Version en espaņol en camino.
English:
From Frieda Werden ([log in to unmask]):
As you know, the World Summit on the Information Society is coming up soon
-- the preparatory conference is in a few days. Community media groups are
working very hard to keep this from being just a WTO for media. Please
e-mail endorsements -- especially organizational endorsements -- of this
Community Media statement to Steve Buckley (President of AMARC -- the World
Association of Community Radio Broadcasters) E-mail: [log in to unmask]
If your group's endorsement arrives by the morning of September 15th, it can
be included in the printed statement distributed at the Prepcom.
--Frieda Werden, V-P North America, AMARC
P.S. Steve or I can send you an .rtf attachment that will print out
better-looking than an e-mail if you need one to show your group
([log in to unmask]).
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World Summit on the Information Society
WSIS Prepcom 3, Geneva 15-26 September 2003
WSIS Community Media Working Group
FINAL VERSION (open for endorsements, 11 September 2003)
Community Media and the Information Society
Statement on the draft Declaration and Action Plan
A just and equitable information society strategy must be people-centred,
inclusive, built on fundamental human rights and focused primarily on the
reduction of poverty. Traditional and new means of communication must be
focused on creating opportunities for people and communities to
participate in shaping their own destiny.
Much is promised by the information society - access to vital knowledge
for health and education, better information from governments and
corporations, electronic democracy, global trade and exchange, up to the
minute news. But the world's poorest communities face the danger of being
left out. The communication needs of poor people are compromised at the
highest levels by a vastly unequal access to the global communications
environment and by the absence of structural measures and commitments to
redress past imbalances.
Free and universal access to basic education and affordable access to
electricity are required before the world's poorest people can benefit
from new ICTs. Nearly one third of the world's population still do not
have reliable access to electricity. Basic literacy skills are lacking
for 20 per cent of the world's population, especially women and girls.
The most widespread and accessible communications technologies remain the
traditional media, particularly radio - an oral medium, low cost and
receivable by 90 per cent of the world's population. And the most
effective approaches to poverty reduction are community-driven and
empowerment oriented.
Community media are thus a vital means to enable public participation, to
strengthen cultural and linguistic diversity, to promote gender equity
and to bring about a more just and equitable information society that
includes the voices of the poor and the marginalised. We urge this be
reflected in the WSIS Declaration and Action Plan.
In particular, we are calling on government delegations to WSIS Prepcom 3
to make the following improvements:
In the draft Declaration
- include reference to the specific and crucial role of community media
In the draft Action Plan
- strengthen commitment to community broadcasting in country level
legislation
- strengthen commitment to spectrum allocation for community broadcasting
- support the establishment of an international Community Media Fund
Comments and Proposals on the draft Declaration (version 18 July 2003)
In the draft Declaration of Principles, paragraph 51 has not yet been
adequately formulated to reflect the essential role of media in the
provision of information and communication, nor does it reflect media
diversity and the importance of public service broadcasting and community
media. Freedom of expression is also worryingly compromised by phrases
such as "in accordance with the legal system in each country" which
represent an unacceptable weakening to the provisions of Article 19 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
The Declaration of Principles requires a much clearer statement on the
media, based on respect for the provisions of Article 19 of the UDHR and
recognising the importance of a diverse and pluralist media environment
including public service broadcasting and community media. This would
provide firmer foundations for the following series of points that we
consider should be made as specific commitments in the WSIS Action Plan.
Comments and Proposals on the draft Action Plan (version 22 August 2003)
We warmly welcome paragraph 6b in the draft Action Plan:
"6b) Public service broadcasting and community media have specific and
crucial roles to play in ensuring the participation of all in the
information society."
We are also encouraged by commitments in paragraphs 27, 41 and 42 of the
Action Plan:
"27a) Governments should support a generous allocation of frequencies for
local radio stations at affordable prices."
"41f) Give recognition and support to media based in local communities
and support projects combining the use of traditional media and new
technologies."
"42f) Encourage investment in regional and community-based media content
as well as new technologies."
Nevertheless we believe these statements can and should be strengthened.
The statement in paragraph 6b) should be reflected in an improved
Declaration of Principles and the commitments in the Action Plan need to
be more specific and measurable.
Country level legislation
The major barrier to the development of community broadcasting services,
is the country level legislative and regulatory framework. Many countries
provide specific legislative and regulatory frameworks that encourage
community broadcasters. Others retain legislative or regulatory systems
that restrict freedom of expression by preventing or discouraging local
communities from establishing their own community broadcasting services.
The draft Action Plan sets specific targets for access to the information
society including, for example, a commitment to Internet access in every
village by 2010 and in every school by 2015. These commitments, if
realised, would give the world's literate population access to global
information resources and communications capacity. They need to be
balanced by investment in the local communications infrastructure,
recognising that for the poorest people radio will continue to be the
dominant source of information.
We propose the WSIS should set specific targets for the opening up of
broadcast licensing to allow for the operation of community broadcasting
services in every community by 2010 and to ensure all of the world's
population can access community broadcasting services by 2015.
Spectrum allocation
The draft Action Plan recognises (paragraph 27a) the importance of access
to spectrum for local radio services but it includes no specific targets
nor does it address the importance of managing the radio spectrum in the
public interest to ensure a diversity of services.
The Action Plan should include an explicit commitment to ensure the
radio-frequency spectrum is recognised as a natural resource belonging to
all humanity and that should be managed in the public interest as a
publicly owned asset through transparent and accountable regulatory
frameworks. Regulation should ensure equitable access to spectrum among a
plurality of media including sufficient capacity reserved for community
media.
We propose the WSIS should set specific targets for the reservation of
spectrum to enable community broadcasting services in every community by
2010.
Community Media Fund
The draft Action Plan proposes a global ICTs for Development Fund but
leaves open how such a Fund would be deployed. There has been a strong
focus in the WSIS draft Declaration and Action Plan on building the
infrastructure, generally taken to mean the telecommunications
infrastructure for local and international connectivity. Private sector
infrastructure and content providers and some donor governments have a
strong interest in promoting public investment in infrastructure
particularly where this opens up new markets.
This is unlikely to address the needs of the poorest, mainly rural
communities, who face barriers of literacy, electricity supply and
affordable consumer equipment. A substantial portion of any investment in
ICTs for poverty reduction must be ring-fenced for community-driven
development and community communications initiatives based on the
principles of empowerment, inclusion, sustainability and appropriate
technology.
We propose the Action Plan should include a commitment to establish a
Community Media Fund by 2006. The Fund would support new community radio
development and community media content including projects that make
provision for the poorest communities, for cultural and lingistic
diversity and for the equal participation of women and girls. The Fund
should also support community projects that combine the use of
traditional media and new communication technologies. The Fund should be
established through a donor - civil society partnership involving leading
community media organisations and civil society organisations working in
this field.
Endorsements:
FEMNET, Africa
WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service
AMARC (Association Mondiale des Radiodiffuseurs Communautaires/World
Association of Community Radio Broadcasters)
Frieda Werden, Producer,
WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service,
Box 95090, Kingsgate
Vancouver BC V5T 4T8
Canada
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