Community Radio in Africa-Middle East and North Africa: Sharing Experiences for development and democracy building from the grassroots

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The First AMARC AFRICA-MENA Conference was succesfully held from 22 to 24 October 2007 in Rabat, Morocco and ended with the adoption of the Rabat Declaration.

The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) Africa, the UNESCO Office in Rabat and the UNESCO Chair in Public and Community Communication, jointly organized the conference entitled: Community Radio in Africa-Middle East and North Africa: Sharing Experiences for development and democracy building from the grassroots This gathering of community radio stakeholders, was an opportunity for more than a hundred broadcasters from the two regions to improve their skills, and reflect on ways to increase the social impact of community radio where it exists and to develop an enabling environment for community radio in countries where community radio is not yet established – particularly in the MENA region – by benefiting from the best experiences in Africa.

The conference reflected on how AMARC can most effectively contribute to increase the impact of community radio in Sub-Sahara Africa as well as how to transfer its rich African experience to the MENA region in order to strengthen community media as an important factor for democracy building.

The participants exchanged on the situation of community radio in their respective countries and on the contribution of the community radio concerning key issues such as the democratization of societies, the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), and the resolution of the conflict situations.

The main objectives of the AMARC Africa and MENA Conference were to:

• Review and evaluate the existing legislation, financing and content framework for community media, and define strategies to remove barriers to community radio development in Africa and the MENA region;

• Share experiences and define lines of action on how the AMARC network, NGO partners and multilateral institutions can best contribute to increasing the social impact of community radio in achieving development goals;

• Explore mechanisms leading to increased networking among community radio operators, NGOs and institutions to support civil society development and democracy building in Africa and the MENA region;

• Explore how best practices in Africa and elsewhere can be replicated or adapted for use in the MENA Region; and

• To define the best experiences and mechanisms to develop the Women’s International Network (WIN) across the Africa and MENA regions.

For further information:

• Jamal Eddine Naji, Chaire UNESCO-ORBICOM, Rabat. ()
• Grace Githaiga, President AMARC Africa ()
• Marcelo Solervicens Secrétary General AMARC. ()

Documents:

• Africa_MENA_Conference_concept
• Africa Mena Conference Agenda
• The Rabat Declaration
• The Amman declaration
• Training_for_Trainers_at_the_AA-MENA_Conference
• User_Guide_AMARC_Internet_Plateform_of_Exchange
• Articles_from_the_participants
• AA-MENA List of participants

Audio documents of the conference:

Inauguration

• Presentation and inauguration

Day 1: What Legislative framework for the establishment and the Development of Community Radios?

• Models and Challenges for legislation frameworks (Part 1)
• Models and Challenges for legislation frameworks (Part 2)
• Models and arguments for advocacy (part 1)
• Models and arguments for advocacy (Part 2)
• Workshop 1 : Legislations models : Case studies
• Workshop 2 : Diagnostic, challenges for Community radio advocacy

Day 2: Challenges to the Sustainability of Community Media and Community Ownership

• The barriers to the sustainability of community radios and the strategies to confront them (part 1)
• The barriers to the sustainability of community radios and the strategies to confront them (Part 2)
• The barriers to the sustainability of community radios and the strategies to confront them (Part 3)
• Community media ownership by the communities: The experiences of participation: (Part 1)
• Community media ownership by the communities: The experiences of participation (Part 2)

Day 3: What Content, for what objectives and what Impact?

• Synthesis of day 2 workshop on sustainability and ownership
• Why Community Media?
• What Contents are Relevant? (Part 1)
• What Contents are Relevant? (Part 2)
• What Impact and how to evaluate?

Conclusión

• The Rabat Declaration for the Development of Community Radio in Africa and MENA (Part 1)
• The Rabat Declaration for the Development of Community Radio in Africa and MENA (Part 2)

Links:

• AMARC Africa
• AMARC
• Chair in Public and Community Communication
• UNESCO and community Media

Partners :