Female sports journalists in Papua New Guinea have been urged to empower and uplift women involved in sports throughout the country and the Pacific region.
Oceania Football Confederation Deputy General Secretary and incoming FIFA Chief of Women’s Football, Sarai Bareman said the role that journalists play is very important for women.
Bareman told journalists involved in the Women in News and Sport (WINS) program to uplift women involved in sports and celebrate their achievements.
WINS hosted a workshop on Wednesday, Nov 23 in conjunction with the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and participants were treated to a diverse range of FIFA speakers.
Bareman, based in Samoa, spoke to the journalists about her experience working in football administration in the Pacific.
“It’s not a norm for a Pacific woman to be uplifted that’s why the media plays a very important role in this area because you are in a better position to be able to lift those women up.
“Coverage of women in sports all over the world is so minimal.
“Media coverage helps to grow women’s sports, empower more women into sports, helps to market sports and attract sponsors.
“As women journalists, you have the power to change that and you have to use it especially in the Pacific Region,” Bareman told the journalists.
The WINS program is initiated by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade designed as a training and mentoring for female journalists in the Asia-Pacific region.
The program, which covers a diverse range of media skills, seeks to mentor participants through a sports event promoting women in sport from elite to community levels, and amplifying women’s voices in sports coverage.