In order for journalism to foster sustainable development, media professionals require the right skills and equipment to develop communication strategies that serve their communities. However, capacity-building opportunities are often lacking. This project will therefore train community radio workers to implement communication strategies that promote sustainable community development and local participation. The training will draw upon UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators concerning professional capacity-building. The Model Curricula for Journalism Education: A Compendium of New Syllabi...
IPDC project priority: Community Media Development
Portsmouth, one of the most populous communities in Dominica, has limited access to media since there are no community-owned outlets serving that region and only limited low-cost options available. This project will therefore provide the necessary equipment and training to establish a community-owned radio outlet. The station is projected to reach over 6,000 listeners across the town of Portsmouth and its environs. It will empower citizens by enabling immediate and affordable access to information on relevant issues as well as the promotion of culture.
While there is a large and varied media market in the Caribbean region, most outlets are regulated by the state and are subject to defamation laws. Regional, national and international media workers’ associations have been advocating the relaxation of the libel laws across the region in order to facilitate more robust scrutiny of public officials. This relaxation process requires individual media markets and a code of practice so that a public complaints body can be established. This project will establish/strengthen media self-regulatory systems in the Caribbean region by developing a...
Since the creation of Radio La Voz del Minero in 1947, Bolivia’s miners’ radio stations have acted as important spaces for public participation, the defence of miners’ rights as well as for cultural and educational activities. Today, however, many of these stations lack communicators and producers. This project seeks to improve the management capacities of members of miners' radio stations by supporting training sessions concerning radio programming, production, management and funding as well as relevant legal knowledge, based on the recommendations from UNESCO’s Community Radio...
In a country that is highly dangerous for journalists, Internet has come to represent a safe space for journalism. However, a forthcoming law on blocking and removing content from the Internet poses a threat to freedom of expression, access to information and privacy. This project therefore seeks to formulate a safety manual to help media professionals better protect their rights and personal safety when using ICTs and the Internet. This guide will include the recommendations and implementation strategy of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity...
In 2013, the government of El Salvador established the Institute for Access to Public Information to sanction violations of the Access to Public Information Law. However, the general public - particularly rural citizens - lack awareness of the Institute and its mandate. The proposed project will therefore train community journalists in remote areas of El Salvador on how to educate the public on their rights and responsibilities regarding this Law.
Radio Peace recognizes the developmental power of radio and realizes that sustainable development calls for cohesive communities that are grounded in their cultures and traditions. However, the limited success of decentralization in Ghana has left many communities in the central region without a clear process for integrated community action. Preoccupied with day-to-day subsistence, most listeners of Radio Peace are unable to fully appreciate the links between quality of life and good governance. This project aims to promote access to communication media and the right to communicate to this...
This project will use the UNESCO safety indicators to research the safety issues impacting media practice in Liberia, which faces growing local and international concern. There will be a series of Monrovia-based expert interviews and focus group discussions targeting specific professionals with links to these safety issues, organized into four regional clusters.
This project is important given the current situation in Liberia. The last ten years have been characterized by peace and democratic renewal, with a growing number of media houses and improvement in media content as...
The media development in Sierra Leone has improved through the practice of plurality and liberalization with local newspapers and several radio stations country-wide. There are about eighty registered newspapers and only one public service broadcaster (SLBC) and about forty Community radio stations including Radio Bontico with various diversified radio programs for their targeted audience. Sierra Leone is a country that enjoys freedom of expression in its dissemination of information. The category of Media requested for support by this project is our rural community inhabitants whose...
Although Sierra Leone has seen a proliferation of new community radio stations, most of these stations were started and managed by people with little or no training in broadcasting. As a result, these stations lack experienced and adequately trained staff, which limits the production of well-researched, balanced and professional programming. In particular, most lack the skills to produce professional programmes on accountability/transparency issues targeting local government institutions.
In response to the need for citizens to be adequately informed about government...
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