Ten years ago the creation of Integrated
Regional Information Networks (IRIN) marked the start of a quiet revolution:
one that has transformed the way the United
Nations manages information. Housed within
the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, today IRIN news offers editorially
independent coverage of humanitarian
situations across three continents.
In 1995, the idea of a UN agency writing,
and, within a few hours publishing a report
seemed inconceivable in a system where simple
press releases had to be vetted thought a
myriad of bureaucratic layers. Few thought
IRIN would succeed.
Initiated as a text service covering Rwanda,
Burundi and DRC, today, IRIN news spans 61
countries throughout Africa, Central Asia,
and the Middle East, with more to come.
Some 30 international and national reporters
and 65 local correspondents (stringers) work to
ensure first-hand coverage of events as they
unfold. Stringers ensure a permanent presence
on the ground in every hot spot as they enable
IRIN to continue reporting directly from areas
where regular UN staff are not allowed to go for
security reasons.
IRIN produces some 20 articles daily supplemented
by more in-depth coverage of key
issues that often cut across national boundaries.
Recently, these ‘special reports’ have
examined issues such as landmines, sexual
violence in conflict zones and the return of
refugees to their homelands.
While the initial service was aimed at
informing the humanitarian community, over
the years IRIN has also grown, both locally
and internationally, to service-affected populations
and more recently audiences in donor
countries and in many developing nations
through their respective medias.
Over the last decade diminishing returns and
the high cost of reporting on Afghanistan, the Iraq war and the Tsunami have led to bureau
closures and cutbacks in international media
coverage. As a result, wire services and TV networks
have dramatically cut their coverage of
Africa and Central Asia.
More and more journalists and editors are
turning to IRIN reports from which they extract
stories to share with their readerships. Recognising
the power of imagery, IRIN is revamping
its online photo gallery to make it user-friendlier
to media services, enabling them to download
quality images to accompany their stories.
As a natural extension of its documentary unit
and its media outreach, IRIN is also providing
news footage to TV broadcasters in donor countries
and in developing nations.
In many of the countries covered by IRIN, populations,
notably refugees and internally displaced
persons, live in an information vacuum, vulnerable
to manipulation and exploitation. IRIN is reaching
out to these populations through their local media,
and through its radio service which works closely
with local radio stations to improve access to and
quality of the stations’ reports.
Recognising both the power and vulnerability
of local media during a crisis, IRIN Radio
was created in 2000 and supports local partner
stations in a number of countries in
Africa and Afghanistan. Among its successes
IRIN counts the production of a soap opera
about life in a Burundian refugee camp in
Tanzania and national news-magazine programmes
on Angolan state radio.
In 2001, IRIN saw the need for a specialist
news service for people living with HIV/AIDS
in Africa and all those involved in fighting the
pandemic – thus PlusNews was born. Today
the service, offered in English, French and
soon Portuguese, is recognized as a leader in
the delivery of HIV/AIDS-related information
for Africa.
In 2003 IRIN produced a short feature film
on the plight of the Acholi people terrorized
by the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern
Uganda. The film and a subsequent book
focused on the abduction and brutal conscription
of children. Since then, IRIN has
produced several documentaries on issues
like the Darfur Crisis, the impact of opium on
the Afghanistan peace process and sexual
violence as a weapon of war.
As with all IRIN products these are provided
free-of-charge to humanitarian and
media partners worldwide to ensure they
remain informed and to assist them in their
advocacy efforts.
IRIN’s multimedia services and growing
geographical coverage are testimony to the
revolution’s success, one that looks set to
continue into its next decade.
To access IRIN reports, films, radio programmes,
photo gallery and free subscriptions
services visit www.irinnews.org. To
learn more, contact the IRIN Liaison Office in
Geneva, irinnews@un.org.
