Healthy democracy requires open communication. Independent and plural media are essential for a society where ideas and information flow freely – citizens to decision-makers, decision-makers to citizens, and citizens to citizens – and access to information and knowledge is non-discriminatory. In Mexico, a country with the largest and most varied indigenous populations in Latin America[1], Indigenous and community media play an essential role in achieving equality among its diverse peoples: they act as an accessible medium and enable community members to express themselves and make their voices heard in decision-making processes. Such media also play a key role in promoting dynamic cultural and creative sectors by providing access to a diversity of content, often rooted in ancestral knowledge, in a diversity of languages.
“Design of Public Policies for the Strengthening of Indigenous and Community Radios in Mexico and the Inclusion of Indigenous Content in Public and Commercial Media,” a UNESCO project supported by the European Union, has developed from these convictions. About 50 experts, licensees and officials from institutions related to community and indigenous media in Mexico and their issues are participating in this project, which aims to design policies and mechanisms to strengthen these media, in favor of their sustainability and the capacity development of the people who work there. This project also aims for community and indigenous media to produce and disseminate content not only for their own audiences, broadcast areas, and similar stations and platforms, but also for commercial, and public news media of national scope, so that the value of the different cultural expressions of indigenous peoples and other community groups is better perceived and appreciated across the country.
The current health crisis has further highlighted the necessity for indigenous and community media in order to realize a more sustainable, resilient, and democratic future. The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an information crisis, where citizens have had difficulty finding accurate information, understanding complex data, and determining the validity of the news. In this climate, indigenous members of the society can be particularly vulnerable, as “mainstream” media often disregard how these communities are affected differently and possess varying resources to cope with an emergency of this magnitude.
The novel coronavirus has also threatened rich and diverse cultural expressions across Mexico, safeguarded by members of the indigenous communities and created by indigenous artists across the country. As the lockdown measures accelerate the digital shift of cultural content, these non-mainstream, independent artforms risk being marginalized and left behind, often due to poor access to technologies or limited skills in using new digital tools. This resonates with the aspirations of the Los Pinos Declaration [Chapoltepek] adopted last February in Mexico which recognizes the need to strengthen support for the production and dissemination of original content by indigenous media. It calls for a greater presence of indigenous people in the media in general including an increase in the share of programmes in indigenous languages. The Declaration will guide the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Languages.
Today, the benefits of indigenous and community media are clearer than ever: they can save lives, empower active citizenship, safeguard cultural expressions, and contribute to more sustainable, democratic societies. UNESCO, together with the Presidency of Mexico and the European Union, works to amplify the voices of indigenous communities during crisis and beyond.
[1] Minority Rights Group International https://minorityrights.org/minorities/indigenous-peoples-4/
More information:
- Indigenous Peoples
- UNESCO Indigenous Peoples Bulletin
Issue 1: Indigenous Peoples and the COVID-19 pandemic (August 2020) - Watch the consultation roundtables of the Project (in Spanish)
- Launch of the consultation phase of the project in favor of community and indigenous radio stations developed by UNESCO, the EU and the Government (in Spanish)
- Installation of a national team for a project to strengthen community and indigenous radio stations led by the Federal Government and UNESCO in Mexico (in Spanish)