National Meeting on Gender and Communication in Havana

Havana, Apr 10. – Cuban journalists, teachers and researchers attended the National Meeting on Gender and Communication, where they discussed issues including violence, sexuality, the rights of women, studies on masculinity and new technologies, among others.

Some 20 theoretical and audiovisual essays were presented in the meeting, prior to the Tenth Ibero-American Meeting to be held in Havana on May 23-25, expected to be attended by experts from several countries.

Works discussed included a research by Professor of the Higher Polytechnic Institute Jose Antonio Echeverria (CUJAE) titled "Formation of Values in Informatics and Industrial Engineering Students," as she considers that little importance is granted to their humanistic training.

Therefore, she termed essential the introduction of an alternative model with different channels to train a professional who serves the interests of the nationâ�Ös economic and social development.

Also of great interest was a study of Magela Romero, who has a Masterâ�Ös degree in Sciences and is professor of Sociology in the University of Havana, about The Difficult Task to Combine Profession and Child Care in the Practice of Female Journalism, Reflections from the Cuban Context.

Romero explains the contradiction existing worldwide between the work order of societies of societies constructed and thought in a patriarchal style and the daily female dynamics of those who opt for maternity.

The journalists appear among the most harmed by this situation, often leading them to suffer "the unease of emancipation."

The essays by Prensa Latina journalists Isabel Soto and Nubia Piquera on abortion in Latin America and the Mexican Women, Discriminated against but Indispensable, respectively, were also very welcomed.

In her opening speech, Vice President of the Union of Jurnalists of Cuba (UPEC), Barbara Doval, explained that three similar regional meetings have been held in the country, attended by very talented, well-prepared youngsters, with a larger presence of men discussing the problems in the media from a gender perspective.

The Meeting on Gender and Communication is sponsored by UPEC, the Federation of Cuban Women and the Cuban Association of Social Communicators.(Prensa Latina)