The 18th National Meeting of the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra, from February 2 to 4 February 2024. It was the 18th edition of the respective meeting held. The event drew about 300 female journalists from all over India. The majority of these journalists are independent reporters. The NWMI meet has provided an opportunity for conversations among female journalists, giving them the chance to share their perspectives and discuss the challenges that they encounter.
The meeting covered various media-related topics, including:
Reporting on Elections talks about how to report on elections effectively. The Status of Women in Indian Mainstream Films examining gender issues and portrayal in movies. Journalism and Artificial Intelligence discussed connecting points of media and AI. Agriculture reporting was also mentioned in the event.
Bollywood filmmaker Kiran Rao delivered a speech titled "Bas itna sa khwab hai: Is representation enough?" She underlined the underrepresentation of women's stories in mainstream cinema and her ambition to make films featuring extremely ambitious women. Actor Ratna Pathak addressed the representation of women in television and the need for more diverse and daring roles for women.
The NWMI meet is held annually to promote discussions among women journalists, address their issues, and provide a platform for them to share their opinions and experiences. The event, hosted by Mumbai-based journalists in collaboration with Reporters Without Borders, The News Minute, St Paul's institutions, and the Mumbai Press Club, featured workshops on disaster reporting, LGBTQIA reporting, visual content verification, and how to make visuals work.
The panelists were mostly independent journalists, including Newslaundry's Kalpana Sharma, Scroll's Editor Naresh Fernandes, and The News Minute Editor Dhanya Rajendran.
