Overview  

South Asian progress is ever so often held to ransom by multifarious conflicts -- national, international, regional, caste, communal, ethnic – that stymie its efforts to rise above abysmal poverty levels and take its rightful place in global polity. In a crowded and often establishment-friendly media environment, all parties to a conflict rarely get to voice their opinions. Twenty four hour breaking news channels that lay down media trends fuel event based reporting rather than viewing the context, causes and underlying issues in a conflict situation.

Panos South Asia seeks to zero in on critical causes of conflicts and exacerbating factors, bring all the voices of all interested parties on board and instigate discussions and debate through the media on forward looking approaches that could lead towards reconciliation and resolution.

Currently PSA’s conflict programme focuses on some key hotspots in the sub-continent that either already are or could become major flashpoints for protracted warfare. It works intensively with the media in such areas in a bid to strengthen peace-building processes. The strategy is to provide interventions at all levels: at the entry point, mid career and at the very top and decision making echelons of the media for engagement with conflict scenarios.