"Images of an Ever-Present Past"

A Photo Exhibit and Forum on Reporting War and Conflict

April 24 to 26, 2009
Planta Centro Bacolod Hotel and Residences
Bacolod City, Philippines

EXHIBIT Launching: April 24, 6:00 pm, Grand Ballroom B
FORUM: April 25-26, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Grand Ballroom A

The Exhibit

Originally titled “Today as the Past: Telling the Story of Mindanao, Imagining its Future,” the exhibit features photos by five Mindanao photojournalists, which was launched last year in Cagayan de Oro City. It depicts images of the latest war in Central Mindanao between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels and government forces as an aftermath of the aborted signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD).

The Forum

Ryan D. Rosauro, a Mindanao-based journalist and National Coordinator of PECOJON-Philippines, will talk about conflict-sensitive journalism (CSJ) as an approach to reporting about war and conflict. As an influential actor in shaping public opinion, the news media plays a significant role in transforming the general public’s perspective on how to deal with conflict through providing people information that helps them understand conflict situations. This would require transforming also the framework of reporting about these.

Charlie M. Saceda, a photojournalist based in Zamboanga City, will tackle the concepts of photojournalism and war photography. He will also provide practical tips and lessons on capturing and editing images.

Froilan O. Gallardo, a veteran of covering conflict-ridden Mindanao, will share his experiences and discuss important lessons about how the news media contributed to fuelling war and conflict as well as helping find viable options for resolving the decades-old problem in the southern Philippines.

Matthias Witzel, a psychologist specializing on dealing with stress and trauma, will lecture on self-care techniques for coping with stressful and traumatic situations especially war coverage. Most often, journalists also experience the dire emotional impact of war similar to combatants, evacuees and refugees.

Nonoy Espina, a veteran Negros journalist who is also national vice-chair of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, will talk about the state of Philippine journalism and the challenges that journalists need to surmount in order to effectively report about war and conflict.