, and defend and expand press freedom.
Local chapter’s general secretary, Rinzin Wangchuk, had said that the establishment of the local chapter would give journalists opportunities to interact with journalists from other South Asian countries and get exposure. The local chapter organised, among others, a training programme for all journalists on election reporting, and also hosted the fifth SAARC journalists’ summit in April this year, alongside the SAARC summit.
Office bearers of the local chapter announced during the gathering that the association would go through restructuring and conduct re-elections of office bearers. “Several members have either left the media organisations or are inactive,” an office bearer said, adding that the operations of the chapter would be made transparent, inclusive and effective.
SAFMA secretary general, Imtiaz Alam, in his address on SAFMA’s 10 years, said that it has achieved an active media network across borders, with regularly elected national chapters, and has promoted cooperation among media in south Asia. “The action plan, approved by the information ministers of SAARC, has been implemented by SAFMA, by establishing south Asian media centre, south Asian media net, south Asian journal, south Asia media school and journalist exchanges and editor conferences,” he said.
A journalist from Business Bhutan, a weekly newspaper organisation, said the local chapter should initiate more activities to discuss the issues facing the media, especially Bhutanese media. “Everyone should be actively involved in strengthening the chapter, not only when it comes to attending conferences outside Bhutan,” he said.
By Phuntsho Choden in Kuensel