Fiona Crack is the planning editor for 主播大秀 World Service Languages and the editor of 主播大秀’s 100 Women season. She founded 100 Women in 2013, and here she introduces this year's season.
. What’s the idea behind the season and why does the 主播大秀 run it?
We started it back in 2013 to better represent women on the 主播大秀 following feedback from our audiences. The season helps improve the representation of women on-air and helps us tell more stories about issues that affect women.
We received an excellent response to the previous seasons we’ve mounted, so we remain committed to the original aim. We want to continue it as long as the appetite is there and as long as we’re achieving that aim.
But 100 Women goes further than that. I also want the season to help teams across the 主播大秀 in being proactive in getting female contributors and stories that are about women on-air all year round. I think returning to it annually helps keep that in the front of people’s minds.
主播大秀 100 Women has a license to try and do things differently. We know that in many regions around the world and across TV, radio and online, there can be a gender disparity. The 主播大秀 has a challenge to appeal to its female audience wherever they are and however they consume news. The season of programmes allows us to think differently, to commission content for all of these different platforms, including digital, social and mobile content, giving an opportunity for our programmes, channels and networks to take the initiative themselves.
. Tell us a little more about the idea behind this year’s list.
We try to fulfil our original brief: “by women, about women, for everyone” in different ways each year. This year we're focusing on a few different areas. For example, we’re looking at young female entrepreneurs, as well as nursing on the frontline. We’re also bringing together some of the wisdom of the women on our list who are over 80. We'll be featuring stories from women all around the world. These stories will be part of news programming over the two weeks of the season.
And what about the 100 Women Debates?
They are pretty special this year too. We’ve chosen topics around the pressure and expectations on girls and women, focussing on three areas, leadership, image and relationships. We’ve created debate packs for groups and organisations all over the world to stage their own debate on the 1st December.
I’ve been blown away by the response we’ve had of people wanting to take part - with prestigious institutions like Yale and Princeton universities and amazing diverse groups of women from crisis centres, book groups and mums and baby classes!
We’ve also been working with six young women from Raqqa to Siberia to enable them to make their own films about their take on this subject and the results are really unusual and thought provoking.
What have you learned from previous two seasons?
The season is a big project involving a range of departments and programmes on TV, radio and online. There is a natural tension between providing content for a range of different audiences while staying true to the purpose of the 100 Women season. I’ve learnt many things, both professionally and personally. Mainly I’ve learned a lot from the women taking part in previous seasons. It is inspiring to see the work they do, some of the ways they’ve helped change their communities and attitudes, and just hear some of those stories surface on the 主播大秀. I’m very proud to be part of doing that.
Are there any women who have made a huge impact on you?
I don’t really want to pick one or two women out – there are so many stories I’ve enjoyed hearing and seeing over the last few years – and being part of bringing them to a wider audience, it would feel disloyal to the others.
But, if you are making me… There’s one woman appears on the 2015 list who has appeared before - Eveles Chimala. She is a midwife at one of the busiest hospitals in Malawi, and was moved to study nursing to help her country tackle its high maternal mortality rate.
Eveles was on our 2013 list and was due to be coming to London to take part in the live events and debates, but her visa was turned down. She has remained in touch with us since and with our editorial focus on nursing this year we wanted to try again. She’s also nominated Dame Tina Lavender, one of the world’s top experts in midwifery specialising in prolonged labour and the use of the partograph - a tool designed to help midwives monitor births. I’m hoping they will be able to meet during the season.
How do you think this event and the women taking part have made an impact on the women around the world?
I hope by trying to reach out through organisations and groups this year and working with 主播大秀 Media Action and the language services to get to those hard to reach communities, we are living the tag line ‘half the world speaks.’
I am really excited about the 1st December – tapping into all the conversations happening around the world about the issues women have told us they want to talk about – it should be really special.
Fiona Crack is planning editor for 主播大秀 World Service Languages and the editor of 主播大秀 100 Women season
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