International Association of Tamil Journalists The media in post war Sri Lanka : Supporting democratisation in the era of the ‘War on Terrorism’ Saturday, 11 October 2014 | 9.30 A.M - 5.00 P.M West London University St Mary’s Rd, Ealing, London, W5 5RF Email: [email protected] Contact: Anandhi Suriyapiragasam +44 208 543 7226 Gopi Ratnam +44 758 597 8377 Baylon Yogaratnam +44 795 693 9874 Vijay Senthil +44 795 693 9874 An alarming dangerous trend of this abuse of “war on terror declaration” is the delegitimisation of democratic and civic engagements for justice and rights in post- war countries. A particular example is the Sri Lankan government’s recent move to ban Tamil diaspora organisations, which the government has accused of links to “terrorism” under U .N. Security Council Resolution 1373 of 2001. This conference aims to generate an exchange of ideas and insights between academics and professionals on the role of media for counteracting the delegitimisation of democratic process in post- war Sri Lanka in the Age of the ‘ war on terrorism’. The aim is not just limited to examine the role of the media, but to uncover the challenges, difficulties and obstacles faced by media and journalists in upholding the international human rights norms and their implications for democratisation in post-war Sri Lanka. Identified journalists, media scholars and media activists from Sri Lanka, India, Europe and North America will be invited to present papers at the conference. A lot of invaluable knowledge is expected to be gained from this conference. 0 – 10.00 Registration 10.00 – 10.05 2 minutes silence in memory of the journalists killed in the island of Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Lighting of traditional lamp (kuththuvilakku) 10.05 -10.15 Welcome speech Morning Session: Media’s role in Democratisation and Human Rights Protection in the Age of the ‘ Global War on Terrorism’ Chair: Dr. Madurika Rasaratnam (Lecturer in International Conflict & Analysis at University of Kent) 10.15 - 10.45 Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu (Executive Director of Centre for Policy Alternatives, Sri Lanka) 10.45 - 11.15 Dr. Ibrahim Sega Shaw (Lecturer in Media, Human Rights and Politics at Northumbria University, Newcastle) 11.15 - 11. 30 Q &A 11.30 - 11.40 Tea/Coffee 11.40 - 12.10 Mr. J.S Tissainayagam (Award-winning Sri Lankan journalist living in the United States) 12.10 -12.20 Dr. Walid Al-Saqaf (Program Director of Master of Global Journalism at Örebro University, Sweden) - Video Talk 12.20 - 12.45 Mr. Guruparan Kumaravadivel (Lecturer in Law at the University of Jaffna) 12.45 - 13.00 Q & A 13.00 - 14.00 Lunch 14.00 - 14.05 IATAJ announcements - Mr. Baylon Yogaratnam (Joint secretary of IATAJ) Afternoon Session: Challenges of Conflict Reporting in the Age of the ‘Global War on Terrorism’ Chair: Mr. Dinesh Kumar (Vice President of IATAJ) 14.05 - 14.35 Prof. Rune Ottosen (Professor in journalism at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences) 14.35 - 15.00 Dr. Jude Lal Fernando (Assistant Professor in Intercultural Theology and Inter religious Studies at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin) 15.00 - 15.25 Mr. Bharathi Rajanayagam (Editor of Sunday Thinakkural, Sri Lanka 15.25 - 15.40 Q & A 15.40 - 15.50 Tea/Coffee 15.50 - 16.15 Ms Vino Kanapathipillai (PhD candidate in the Department of Politics and International Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London) 16.15 - 16.40 Mr. Nirmanusan Balasundaram ( Independent Journalist and Writer) 16.40 - 17.05 Mr. Mario Arulthas ( Co-Editor of Tamil Guardian) 17.05 - 17.20 Q & A 17.20 - 17.30 Vote of thanks: Ms. Anandhi Suriyapiragasam ( President of IATAJ and Former BBC Correspondent) Dr. Walid Al-Saqaf is a lecturer and the Director of the Master of Global Journalism Programme at Orebro University, Sweden. He has worked as a Senior Reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Washington DC and Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of Yemen Times. He has created an Internet censorship circumvention tool named Alkasir that allows users to report and access certain types of censored websites. It uses a pioneering experimental approach by placing Alkasir in the hands of willing users who automatically feed a server with data about usage patterns without storing any of their personal information. Mr. Mario Arulthas is Co-editor for the Tamil Guardian, covering human rights issues, international affairs, Tamil and Sri Lankan politics. Currently, he is employed by the Royal Borough of Kingston, where he is working as a Performance and Policy Business Analyst. Mr. Nirmanusan Balasundaram is an independent journalist and human rights defender. He holds an MA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the European University Centre for Peace Studies in Austria. He is also closely associated with INGO, NGO’s, and Civil Society movements in Sri Lanka and abroad. Dr. Jude Lal Fernando - Assistant Professor in Intercultural Theology and Inter religious Studies at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin. He is a journalist and one of the founding members of the ‘Irish Peace Forum for Sri Lanka’ Mr. Kumaravadivel Guruparan is a lecturer at the Department of Law of the University of Jaffna. He is a Commonwealth Scholar/PhD Candidate at the University College of London, UK. He holds an LL.B (Hons) from the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo (Sri Lanka) and as a Chevening Scholar (awarded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth office) obtained a BCL from Balliol College, University of Oxford. Ms Vino Kanapathipillai is a PhD candidate in the Department of Politics and International Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Her research focuses on the intersection of international security, multinational corporations and public policy. She has several years’ experience as a print and radio journalist and editor covering Sri Lanka, and has conducted donor-funded policy research on the relations between Diasporas and ethnopolitical conflict. Prof. Rune Ottosen is professor in journalism at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences He has written extensively on press history and media coverage of war and conflicts. He is co-editor with Stig Arne Nohrstedt of several books, the latest Global War – Local Views: Media Images of the Iraq War. His new co-edited book entitled New Wars, New Media and New war journalism: Professional and legal challenges in war reporting. In 2008 Ottosen published VG, Saddam og vi. Et kritisk blikk på nyhetsdekning av kriger og konflikter. In 2010 he was one of the editors and co-author of the four volume Norwegian Press History, Norsk Presses historie (1767-2010). Dr Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu is the Executive Director of Centre for Policy Alternatives, Colombo, Sri Lanka. He received his Ph.D and first degree from the London School of Economics (LSE), University of London in 1986 and 1979 respectively. Dr. Saravanamuttu is a Co-Convenor of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) and a Member of the Board of the Sri Lanka Chapter of Transparency International as well as a Member of the Advisory Board of the Berghof Foundation for Peace Support, Berlin, Germany, the UNDP Regional Centre on Governance, Bangkok, Thailand and the Sri Lanka Advisory Group of the Asia Pacific Leadership Forum on HIV AIDs and Development. He has been quoted widely in the domestic and international media on the political situation in Sri Lanka, has presented papers and been a frequent participant at a number of international conferences on governance and security issues. Dr Ibrahim Seaga Shaw is a Lecturer in Media, Human Rights and Politics at Northumbria University, Newcastle. He is also the Secretary General of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA). His background is in journalism as a reporter, editor, sub editor and correspondent in Sierra Leone, France and the UK. He is founder, editor and publisher of Sierra Leone’s award winning Expo Times newspaper. He is author of two books: ‘Human Rights Journalism’ Palgrave Macmillan (2012) and co-editor of ‘Expanding Peace Journalism’ Sydney University Press (2012). He co-edited two issues of journal of International Communication Gazette and Journal of African Media Studies. Mr. J.S. Tissainayagam is an award-winning journalist in exile. He was Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard, USA (2010-2011) and Weather head Fellow in International Affairs at Harvard (2011-2012) . In 2012-13 he was a Reagan-Fascell Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington DC.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 07:45:31 +0000
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