The two-day seminar provided a platform for discussion and exchange of experiences. Five round tables covered the following topics:


Despite the difficulty of defining quality of media information and preserving excellence under audience rates pressure, journalists’ training and development of critical thinking with high ethical standards were considered essential to ensure the quality of news reporting.

One of the seminar’s conclusions was: given that freedom of information is a right of every citizen, it is the government's responsibility to guarantee access to public information and to create transparent communication systems.

According to participants, it is the responsibility of the state to create a regulation system, licensing broadcast services and community media, which would allow citizens' participation and ensure greater diversity of voices. Several presentations showed this need in relation with the respective laws in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Participants discussed equal license shares for public and community media.

They also stressed that media had a key role in the formation of citizenship. To comply with this responsibility, they should be open to those social groups that are less represented in our society. In order to achieve citizens' empowerment, community media, instead of reproducing business models, need to act with professionalism and reflect the identity and culture of communities.