UNESCO Jakarta opened the exhibit “Voice of Mindanao,” showcasing women journalists covering BARMM last Nov. 28 at the Lego Museum, Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila. The 11 journalists who were feted came from Maguindano, Cotabato City, Lanao del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga City and the island province of Tawitawi.
The launch was graced by Mohamed Djelid, director of the UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific and UNESCO Representative for Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste, Ana Lomtadze, adviser for Communication and Information and Eliana Bantchev, Public Information Officer, all from UNESCO. The Dutch Embassy in Manila was represented by its Head of Mission Robert van der Hum, as well as various UN agencies in Manila. Media organizations also came to the exhibit and shared stories with the women journalists from Mindanao.
The exhibit is the first ever initiative “dedicated to women journalists in the BARMM that UNESCO undertook within the framework of the UN Joint Programme on Human Rights.” The images on exhibit were all shot by Eliana.
It will run up to December 10, to mark the 74th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights celebrated across the world with this year’s theme “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All.
