Women’s Media Center of Cambodia promotes change, including: women's radio, video production, daily news, podcasts, digital and social media, factchecking and media literacy training and community outreach and training: wmc.org.kh

@kiripost.bsky.social, an independent digital media outlet whose vision is for Cambodians and decision-makers to access credible news and information to inform their decisions. They promote the journalism profession through their high-quality stories and independence: kiripost.com

@cambojanews.bsky.social, the first network of independent journalists and media professionals in Cambodia. CamboJA aims to promote access to information and press freedom, strengthen the professionalism of journalists and support their livelihoods: www.camboja.net

Photo: Chris McGrath via Getty Images. Men burn a poster showing the face of Bashar al-Assad in Umayyad Square on December 20, 2024 in Damascus, Syria.

“When funding disappears, voices disappear. And when voices disappear, the truth disappears with them. This is why today’s conference matters. It is not only a space for dialogue — it is a call to action.”

Hamid Obaidi, the founder and executive director of AMSO, explained that the cuts to funding for Afghan media have resulted in many outlets either downsizing or shutting down their operations completely.

Richard Bennet, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, said that donors should give Afghan media stable support. “Because if Afghan journalists lose the ability to report freely, the world will lose the ability to understand Afghanistan at all,” he said.

They discussed discuss strategies for press freedom, journalist safety, international media collaboration and actionable solutions to protect Afghan journalists and ensure continued international coverage for Afghanistan.

This conference brought together around 80 participants, including Afghan and international journalists, media experts, policymakers and human rights advocates.

• Strengthen safety measures and content support for journalists
• Increase support for women in media and women-focused content
• Professional capacity-building and training
• Strong advocacy for human rights
• Efforts toward lifting restrictions limiting free expression

Wahida explained that to keep Afghan journalism alive at the local level, international donors and media partners have to step up and support the sector, especially women journalists. She added that Afghan media inside and outside Afghanistan needs international support for the following purposes: