Page 26 - DIVA_No.24_2006

Interview with Pat Banks, Co-ordinator and founder

of the Integrated Regional Information Network

Tihne(olrnifi:ag:lao'ie:R:egtw'oo'lraicl1tnxat."oo11bvwioa:ssiVy,eliytis":pvvoaly
(IRlrV) celebrated its to lielp with co-ordination,

tenth year of operation last but it gives people early

year. A paW of the United wanmg about wliat was

Nations Office for the Co- happeningand also wliat is

ordination of Huinan tlie likely progiiosis for

Activities (OCHA), yet inde- ceitaiii events. When I rea-
pendent, IRIAT was establis- ched Rwanda-it was post-
hed in 1995 to provide accu- Genocide in early 1995-I

rate and tiinely inforination felt ii'i that tliere had been a
about the Great Lakes crisis great deal of infonnation
so that the huinanitarian available indicating tliat
comiminiffl woxdd be better the tlu'eat of genocidewas

iidorined of complex situa- growing and also later

tions and events. Initiated as a when it was happeniiig.
textservice coveringRwanda, Maiiy people were saying
(Cffl
Burundi and the Dentocratic that there was not enorigh
Republic of the Congo infoi'mation and that it was not corinhy from withii'i tliat coun- conflict in DRC becaine more
(DRC),todaylRINisainulti- beingdissemiiiatediitthei'ight hy. Second, we were working and more sei'ioris and drew in
media hxunanitarian news way. I felt that we corild do with electronic mail. It was a more cotuiti'ies. So, from that
service covering six@-one better.SoI put a proposal toge- tiine wlien tlie e-mail system point all, we staited doing the

countries throughout sub- ther to look at how we corild was still veiy new. Ill Rwanda daily reports that yori see

SaharanAfrica, parts ofAsia help disseininate infoi'ination- there was frequently no elech'i- today.
and, since last year, the iinpoitant infonnation-to tlie city and no Intei'net connec-
Middle East. w'dest possible aridience in the tions. This made it difficult to Nairobi is still the main base.
l'iope that nobody would ever do the tliigs we wanted to do. We have an office for Sorithem
Over its years of operations, again be able to say tliat we did So we cliose Nairobi. Afi'ica based in Joliannesburg,
IRIN has evolved iido an not laiow that a genocide was aiid tliere is another one for
innovative news service provi- fomenting. That was tlie ratio- We were pi'iinai'ily looking at WestAfrica in Dalcar. We liave
ding news and analyses, )'7/111 nale for starting IRIN. tlmee cormh'ies: Rwanda, a sub-office in Abidjan and

docuinentaries, TVnews foo- Burundi and Eastei'n DRC another one in Libei'ia. We
tage, photo services, radio I was veiy luclcy. I was wor- where refugees had congrega- have a radio project office iii
training and coideid packa- lciiig for the Deparhnent of ted. From there, veiy quickly Angola. That's just forAfi'ica!
ges that focus O/I key huinani- Huinanitai'ian Affairs (DHA), iii 1996 as yori know, the DRC
tarian issues and emerging or wlfflch was the forei'uiiner of conflict became acute and also We are working now with
neglected crises. These servi- OCHA. Veiy foitiuately, they impacted on otl'ier counti'ies. Central Asia where orir office

cesare provided free of char- liked the idea of having this So many other counti'ies, both is in Ankara, with other smal-
ge to ensure the widest possi- infoi'nnation stiucture in across sorithemAfi'ica and also ler offices in Islamabad and
hie accessto tliis information. Nairobi aiined predoininately to the west, becaine iiivolved. Kabul. We liave just opened an

at the Great Africaii Lakes We expaitded the operations to office iii Dubai for the Middle
You are tlie person behind Region, since it would belp cover tliese areas too. When I East. We have a liaison office
IRIN. VVlxat was your inotiva- facilitate the flow of infoi'ina- started IRIN I did not really here in Geneva and another
tion? hon. have a vision of wi'iting many one iii New York. So, today,
reports-certainly not daily we have sixty-three staff mem-
I have always been an iiffor- hy did you choose Naimbi reports. The idea was we bers. In addition, in each of tl'ie
mation person. I was a jouina- and not somewhere else, such would look at the backgroru'id cointi'ies wliere we are not
list in my foi'i'ner life before I asAddisAbaba? infoi'ination. We would big present we liave a local cor-
joined the United Nations. together the infonnation that respondent. Tis means that
Then I joined CARE, working We were only concemed by already existed, making sure we have sixty-six local cor-
in camps in Thailand for refit- the Great African Lalces that it was accrirate,., and then respondents who submit sto-
gees coining from Cai'nbodia. Region. We needed to be close creatiiig a platfomi for sendiiig ries and infoi'ination and get
From there I joined the United to the Great Lakes, and to the it orit to a wider audience. paid for it. These "sh'ingers"

Nations in Ethiopia, and then counti'ies concemed. Etiopia Where there were gaps in the ensure a pennanent presence
went orit to other places, such was not at that tii'ne concei'ned. contextual background ' infor- on the ground in eveiy hot

as Sudan, Angola, Butitwasnotpossibletocai'iy mation, we would help people spot, as they enable IRIN to
Mozainbique and then even- out tlie operation from understand why things were continue repoiting directly
tually the Caucasus and then Rwandaeitherfortworeasons. happening. It became clear from areas where regular {JN
back to Rwanda in 1995. First, it is not easy to circulate very early on that there was a staff would not be allowed to
what is considered to be qriite need for a daily repoiting ser- go for security reasons.
I l'iave always felt that infor- sensitive infomiation about a vice, particularly as the