Global Forum for Media Development Asia Regional Forum

(Colombo, July 4 -5, 2008)

By: Alonso Aznar

Consultant in Communication and Information
UNESCO
South Asia

I wish to express my gratitude to the Global Forum for Media

Development, the United Nations Development Programme, the
South East Asia Press Alliance Free Media Movement, Sri Lanka and
Panos South Asia for inviting UNESCO to this important regional
event.

1. Similarity of goals

“UNESCO will be the leader in pursuing the overarching objective

entitled “Building inclusive knowledge societies through information
and communication”, and will provide the lead for contributing to
two strategic medium term objectives: “Enhancing universal access
to information and knowledge” and “Fostering pluralistic, free, and
independent media and infostructures”1. These two objectives are
would require a whole 12-volume study and several days of analysis
for they encapsule the role of media in the modern society.

Reading the proposals put forward by the GFMD it is clear that the
Forum’s basic idea goes along the lines of UNESCO’s
Communication and Information Medium Term strategy and I reckon
that it is complementary to the economic and social development of
the media as the prime economic, cultural and social sector in
modern societies. This is particularly true with respect to creating a
democratic media culture; ensuring the development of a free,
independent, pluralistic and inclusive media. Furthermore –and
though I have not seen it clearly stated in the Forum’s documents –
the development of a true independent and people-oriented Public
Service including Community Media as the natural peoples’ platform
for their effective participation in the world’s communication flows.

The organizers therefore - and rightly so - suggested that UNESCO

should participate in the debates under the theme: What type of
media systems do we need to ensure free, independent, pluralistic
and inclusive media?

With regard to this question UNESCO - and the UN in general - have

already proposed a clear answer: all of them.

Indeed, whilst we live in a crucial moment when Technology

1
UNESCO Approved Programme and Budget 2008–2009 (34C/5) referring to professional
management of information and implementing national information policy frameworks of the
“Information for All” Programme

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Convergence is expunging the traditional borders of the media and

ICTs including mobile telephony, we realize that more and more
societies need a real Media Public Service the same way they need
national and local private and a community media, to palliate some
of the perverse effects of globalization, such as: cultural
standardization and social demobilization.

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2. Role of UNESCO

So, in regard to these enormous tasks what the United Nations

organizations are supposed to do? And what strategies are they
supposed to adopt?

First a basic true: their financial and operational means are not
enough to support media development at the international level.
Secondly – and this is a personal point of view – they should
concentrate in the in the assisting their member states in Policy
Making, Developing of Human resources and normative activities to
support the plurality and independence of the media instead of
trying to solve the massive needs in infrastructure in the developing
world. Consequently there is no need to intervene in capital
investment or other economic activities which would distort the
economic free market forces in media development. Yet how can
they intervene? In a very specific way: in the upstream processes.
UNESCO indeed by declaring that it strives for “Fostering pluralistic,
free, and independent media and infostructures” means business. It
is certainly at the level of policies and Regulatory Frameworks that
its role is most meaningful. For this, UNESCO has purposely
associated with the best institutions such as the, Article 19, IFJ, IMS,
Panos, and many others that complement and reinforce this action.
Not forgetting GFMD which has made a fantastic effort to develop
synergies among specialized NGOs and the Independent Media.

If one observes the disproportion between needs of South Asia in

the Communication and Information fields and the means put at the
disposal of the whole of the UN, we can only conclude that they
have to be very ingenious and focused to have a meaningful impact
in such adverse situation. In view of this how can they answer the
question: What type of media systems do we need to ensure free,
independent, pluralistic and inclusive media? The natural and logical
answer would be: Advocacy and intellectual cooperation.

3. UNESCO’s Association with the GFMD

In view of the above, it is therefore natural that UNESCO associates

itself with the aims and purposes of the Global Forum for Media
Development initiative since we are aiming at the same goals. In
particular to bring about a new communication environment that
provides answers to the qualms, desires and aspirations of an ever
more demanding society with economic, social, and cultural
unsolved issues. We therefore totally adhere to the declared aim of
this initiative to creating an environment of cooperation to share
best practices for the media and practitioners in the region.

However if the goals stated in this Forum’s documents is noble and

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constructive, positive criticism should be also part of the deal

among partners. In this respect and as far as the GFMD’s declared
objectives for the financing of global and regional initiatives, it is
important to note that the means proposed by GFMD partners,
should be refined and to put forward clear strategies for fund-raising
and advocacy based in the promotion and dissemination of research
and analysis that actually show the importance of the media as a
partner in development.

According to UNESCO’s experience in this field, the private as well

as the public and community media in the region lack of knowledge
of the impact of its own output and have only vague idea on what
their audience is. Indeed it is public knowledge among media
professionals in the region that most media in most countries in the
region do not know what the impact of their programmes and
products is. Therefore in the absence of quality control the media
and media professionals go the easiest way: “DJ radios” and Refried
TV programmes in the private broadcasting media and also - and for
reasons that are open to debate - for the Government/state media
as well. This has somehow obliged media in South and South East
Asia (as in other parts of the world) to mimic globalisation
tendencies coming from the international commercial media with
the corresponding advertising imperatives and reduction of
programme costs. For the audience –other than categories A, B and
C in urban settings- this is a dire situation for there is very little that
is offered for their own information, cultural, social and educational
needs. One can argue that media plurality and in particular
proximity media such as community radio, TV and print media, do
provide with an answer to this problem. But this is only a marginal
solution for, the so called “mainstream media”, will continue to
provide services as the ones mentioned before whose values are not
known and therefore rely on a hypothetical appreciation of global
trends.

After exam of the GFMD meeting documents we have a few questions and
suggestions:

In the formulation of theme 1 (“Creating a democratic media culture in Asia: what

type of media systems do we need to ensure free, independent, pluralistic and
inclusive media?”) the sub-issues should be clearer to respond to international norms
and standards and, as such, they should refer to “Universal Access to Information”
and “Regulatory framework(s)” since there are several issues that have to be taken in
consideration such as Codes of Ethics, Press laws, Freedom of Information Bills as
well as Public Service broadcasting Bills. Finally, a specific mention should be done
of Community-based media for, without which, independent and pluralistic
environment for the media cannot exist.

The formulation of theme 2 (“New media and effects on journalism and media

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development”) needs to elucidate what is meant by “citizen journalism” and

“Capacity of local journalists and media organisations”. Do they refer to community-
based journalism and training of journalists respectively? Clarifications of these two
points are necessary. This notwithstanding “Media and ICTs Convergent technology”
(including - and above all - the introduction of mobile telephony) could be an
otherwise important subject since this process has already started and is wiping out
traditional views on subsistence means for the media.

As far as the Forum results are concerned we would like to propose the adding of a
supplementary activity which is not quite spelled in the document and which is:
Design and creation of a best practices network for the media in the region
(including focus on Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, in addition to China, Laos and
Burma mentioned in the document).

I believe that the UN should be involved in this initiative since it responds to its
programme objectives especially in the areas of Human rights, Freedom of
Expression, Media Freedom and Governance. Further more a proactive participation
is necessary since, albeit the stated objectives and expected results, a conceptual
framework should be provided in terms of legal outlook and operational proposals
that can be provided by UNDP and UNESCO considering their deep and continuous
involvement in these subjects.

UNESCO is particularly well placed to provide this initiative with assistance in all
areas of their concern particularly with reference to Freedom of Expression and
Freedom of the Press. It can also assist in areas such as training of media
professionals (from the introduction of Model Curricula to specialised training like
Investigative and on-line Journalism) and policy making.

4. Media Impact linked to Advocacy and Fund Raising

The above is to say that, as long as media does not know its impact on the population
and can prove it, it would hardly attract investment for improving the quality of their
products. Neither would they be able to introducing innovation for audience
satisfaction. Consequently and following the stated objectives of this initiative, media
in the region should be in a position to know their impact and thus show it; especially
in communication for social change as a premise to advocacy and fund-raising. This
could be one of the ideas that the partners of this initiative could consider in their
plans of action. In this connection, and as a supplementary tool for measuring media
impact in developing countries, UNESCO has undertaken the task of defining Media
Development Indicators to determine the media development needs in developing
countries. The main research entitled: “Media Development Indicators: A Framework
for Assessing Media Development”2 was done within the context of the aims and
activities of the International Programme for the Development of Communication
(IPDC). This research was carried out under the premise that any attempt to measure
media development must embrace issues of both independence and access. For it
argues that “it is not just the absence of restrictions on the media that matters, but the
2
Document available at :
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/files/26032/12109261673media_development_indicators_framework_EN
G_FINAL.pdf/media_development_indicators_framework_ENG_FINAL.pdf

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extent to which all sectors of society, especially the most marginalized, can access the
media to gain information and make their voices heard.” Furthermore that “Limited
access to – or lack of engagement with - the media is a function of poverty and poor
education. It may also be caused or exacerbated by language, gender, age, ethnicity or
the urban-rural divide.”

For these simple reasons it contends that there is a clear need to promote information
and media literacy.

The corollary of this analysis is the need for state intervention to promote a media
environment characterized by freedom of expression, pluralism and diversity, with
laws restricting media freedom narrowly defined and limited to those necessary in a
democracy, and with legal provisions that ensure a level economic playing field. This
requires provisions for public and community-based media as well as private media.

5. Professionalisation, Media professionals and Shared Learning:

One of the main points of interest for UNESCO is the improvement of media
professionals’ skills. We are therefore very happy that the Forum’s agenda includes
these subjects as key priorities for action and discussion and we are really looking
forward to be part of the debate and keen to learn about innovative proposals in this
respect.

UNESCO’s priorities in the field of Communication and Information include on top

of its concerns the building the professional capacity of media workers, both
journalists and media managers, through academic and vocational training and the
reinforcement of professional associations.

In this regard its programme has identified several ways of application which include
cooperation with Professional Associations and academic institutions for developing
Model Curricula to assist Academic and vocational institutions to adapt their teaching
methods to the new realities of media development; especially, within a rapidly
changing media environments as a consequence of the introduction of ICTs. Likewise
to measure the impact in the way the Communication Sector approaches the
production, processing and distribution of media products.

It is true that in most developing countries the public and private sectors have
established their own training institutions for media workers and that the output of
these institutions has increased considerably in the majority of these countries. The
only problem is that the training is mostly very basic and important areas of study
such as investigative and ethics of journalism have not been properly covered
producing two main problems: low skilled journalism and provoked the respective
repression by the system. Specialized training and skills upgrading are therefore a
constant concern for UNESCO.

There are however initiatives in developing countries that are growing in parallel to
the introduction of internet and that is the sharing of best practices that we reckon as a
major element for the improving national media capacities. UNESCO has therefore
the mandate to carry out capacity-building of media professionals supported through

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establishment and strengthening of networks of media training institutions to offer

high-quality training. This includes setting criteria of excellence, provision of training
facilities, training of trainers, and development of training modules in disciplinary
knowledge.

6. Peace and reconciliation in conflict and post-conflict areas

UNESCO will continue its long-term programme actions to strengthen the role of
communication and information in fostering mutual understanding, peace and
reconciliation, particularly in conflict and post-conflict areas, and to develop and
strengthen free, independent and pluralistic local media in post-conflict as well as
post-disaster countries as a measure to consolidate peace, reconciliation and assist in
reconstruction efforts. This action will seek to strengthen strategic partnerships with
United Nations system partners, professional organizations and media NGOs and, of
course, GFMD.

7. Conclusion

At this forum we came as partners and to listen to proposals that could enrich our
programmes and to amplify the impact of our own programmes. In this regard I don’t
think is too repetitive to say that each and every one of us - as individuals and as
institutions - has a share of responsibility with regard to The Millennium
Development Goals in which the media has an extremely important role to fulfil
especially in the reduction of people living in extreme poverty Finally if we affirm
that independence and pluralism in the media are in fact preconditions for democracy
to flourish, we have to make proof of this assertion and strive for it in our every day
work.

Thank you.