Digital media for global networking. Exploring the emerging Unesco Global Alliance for Media and Gender

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Bejing World Conference on Women, the international community has reactivated its efforts to fostering gender equality and women’s empowerment in and through the media, thanks to an initiative lead by the Unesco. A Global Alliance for Media and Gender (Gamag) was launched after a Unesco-promoted Global Forum (held on 2-4 December 2013 in Bangkok). The Alliance is, at the time of writing, developing its operational mechanisms and structures to realize a core objective: that of pulling together resources and creative efforts to work towards the effective implementation of gender equality and women’s empowerment programmes in preparation of the post-2015 UN conference on women . The chapter attempt to shed some light on the initial steps taken to meet this goal, with a focus on some specific aspects: the recognition of the crucial nexus between gender and communication media in the development of sustainable and equitable societies; an understanding of how different stakeholders engage in the effort of making that nexus visible and in implementing concrete initiatives; an exploration of the communication networks and of discursive practices through which Gamag aims at meeting the challenge of mainstreaming gender in the age of digital communications. Paragraph 1 introduces the theoretical perspectives and analytical approach adopted in this exploration of global networking around gender and media. Paragraph 2 summarizes an empirical study of the Gamag’s International Steering Committee (ISC) and its discursive practices in online public spaces. In the Concluding remarks the Gamag’s potential to foster gender equity in and through the media is critically assessed.