Newsletter: Digital campaign workshops across South Asia

In December 2015, the IFJ AP wrapped up its 6th digital campaign skills workshop in South Asia. The workshops are part of the IFJ AP’s United Nation Democracy Fund (UNDEF) project, South Asia Media for Democracy. It aims to give orientation to journalists on how to develop a national level campaign with e-advocacy component, skills to integrate digital platforms in campaign and to increase the journalist unions’ digital-platform based participation in regional and global campaigns on freedom of expression and journalist rights. Workshops were held in Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, as well as a regional SAMSN workshop also in Sri Lanka. Through the workshop, the participating unions developed and carried out digital campaigns on key issues. In Sri Lanka, the Free Media Movement held a digital campaign on Right to Information and pushed the government to implement an RTI law. In India, the NUJI held a campaign on implementing a Journalist Protection Act and protested for the government to take action on journalist security. In Nepal, the Nepal Press Union held a digital campaign on journalist safety, developing a journalist safety guidebook to better support journalists.