[FoME] IPDC to develop indicators to promote free and pluralistic media

Fr Mär 24 11:25:25 CET 2006

24-03-2006 (Paris)

The Intergovernmental Council of UNESCO's International Programme for
the Development of Communication (IPDC) will launch a broad consultation
to develop indicators for media development. 

The development of such indicators will enable media professionals,
policy makers, development agencies, implementers and project proponents
to analyze the various elements of a media system and to identify areas
where support is essentially required. 

The IPDC Council held its 25th session at UNESCO Headquarters from 21
to 23 March. The meeting provided an occasion for the representatives of
the 39 Member States of the Council to discuss the activities of the
Programme, assess its achievements, and appreciate the important reforms
that the Programme has undergone in recent years. 

The report evaluating these reforms, conducted by a team of researchers
from the University of Oslo, was presented to the members of Council.
Member States expressed their satisfaction with the results of the
evaluation and praised the progress made by the IPDC, which according to
the report, "has put a remarkable effort in implementing the reforms
of working methods". They also reiterated the crucial role played by
the Programme in contributing to sustainable development, democracy and
good governance through the strengthening of media capacities in the
developing countries. 

The 25th Council Session proved once again IPDC's role as a forum for
reflexion and discussion among Member States, experts and professional
organizations. A thematic debate was organized in cooperation with
UNESCO's Information for All Programme (IFAP) on "Giving Voice to
Local Communities: From Community Radio to Blogs". Among the invited
panellists were: Jo Tacchi, Senior Research Fellow at the Queensland
University of Technology, Steve Buckley, President of the World
Association of Community radio Broadcasters, Alexander Neville, Director
of the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa
(PRAESA), and Daniel Simmons, of Article 19. 

As a follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS),
the Council also hosted a debate focusing on the World Electronic Media
Forum (WEMF), which was the most significant event held on media during
the Summit. Rodney Pinder, Director of the International News Safety
Institute (INSI), elaborated on the question of the safety of
journalists and suggested using journalists' safety as a possible
indicator of media development. Jean Réveillon, Secretary General of the
European Broadcasting Union, dealt more specifically with the outcomes
of WEMF. 

On the recommendation of the IPDC Bureau, the newly re-elected
Chairperson of the Bureau, Torben Krogh, presented the 2005 IPDC-UNESCO
Prize for Rural Communication to Malayala Manorama, a mainstream daily
newspaper published in Kerala, India. The US$ 20,000 Prize was
attributed in recognition of Malayala Manorama's innovative
communication campaign, "Pala Thulli", aimed at raising awareness
among the people of Kerala on the importance of water conservation as a
solution to the problem of droughts in the region. 

The Council session was widely attended by representatives of UNESCO
Member States, NGOs and professional organizations. It followed the
Meeting of the IPDC Bureau, which took place at the end of February,
during which 41 new projects in developing countries received funding,
for a total of over US$ 850,000.

Contact: W. Jayaweera, UNESCO, Communication Development Division 
Email: w.jayaweera at unesco.org 

Source: UNESCO 