Following the welcome address by Sumita Jaiswal, co-ordinator of the Bihar chapter of NWMI, a brief introduction to the NWMI was given by Shahina KK and Yirmiyan Arthur.
This was followed by the release of ‘Patna Chalo’, the souvenir of the 17th National NWMI meeting, by Justice (Ret’d) Mridula Mishra, VC, CNLU. Her brief speech was followed by editors from Patna providing a snapshot of the mediascape in Bihar.
Considering media-related developments of the last couple of years, it is important to focus attention on the endangered status of freedom of media and freedom of expression. This is not just a media issue but a matter of public interest. It is also relevant in terms of the theme of the meeting: gender equality, social justice, and an equitable society depend on universal access to fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, which includes media freedom.
Moderated by Geeta Seshu, NWMI member and co-editor, Free Speech Collective, the panellists included Dhanya Rajendran, Editor, The NewsMinute; Shahrukh Alam, columnist and Supreme Court advocate; Kiran Shaheen, senior journalist and media activist; Meena Kotwal, Founder-Editor, Mooknayak; Pushpendra Pal Singh, media educator and head of Public Relations Society of India, Bhopal chapter; and Manikant Thakur, former correspondent, BBC Worldwide. Kalpana Sharma, independent journalist and author and Daniel Bastard, Asia-Pacific Director for Reporters Without Borders, Paris sent special video messages.
For a complete report of the Public Meeting, click HERE.
Following dinner, members of the NWMI went on to showcase their talents in a session facilitated by RJ Barkha, Tasneem Kutubuddin and Vasanthi Hariprakash, regaling the audience with music, dance, stand-up comedy, poetry and story-telling.