UNESCO's Programme for the Development of Communication Reviews Support for 86 New Media Projects in Developing Countries
31-03-2004 (Paris)
UNESCO's Intergovernmental Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) is studying 86 media projects in developing countries and countries in transition during its current session at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, March 29 - April 2. The Programme provides financial assistance for the development of electronic, print and broadcast media.
The session will feature a thematic debate - open to the press - on the Promotion of Pluralism and Good Governance through Media Development (April 1 from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Room X) and the award of the 2003 IPDC-UNESCO Prize for Rural Communication (March 31, 5 p.m. Room X).
The IPDC is the only multilateral forum in the UN system to promote media development in developing countries. It provides funding from voluntary contributions by donor countries while working to secure a healthy environment for the growth of free and pluralistic media in developing countries.
An Intergovernmental Council, composed of 39 Member States and elected by UNESCO's General Conference governs IPDC whose Bureau consists of eight member states nominated by the Council. The Bureau meets annually to appraise, select and approve funding for media projects.
IPDC projects are wide-ranging - from a Pan African news agency to a women's television venture in a small Pacific island, from a regional media institute in Southern Africa to Nepal's first independent radio station. Since its inception in 1980, the IPDC has supported a total of nearly 1000 projects in 135 countries.
The present session, chaired by Torben Krogh (Denmark), will end on March 31 with the award of the US$ 20,000 IPDC-UNESCO Prize for Rural Communication. The prize will be given to one of the following five finalists:
"Projet Radio" of the Andrew Lees Trust (Madagascar), which since 1999 has identified methodologies for creating access to education and information in Southern Madagascar broadcasting to 350 villages, of which 95% of the population is illiterate. Programmes on health, food security and education are delivered in local language. It is currently being up scaled to reach 1000 more villages in the region.
Community Radio Madanpokhara Palpa (Nepal), a women's community radio Madanpokhara (CRM) developed out of a community project run by local women to meet local community networks. Members of the community are involved in the project through a wide range of forums, organizing themselves each month to decide on radio programmes based on the needs of their community. A network of 60 listener clubs and centres with strong participation from women, farmers and youth, makes an annual action plan to stimulate creative and sustainable development work in their locality.
Fara'a Rural Radio (Niger), which has set up a network of rural journalists recruited from local communities. They receive basic training on news and information gathering and processing, including radio production, and their work helps improve communication between the local population, government departments and development services.
People First Network Project (Solomon Islands), a growing communications network of solar-powered, community-owned and managed e-mail stations in remote and rural areas connected to the internet, which disseminates local content dedicated to basic needs, providing distance education and information to foster indigenous business development and encourage the participation of women in the information society.
Radio Toco (Trinidad and Tobago). Since its launch in 1997, Radio Toco, the first and only community-based radio station in the country, has been using news and interviews to inform and educate the community, promote development initiative, motivate women to become more proactive and support sustainable development.
The prize is awarded every two years to a person, group of people or one or more institutions or organizations for "their particularly meritorious and innovative actions aimed at improving communication and facilitating the participation of rural populations, especially in developing countries, in the economic, cultural and social life of their countries.
On April 1, the plenary session will finalize the choice of projects that the IPDC will support to be followed the thematic debate with the participation of: Valdas Adamkus, Former President of Lithuania and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Construction of Knowledge Societies; Kubashini Rama, Deputy Director of Genderlinks in South Africa; Professor Kwame Karikari, Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (Ghana); Nasim Zehra, an independent journalist from Pakistan; Jeff Lovitt, Director of Communications of the international nongovernmental organization Transparency International; and Narasinhan Ram, Editor-in-Chief of the Hindu, India.
The IPDC is the only multilateral forum in the UN system to promote media development in developing countries. It provides funding from voluntary contributions by donor countries while working to secure a healthy environment for the growth of free and pluralistic media in developing countries.
An Intergovernmental Council, composed of 39 Member States and elected by UNESCO's General Conference governs IPDC whose Bureau consists of eight member states nominated by the Council. The Bureau meets annually to appraise, select and approve funding for media projects.
IPDC projects are wide-ranging - from a Pan African news agency to a women's television venture in a small Pacific island, from a regional media institute in Southern Africa to Nepal's first independent radio station. Since its inception in 1980, the IPDC has supported a total of nearly 1000 projects in 135 countries.
The present session, chaired by Torben Krogh (Denmark), will end on March 31 with the award of the US$ 20,000 IPDC-UNESCO Prize for Rural Communication. The prize will be given to one of the following five finalists:
"Projet Radio" of the Andrew Lees Trust (Madagascar), which since 1999 has identified methodologies for creating access to education and information in Southern Madagascar broadcasting to 350 villages, of which 95% of the population is illiterate. Programmes on health, food security and education are delivered in local language. It is currently being up scaled to reach 1000 more villages in the region.
Community Radio Madanpokhara Palpa (Nepal), a women's community radio Madanpokhara (CRM) developed out of a community project run by local women to meet local community networks. Members of the community are involved in the project through a wide range of forums, organizing themselves each month to decide on radio programmes based on the needs of their community. A network of 60 listener clubs and centres with strong participation from women, farmers and youth, makes an annual action plan to stimulate creative and sustainable development work in their locality.
Fara'a Rural Radio (Niger), which has set up a network of rural journalists recruited from local communities. They receive basic training on news and information gathering and processing, including radio production, and their work helps improve communication between the local population, government departments and development services.
People First Network Project (Solomon Islands), a growing communications network of solar-powered, community-owned and managed e-mail stations in remote and rural areas connected to the internet, which disseminates local content dedicated to basic needs, providing distance education and information to foster indigenous business development and encourage the participation of women in the information society.
Radio Toco (Trinidad and Tobago). Since its launch in 1997, Radio Toco, the first and only community-based radio station in the country, has been using news and interviews to inform and educate the community, promote development initiative, motivate women to become more proactive and support sustainable development.
The prize is awarded every two years to a person, group of people or one or more institutions or organizations for "their particularly meritorious and innovative actions aimed at improving communication and facilitating the participation of rural populations, especially in developing countries, in the economic, cultural and social life of their countries.
On April 1, the plenary session will finalize the choice of projects that the IPDC will support to be followed the thematic debate with the participation of: Valdas Adamkus, Former President of Lithuania and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Construction of Knowledge Societies; Kubashini Rama, Deputy Director of Genderlinks in South Africa; Professor Kwame Karikari, Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (Ghana); Nasim Zehra, an independent journalist from Pakistan; Jeff Lovitt, Director of Communications of the international nongovernmental organization Transparency International; and Narasinhan Ram, Editor-in-Chief of the Hindu, India.
Related themes/countries
· Intergovernmental Programmes
· News Archives: 2004
· IFAP: News Archives 2004
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