ASIATODAY.ID, MAKASSAR — The Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), in collaboration with Tempo Witness, with support from UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), is organizing a capacity-building training for Indigenous Community Journalists entitled “Enhancing the Safety of Indigenous Women Journalists Reporting on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Issues” in Makassar, South Sulawesi, from 18–21 May 2026.
The activity brings together 14 Indigenous women journalists from various regions across Indonesia, including Bali, Jayapura, Maluku, North Maluku, South Papua, South Sulawesi and Tana Luwu. The training aims to strengthen the capacity of Indigenous women journalists to address safety issues while they are reporting on Indigenous Peoples’ rights issues.
In her opening remarks, Ana Lomtadze, Head of the Communication and Information Unit at UNESCO’s Regional Office in Jakarta, emphasized the increasingly vital role of journalists amid rising global threats to press freedom and their safety.
“Free, independent, and pluralistic media are essential to making sense of the challenges surrounding us and to exercising our rights,” Ana stated in her online remarks.
She also highlighted the high level of threats faced by women journalists, including online violence and physical threats, which have serious psychological impacts and affect the sustainability of their profession.
UNESCO data shows that more than 70 percent of environmental journalists have experienced attacks or pressure, while around three out of four women journalists have experienced online violence. This situation demonstrates the urgent need for learning spaces and collective support systems for journalists, especially those working with vulnerable communities and Indigenous territories.
“This training is crucial because, ever since AMAN was founded, Indigenous Peoples have continuously faced various issues—such as discrimination, the seizure of traditional territories, and the imposition of policies on Indigenous communities that often harm them. On the other hand, we still lack documentation and media coverage regarding the actual situation in traditional territories.
Indigenous Peoples have long been labeled as “poor,” yet what must be recognized is the sovereignty and way of life of Indigenous Peoples who have safeguarded their territories for generations. Across nearly all Indigenous territories, communities continue to fight to defend their land, forests, and living spaces.
Therefore, the role of Indigenous Women Journalists is particularly vital in amplifying the lives and perspectives of Indigenous communities—stories that have rarely been published. What often emerges instead is discrimination, the seizure of indigenous territories, criminalization, and stigma against Indigenous Peoples. Through this training, we hope that Indigenous Women Journalists will become stronger in conveying the realities occurring in their communities,” said Tendri Itti, Chair of the AMAN South Sulawesi Regional Executive Board, in her opening remarks to the training participants.
The four-day training covers topics including legal and physical risks faced by Indigenous women journalists, digital security, psychosocial issues. The sessions will be facilitated by two trainers from Tempo Witness, Harry Surjadi and Agung Sedayu.
The initiative is part of UNESCO’s support to strengthen journalist safety and press freedom, while also supporting the development of safety standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Indigenous women journalists and the production of in-depth reporting on Indigenous Peoples’ issues.
Through this training, AMAN hopes to strengthen the network of Indigenous Community Journalists across regions and encourage the production of safe, critical, and community-based journalism that supports the rights of Indigenous peoples. (TR Network)
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