"On the occasion of the main conference commemorating the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists in 2019, which was held in Mexico City, the Spokesperson of the Mexican Presidency announced the Mexican government’s commitment to improve the protection of journalists, incl
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uding by creating a Fund to support investigative journalism, which would be independently administered by UNESCO. This announcement came at a time where Mexican media were undergoing a crisis of sustainability generated by multiple factors, with many of them lacking the resources to provide reliable and quality information. However, this project had to be redesigned due to federal funds being redirected by the Mexican government to fight COVID-19. The project was therefore transformed in 2021 into a pilot programme to support investigative journalism in Mexico, which was made possible through the MDP. The pilot programme was also supported by seed-funding from the Mexican government along with additional funding from the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (INAI) and from the British Embassy in Mexico City." (Page 2)
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"[...] new legislation has been introduced that could have a detrimental effect on freedom of expression and access to information. This includes a “fake news” bill that was approved by the Senate in June 2020 and allows for the criminalization of certain online content, creates identification r
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equirements for online platforms account holders, and obliges private-messaging apps to retain communications. In May 2021, a new bill replacing the National Security Act was introduced, which contains provisions criminalizing “mass misleading communication”, and lacks protection measures for investigative journalists. Brazil was therefore added as a target country under the MDP in October 2021 with the aim of enhancing the safety of journalists, building on past experiences in supporting media in the region. Actions notably build on support to ABRAJI from the Global Media Defence Fund, through which ABRAJI is developing a local mechanism to monitor and report on gender-based violence against women journalists. These first few months under the MDP served as an inception phase, during which planning advanced for activities in 2022 and 2023. Future actions will be aligned with the Hague Commitment to Increase the Safety of Journalists, to which Brazil is a signatory, and will come to reinforce the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity." (Page 2)
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"The MDP has sought throughout the reporting period to assist in the implementation of Morocco’s new legal framework, while also supporting compliance to international standards. Actions build on previous work such as an agreement signed with the Ministry for the Reform of Public Administration in
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October 2017, through which an action plan was developed. The implementation of the ATI law was notably supported under the MDP between 2018 and 2021 through the training of Public Information Officers and the production of pedagogical tools, with the support from the highest levels of government. This resulted in the creation of a first cohort public information officers, who graduated in July 2019. In the aftermath of this activity, the Prime Minister of Morocco pledged his support to mainstream ATI within the government and to promote transparency and accountability. UNESCO also held advocacy meetings together with The Ministry of Economy and Finance and other institutions, and in particular with the Ministry of Interior that governs all civil servants at the regional and municipal levels to ensure the proper implementation of the ATI law. Support was likewise granted towards the alignment of Morocco’s media-related laws with international standards, including the law on audio-visual communication and the Penal Code. This was notably done in 2019 through workshops targeting CSOs and parliamentarians from the Commission on Media, Culture and Education. It was thus identified that members of the parliament had limited knowledge on international standards pertaining to freedom of expression and access to information. Engagement with MPs was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic and by legislative elections held in late 2021. Rebuilding engagement with incoming MPs in coming years will therefore be necessary to maintain interest in this initiative." (Page 2)
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"Yemen was added as a beneficiary country under the MDP in 2020, with the aim of promoting joint and/or coordinated media development actions to reinforce access to information and freedom of expression, both online and offline. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, activities had to be postponed t
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o 2021. In the meantime, the MDP organized a series of trainings for local journalists in partnership with Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalists (ARIJ) in response to the COVID-19 health crisis. In a country like Yemen, whose depleted health system is struggling, equipping local journalists with the necessary skills to best inform the public, raise awareness about the pandemic and fight against disinformation appeared as an urgent need." (Page 2)
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"From 2018 to 2021, the implementation of the MDP has been significant for the community media sector of Nepal. UNESCO has led continuous multi-stakeholder dialogue towards an improved framework for community media sustainability. This included the endorsement of the definition of community broadcas
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ting, the allocation of frequencies, ensuring ownership and participation of community members in radio stations, the establishment of an independent regulatory agency for media, and setting up an independent fund for the development of the broadcasting sector, with the aim of securing the government’s consideration. Duty bearers from federal, provincial, and local levels have themselves now become the advocates of community media friendly policy and a Mass Media Bill, currently under revision at the Ministry of Law and Justice, defines for the first time community radio and includes provisions for community radio operations." (Page 1)
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"The first component of UNESCO’s action in Mongolia under the MDP therefore aimed at promoting the recognition of community media in the national legal framework. During the reporting period, UNESCO has also been working to improve the technical and editorial capacities of managers, staff and volu
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nteers of nine community radio stations in Mongolia, with particular emphasis on digital broadcasting, including through various trainings. Finally, UNESCO has supported the association of community radio stations in Mongolia: CRAMO (Community Radio Association of Mongolia), which allows better sharing of resources, technical means and skills between its members." (Page 1)
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"The role of the media is critical for the future of South Sudan’s peacebuilding process, democracy and development. For this purpose, the Multi-Donor Programme has since 2018 supported the establishment of a safe and enabling environment for media through advocacy, awareness-raising, capacity-bui
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lding and policy advice. This support builds on past actions undertaken by UNESCO, such as advocacy towards the adoption of Access to Information, Broadcasting Corporation and Media Authority laws, the set-up of a national monitoring and reporting mechanism on media violations through the Union of Journalists’ Media Observatory, and the production of safety training modules adopted by the University of Juba, the Media Development Institute and the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS)." (Page 2)
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"Through the implementation of the MDP, UNESCO has sought to contribute to better democratic governance through improving freedom of the press and the quality of information available to the population in The Gambia. The “Support to Policy Development for Sustainability of Community Media in The G
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ambia” initiative specifically targeted community media, with the ultimate output being a policy that addresses their financial, technical and administrative needs to ensure their sustainability." (Page 1)
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"Burundian authorities have shown promising signs of substantive change by initiating the revision of the disputed 2018 press law, an exercise for which they requested UNESCO’s technical support. UNESCO’s participation in this process was made possible by continuous dialogue between UNESCO and t
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he Burundian Ministry of Communication on media pluralism issues, and particularly on the issue of community radio stations, an endeavour which has been supported by the MDP since 2018." (Page 2)
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"UNESCO has been a part of the community media development process in Bangladesh since the early days. While the support from UNESCO consisted initially in providing radio equipment to community radio stations, the MDP funded activities in the 2018-2021 period shifted the focus to the reinforcement
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of capacities, convening key stakeholders, and promoting networking and knowledge exchange among crucial entities." (Page 1)
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"This document reports on the implementation of projects approved by the 64th meeting of the IPDC Bureau (June 2020) and implemented in 2020-2021, and on projects approved as part of IPDC’s rapid response mechanism in January 2021. It also includes the implementation reports of several projects th
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at were approved by the 63rd Bureau meeting in June 2019 but whose implementation timeframe was extended until December 2021 due to delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is meant for the information of the IPDC Bureau Members and donors." (Page 1)
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"The Multi Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists focuses on two thematic areas with the objective of enabling a free and safe environment for a free, independent and pluralistic media, freedom of expression, access to information and the safety of journalists – what UN
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ESCO considers key components for the achievement of SDG 16. Through this, Member States can expand their typical interventions on Freedom of Expression, Safety of Journalists, Access to Information, Gender Equality in Media, MIL media viability and pluralism, and countering hate speech and disinformation to also address strategic elements at the sector-wide level. While this is not mandatory, it is expected that this more flexible approach to planning and delivery will strengthen UNESCO’s position at the country level and allow the Programme to be more reactive to country needs." (Page 4)
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"Among principles that should underpin policy choices are: a focus on systemic impact; particular attention on the areas where information poverty is greatest; platform-neutrality, while preferring platforms used most commonly; ongoing monitoring of developments in and around media at local levels t
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o deal with problems that may arise. Taking these principles into account, areas of possible support for local and community media include: 1. The development of an enabling environment, including legal and regulatory measures and the provision of back-end support in areas such as research, training and others. 2. Strengthening funding mechanisms, including a. indirect subsidy such as tax relief and the zero-rating of news websites; b. direct public funding, as exists for media in several countries; c. the fair use of government advertising, often a major factor in media economies in the Global South; d. commercial income and ways to support the access of local and community media to advertising markets; e. responding to the power of digital platforms, who need to make a fair contribution to local information ecosystems; f. improved co-ordination among international donor agencies in order to deliver greater impact, including support for the new International Fund for Public Interest Media; and g. the development of new business models that draw on diverse sources of income, with particular focus on direct audience support." (Summary)
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"The evolution of media towards mainly digital platforms has provoked a long crisis in their financing, often resulting in them being absorbed into large industrial groups seeking political influence. In the North as in the South, economic models for independent news and information need to be reinv
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ented." (Page 1)
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"While the Internet has offered the world unparalleled access to information, journalism as an industry is in crisis […] especially in Latin America, the possibility of making a living out of the desire to tell stories is increasingly shrinking. Media outlets suffer from the migration of private a
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nd public advertising to the Internet, a process that has empowered several intermediary companies that have almost monopolized the advertising industry. Hence, it makes sense to seek ways in which journalism as a paid, resource-intensive profession and business can survive amidst social, political, economic, cultural, and technological disruption. We also focus on the particular challenges in Latin American media systems, which often operate in a context of patronage, powerful media oligarchs, and the ever-important presence of a discretionary and arbitrary state." (Pages 2-3)
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"This study examines the framing of media and information literacy issues in media projects financed by the Latvian Media Support Fund and discusses the professional quality of media and information literacy (MIL) related content with project beneficiaries and media experts. The study uses the ideol
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ogical model of literacy, linking it with the meta-journalistic approach to explore changes in MIL-related journalistic professional epistemology. Employing the three datasets (journalists and editors’ survey, framing analysis of MIL-focused media content, and qualitative semi-structured interviews), the research concludes that MIL representation in the commercial media is mostly superficial, and the audience is not offered the range of MIL competencies appropriate for the contemporary understanding of the notion. MIL content in the media is represented using educational, warning, and formal MIL framing." (Abstract)
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"The stories presented here are some examples of how the Multi-Donor Programme for Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists (MDP) works to provide countries and their populations with the necessary tools to nurture a free and independent media. This includes promoting the adoption of policies
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and standards on freedom of expression and safety of journalists, and fostering diversity, gender equality and media and information literacy through and with the media." (https://en.unesco.org/themes/fostering-freedom-expression/mdp/stories)
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"1. It is of utmost importance to provide wider access to data sources on the sector, many of which are still confidential. This is particularly the case for baseline studies and ex-post evaluations of projects. The sector's learning process is hampered by limited access to data and contact persons
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[...] 2. In order to broaden the perspective, it is necessary to put an emphasis on learning from on-site actors. “Local ownership”, “trust”, or “participation”, for instance, are popular terms that hardly anyone involved in international media development cooperation projects would be opposed to [...] 3. It is also a priority to make failures much more visible and to be able to share not only successes, as a good principle of learning method. This makes it possible not only to react to rectify them but also to value them and act creatively [...] 4. While the online and offline lived realities can no longer be separated, research has to increasingly take into account digital spaces and practices as well as their interaction with offline spaces and practices (Schmidt-Lux & Wohlrab-Sahr 2020). Media development cooperation research, through its cornerstone "the impact assessment“, is trapped in the quantitative-qualitative methods debate [...] 5. More broadly, theoretical perspectives should also be renewed with critical and plural approaches: Who is theorizing media development cooperation, how and for what? The legacy of colonial hierarchies, and continuing postcolonial tensions are not only a topic in practical media development cooperation and in the collaboration between partners from different countries." (Lessons learnt and recommendations, page 9-10)
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"This article tries to show that media development work could be based less on the idea of cooperation, but rather be perceived as a dominance of foreign funding countries and their politics. Taking this view, the donor organisations’ perceived dominance in controlling the entire process and meeti
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ng their requirements seem to be more important than establishing relationships built on trust with the actors on site, and openness to adjust projects and funds to local needs on a more ad hoc basis. Based on a literature review and two case studies in India and Ghana, Elbers, Knippenberg and Schulpen (2014) explain why the approach to control often wins over the approach of trust; and what this means for development cooperation. According to them, the approach to control is based on the phenomenon of “development managerialism” where “[e]ffectiveness, efficiency and transparency became key principles” (page 1). Here, trust is replaced by indicators that can be controlled and measured to guarantee effectiveness and efficiency and justify funding decisions. At this point, it needs to be mentioned that donors and other funding organizations themselves have to be accountable to their central auditing authorities in their respective home countries. Thus, the focus on controlling the process at the expense of neglecting empowerment and autonomy of the recipients maybe beyond their control or intention." (Page 8)
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"International efforts aimed at developing a specific region’s or country’s media sector commonly involve both onsite actors (usually from the Global South) and external actors (usually from the Global North). Dependency theory suggests that onsite actors are (stuck) in a relationship with devel
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opment agencies and donors in which “Western” notions of journalistic ethics, communication and democracy are imposed on them – and not necessarily to their advantage. Bureaucratic imperatives and institutional dynamics especially within funding agencies have been identified as strong determinants of media development practice. Yet, recent empirical insights point to local actors’ ability to assert their own strategies in the face of donor power which can be interpreted as agency. Therefore, this paper suggests making use of structuration theory to get a clearer picture of how onsite actors enact international media development practice. Structuration theory acts on the assumption that social practice is produced and reproduced as part of a dynamic interplay between agency and structure. Applied to media development practice, it allows for the analysis of the intentions and motivations of the agents involved, the conscious or subconscious rules they act upon and also the allocative and authoritative resources at their disposal. Against this background, this contribution presents the methodological design and preliminary results of a qualitative interview study on how onsite actors in the target countries of international media development perceive and negotiate their scope of action. Online interviews were conducted with participants from various world regions such as Middle East, South Asia as well as South-East Asia. The results suggest that the cultivation of long-term relationships and a diversification of international partners allow onsite actors to strengthen their agency within international media development." (Abstract)
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