MEDIA: IPS Wins South-South Leadership AwardBy Thalif Deen

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45187
MEDIA: IPS Wins South-South Leadership AwardBy Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 19 (IPS) - At a formal ceremony attended bydiplomats, senior U.N. officials and journalists, the United NationsFriday presented its 2008 'South-South Leadership Award' to InterPress Service (IPS) news agency for its role in promoting strongerties among developing nations and media outlets.
"We consider ourselves privileged to accept this award -- and we alsoview this as a recognition of the work we have been doing to highlightSouth-South cooperation in the field of communications during the last45 years," said IPS Director-General Mario Lubetkin.
"As a news agency of the global South, IPS follows the U.N.development agenda very closely," he added.
Lubetkin also pointed out that IPS currently has content ordistribution partnerships with several media outlets, includingAl-Jazeera TV, OneWorld, Infosud, Envolverde, and the Killid Group andPajhwok Afghan News.
The award was presented by the Special Unit for South-SouthCooperation within the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), which hashonoured individuals and institutions over the last four years.
Lubetkin said the main thrust of IPS news reporting has been -- andcontinues to be -- on issues long neglected by the mainstream media.These include hunger, poverty alleviation, population, children,HIV/AIDS, gender empowerment and the environment, just to name a few.
"In short, these are all issues that are of major concern mostly todeveloping nations, comprising over two-thirds of the membership ofthe United Nations," he said during a panel discussion on 'The Role ofMedia in Development' which he chaired, prior to the award ceremony.
Many countries in the developing world have become centres ofexcellence in the fields of health, education, agriculture, the artsand modern technologies.
"And as part of our communications agenda, we are keeping track ofthese developments and reporting them to the outside world and we willcontinue to do so," Lubetkin said.
The panel discussion was aimed at inspiring the media around the worldto re-think their definition of how development issues should becovered without losing objectivity and how to expand perspectives byincluding more voices and expertise from the South. The other winnersat Friday's ceremony included RPN-TV Channel 9 in the Philippines (for'South-South Cooperation Partnership Award') and the U.S.-based AfricaChannel (for 'South-South Cooperation for Innovation Award').Accepting the awards were Orlando Mercado for RPN TV and Mark Waltonfor the Africa Channel.
Additionally, A 'South-South Cooperation Special Award' was presentedto the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Market Women's Fund, named after thefirst woman African head of state in Liberia, while the 'South-SouthCooperation Award' was presented to Ambassador John W. Ashe, PermanentRepresentative of Antigua and Barbuda, who chairs the 130-member Groupof 77 developing nations.
The four-day celebrations included the launch of the GlobalSouth-South Development Expo and an exhibition of 'SouthernDevelopment Solutions' highlighting shared experiences in thedeveloping world, including success stories in South-Southcooperation.
This is the fifth consecutive year the United Nations is commemoratingthe 'U.N. Day for South-South Cooperation.'
The list of past award winners includes the Organisation of IslamicConference (OIC), the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and thePerez-Guerrero Trust Fund, which finances South-South regionalprojects.
Referring to the longstanding proposal for the creation of a newsagency of the global South, Lubetkin said IPS has offered itsexpertise and its longstanding experience to help establish such anagency.
Told about the South-South award presented to IPS, Shashi Tharoor, aformer U.N. under-secretary-general for public information, said: "Ihave followed IPS's reporting for three decades, and worked with themat close quarters during my media-related assignments at the U.N."
"I have found IPS an excellent source of news and insight about thedeveloping world, covering stories that the world's dominant mediaoutlets too often ignore," said Tharoor, author of several bestsellingnovels, including 'The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cell Phone.'
He said IPS reporters marry the highest professional standards ofjournalism to an institutional commitment to covering stories ofparticular concern to the global South.
"They are indispensable to any reader who wishes to stay abreast ofwhat's happening in developing countries around the world," Tharoortold IPS.
Ernest Corea, a former Sri Lankan ambassador to the United States, andex-chair of the Commonwealth Select Committee on Communication andDevelopment, said UNDP has once more demonstrated its effectiveness asa catalyst of South-South Cooperation by establishing the award forleadership in this vital area.
"IPS is a richly deserving recipient of the award: its mission, style,and mode of operation define South-South Cooperation," he added.
Corea said communications are an essential component of development.Numerous means of building up communications that sustain developmentranging from specific newspaper, radio and television programmes tonational, regional, or global news and features services have been setup over the years.
Most have failed, though some survive. The outstanding success amongthem has been IPS, he said.
In looking to the future of communications in the South-South field,it is important to understand why IPS thrives.
"Among the many reasons for its enduring achievements, and the highregard in which it is held, I would emphasise three," Corea said.
First, a highly professional and dedicated staff at all levels ofoperation. Second, effective management that nurtures a strong fundingbase. And third, the absence of governmental intrusion that constrainsreporting and analysis.
"The next step for institutions such as UNDP and the Group of 77should be to support IPS as the hub of a network of South-orientedmedia organisations that would accelerate the pace of South-SouthCooperation," Corea told IPS.
He pointed out that IPS already has many "sharing" agreements withlike-minded groups. These arrangements should be made systemic andexpanded.
South-South Cooperation need not be restricted to economicdevelopment. At its most effective, it should be holistic, engaged ina range of activities that affect the quality of life of the humanfamily. A network of communications can move ideas throughout theSouth, where they can be adapted as necessary and adopted.
"I look forward to the day when IPS functions as the central unit ofsuch a network," added Corea.
(END/2008)