Introduction

The Regional Media Resource Centre (RMRC) in Nepalgunj was established in 1996 with a view to promote development of media facilities and associated skills in the 19 districts of Rapti, Bheri, Seti and Mahakali zones. Over the years the centre expanded its programme in 24 districts covering Lumbini Zone as well.

The RMRC was an effort of Nepal Press Institute toward decentralization of training and support services of mass media in Nepal and in particular the rural sector. The Centre aims to develop an independent and pluralistic press giving emphasis on the capacity building of community media operating at various districts of Western, Mid- western & Far-western Development Region.

The main objective of the centre is to produce and develop skilled manpower as well as to make the mass media sector technically equipped through transfer of technology. It has launched various programmes to strengthen the capacity of the community media operating from 24 different districts of Western Nepal. Thus, developing support facilities for media sectors and providing training to journalists form an important role of this centre. The centre is always trying to provide opportunities to the journalists working in Moffusil.

A leading regional centre for the fulfillment of media resource materials and manpower for the promotion of free, well informed prosperous and democratic society.

1. To play a leading role in inspiring and encouraging media activities in Western, Mid western & Far-western regions of Nepal.

2. To help the journalists of the region become professionally competent through a package of programmes designed to impart knowledge and skills about all aspects of modern journalism.

3. To acquaint the media entrepreneurs with new technology options and latest equipment used in print and audio-visual medium.

4. To help working journalists identify the problems faced by the media sector and find out appropriate ways to tackle them.

5. To encourage women's participation in media services by providing access to training and other opportunities.

6. To make available news and features of national and international importance to the local newspapers and help them wide their access to various sources of information of contemporary issues.

7. To harness the potential of community and rural media in promoting attitude change and improvement in the quality of living by spearing heading social awareness campaigns, and advocacy in favour of women, children, environment conservation, population planning and health.

8. To explore the possibility of operating FM radio broadcasting as a free enterprise independent of government controls and materialize the concept of empowerment of the people.

9. To create an atmosphere of cordiality, mutual cooperation, mutual respect, goodwill and understanding among media professionals in the region.

10. To undertake income generating activities as feasible with a view to ultimately making the centre self sustaining.

RMRC believes in quality of work not just the quantity. As a result, it has organized 110 programmes on training, interaction, seminars, workshops and meet the press programme with success in the period starting December 31, 1995 to May 31, 2002. A total of 1282 persons working in the field of media have participated and benefited from various programmes organized by the RMRC-Nepalgunj. Amongst them about 78 percent (997-Male) were male and 22 percent (285-Female) female. Through its various journalism training it has given birth to many new journalists. Most of them are actively working in the media. Moreover, as a result of its acquaintance with new media technologies, many local media persons have benefited and developed their publication business in this region.

A ' Follow-up Workshop' organized on September 11, 1999 was very useful in learning ways to improve future activities and programmes. All the participants who had received training from the centre since its establishment attended the workshop.

Furthermore, RMRC-Nepalgunj organized 10 workshops in various sectors such as Programme Planning and Management on Media Personnel for Communication & Media Advocacy (CRC/CEDAW/GAD)), Health Reporting, Feature Writing, Economics/Business Reporting and Women and Children in Media. These workshops were organized with the objective of increasing effective participation of female and male media personnel and promoting quality media in the region.

As a part of the advocacy campaign, RMRC-Nepalgunj initiated one day 'Meet-the-Press Programme' with local/national journalists, social workers, and representatives of different development agencies, local people and other renowned persons. This programme is being organized in association with the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), local chapter, and local media institutions. In the period January 2000 to May 2002, it organized 21 such programmes. RMRC aims at conducting different programmes in future for the upliftment of journalism in the region. Besides, RMRC organized 7 interaction programs with different personalities of the society.

As an effort toward sustainability it has been organizing one and half months Basic Journalism Training, three-months Proficiency Journalism Training and other short and long term training by its own resources.

RMRC has been working with different partner organizations based in this region.

The centre organizes both short-term & long term training programmes with a view to making journalists of the region-professionally skilled in editing, reporting, editorial writing & newspaper printing.

Since its inception the centre has been organizing training programmes in proficiency journalism, basic journalism, development reporting, development journalism, investigative reporting, advertising and marketing, newspaper management, desktop publishing, advance level orientation for editors & reporters, marketing & management of media products, photo journalism, development journalism, journalism orientation for dalit/ ethnic minorities, media & human rights and environment journalism.

The centre organizes workshops on various fields such as economic reporting, feature writing, health reporting, community workshop, follow-up workshop. The duration of the training programmes range from 1 week to 12 weeks.

The centre organizes workshops, seminars and symposia on contemporary media issues with a view to auditing the skills and information of working journalists in the region. It encourages participation of local institutions in the dialogue with the centre through the medium of regular interactions like meet the press, press conference and interaction programme among local authorities.

The centre provides services, facilities and communication equipment to media workers and general public at concessional rates.

The Computer Room at the centre is equipped with scanner, laser printer and five computers, which provide services to media organizations in desktop publishing, designing and graphics support.

The centre also provides photocopy facilities to journalists at concessional rates.

The centre provides STD/ISTD trunk dialing, fax transmission at reasonable charges and also provides e-mail services. The centre has 3 guestrooms and is rented out to media workers and general public at consessional rate.

The centre has a television fitted with disk antenna and is capable of receiving and monitoring national as well as international TV programmes. Besides, radio sets are used in major News Programme Listening and Monitoring (NPLM). It also makes available portable cassette recorders and camera to reporters on demand. The revenue generated from these services is expected to be a reliable source of income for the centre in future.

A library and a reading room has been put up in the centre where local, national and some international newspapers are available for the benefit of journalists and general public. The library has a collection of books on journalism and communications and other selected topics such as management, environment, gender issues etc. Local institutions can also make use of the training facilities and equipment maintained at the centre for organizing short-term training, seminars, workshops, etc.

Regional Media Resource Centre-Nepalgunj has been regularly providing fellowship to the journalists from different regions for doing research and investigation on different issues. On the one hand; this kind of fellowship adds more encouragement to the journalists for writing after getting training and on the other hand relevant issues also get focus through reports and features articles.

Although the journalist propose for writing on different subjects, RMRC gives prority for the issues related with dalit, human rights, gender, environment, ethnic minorities, disabled and investigative kind of reporting. Female and disadvantaged ethnic minorities group are encouraged to write features and investigative reporting. RMRC provides about 20 fellowships annually.

Regional Media Resource Centre-Nepalgunj has been publishing its Bi-monthly publication on media trends, "Feature Service". This Bi-monthly bulletin is provided as a resource material for the publication to various mass media of regional and national level. Recently the centre has started to publish a monthly bulletin on 'Kamaiya', the bonded laborers, called 'Mukti' which literary means emancipation. Besides, it has been publishing Bi-monthly feature on different crosscutting issues like gender, dalits, ethnic minorities and disadvantaged groups, environment, and the disables. The published features are Samata, Parkhal, Utthan, Batabaran and Prerana, all in Nepali language.