"[...] FAO’s Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research and Extension (OEK) organized an Expert Consultation on Communication for Development: Meeting Today’s Agriculture and Rural Development Challenges, that was held at FAO headquarters from 14 to 16 September, 2011. The main purpose was to identi
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fy challenges and strategic actions to maximize ComDev contribution to the agriculture and rural development sector, while positioning it in the work of the Organization. The Expert Consultation was organized by the FAO ComDev team in collaboration with the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD). The event brought together 32 international ComDev experts and representatives from development agencies, donors, NGOs, communication networks, rural institutions and the academic community. Participants identified key challenges and strategic areas for ComDev support to agriculture and rural development (e.g. food security, innovation systems, climate change adaptation) such as capacity development for rural institutions and projects, interface with other approaches such as knowledge management, convergence between mass and community media, need for regulatory frameworks, and access to funding. Special attention was given to the need for documenting ComDev impact in the field and for mainstreaming ComDev into agricultural policies and programs." (Executive summary)
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"To summarize a very expansive set of standards and concomitant strategies, it can be said that the three main prongs to the Council of Europe's approach to countering "hate speech" are: (1) the prevention / prohibition / punishment of certain types of expression (e.g., incitement to hatred, racist
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expression); (2) the facilitation and creation of expressive and communicative opportunities for minorities; and relatedly, (3) the promotion of tolerance, understanding, and integroup / intercultural dialogue. By virtue of their agenda-setting and forum-providing capacities, the media are specifically implicated in many of the strategies employed, but in a way that is deferential to their operational autonomy." (Conclusion, page 497)
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This publication outlines four communication approaches used by United Nations organizations: (i) behaviour change communication; (ii) communication for social change; (iii) communication for advocacy; and (iv) strengthening an enabling media and communications environment. The second part provides
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an in-depth exploration of Communication for Development efforts within seven United Nations agencies, programmes and funds: FAO, ILO, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF and WHO, followed by case studies that demonstrate C4D in practice either as part of a larger project or as a ‘stand alone’ project contributing to the strategic objectives of the organization.
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"This review set out to analyse the Windhoek Declaration and its significance. Central to this has been the recognition of how journalistic idealism runs throughout the history since 1991. Independence, pluralism and freedom as Windhoek values that nourish journalism are not ends in themselves, but
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essentials for the quality of democracy and development in Africa. Windhoek has meant historic movement beyond the previous commandist situation to an acceptance that a mediascape monopolised by state-owned and government-controlled enterprises does not provide for society’s needs. There has been extensive rise of commercial-private, and to an extent of community-based, media platforms since 1991. But this wonderful progress since then should not blind us to the data which show that the contextual environment for journalism has taken a turn for the worse since 2000. More effort is therefore needed to establish and maintain enduring systems for journalism to thrive. But if it is a case of two steps forward and one back, at least we are still facing forwards as regards journalism, and have not turned around to face backwards." (Pages 32-33)
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"What has been the state-of-play for African media in the 20 years since the historic Windhoek Declaration of 1991 which gave rise to World Press Freedom Day every 3 May? And what can be expected over the next decade? More than 70 commentators illuminate the trajectory in a range of contributions in
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this book - covering the issues of media freedom, pluralism, independence and access to information. Journalists’ safety, gendersensitive reporting, and the role of the Internet are amongst the topics covered. In a nutshell, progress has been made since 1991, but much remains to be achieved. There’s a grave danger that the momentum of media freedom is slowing and even reversing in many countries. Meanwhile, the rise of new communications technologies puts pressure on African journalists to live up to their ideals more than ever." (Back cover)
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"OCHA uses communications to create awareness among target audiences (inside and outside the organization) about humanitarian emergencies, including natural disasters and complex emergencies, as well as their impact on vulnerable people. OCHA Communications Officers are charged with the task of brin
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ging humanitarian priorities to the world’s attention, seeking to create an operating environment that averts, or alleviates, human suffering and promotes the well being and protection of individuals and communities affected by or at risk of natural or environmental disasters or conflict [...] This handbook presents guidance on communications and provides specific information on Communications Officers’ roles and responsibilities. It also includes a section on engaging with the media, comprising rules and practical tips for OCHA media relations." (Page 1)
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"The year 2010 marks the midpoint between the Tunis phase of WSIS (2005) and the deadline for achieving the WSIS targets (2015), in line with the target date of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report presents a mid-term review of the progress mad
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e towards achieving the ten WSIS targets. The overall objective of the report is to provide policy-makers with a comprehensive assessment of the WSIS targets to date and, based on the findings, make suggestions on the types of policy measures required to meet them. The report also highlights the need for formal monitoring of progress towards achieving the WSIS targets. Currently, there are no agreed indicators for the targets which countries could use for monitoring purposes." (Executive summary, page xxi)
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"This collective report examines the principal dimensions of media policy in 14 European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and the UK), probing into the historical forces, national traditions and distinct politi
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cal and socio-economic contexts in which media policies have emerged and developed. The analysis explores the main instruments for media regulation in the countries under study, and assesses the implications of the established media policy strategies for democratic politics. The country chapters follow a similar structure. Following a brief introduction, the analysis focuses on the media landscape of the countries under review, offering an overview of the national media market (the press, broadcast media, online media and news agencies), as well as a discussion of the status of the journalistic profession and media literacy. The third section presents the major actors involved in media policymaking and proceeds with a succinct presentation and explanation of the national regulatory framework for the media, focusing mainly on structural and content regulation. The final section provides a critical assessment of the principal issues and trends that characterise the media policies of the countries under study, together with an assessment of the degree to which they enable the media to feed the democratic process. The report also contains a chapter discussing the media-related initiatives of the European Union and the Council of Europe, focusing on the interventions that are of relevance and importance to the protection and promotion of media freedom and independence." (Introductory note, page 10)
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"As a follow up on the Media and Development Forum, which took place in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) on 11-13 September 2008, the European Commission initiated this study to map out the projects and programmes which European donors have in place to support media development in Africa [...] Some 240 co
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ntacts were identified and sent the questionnaire. 148 responses have been collected. 200 projects/programmes have been identified and analysed. These projects/programmes amounts to a support worth more than 100m €. The projects/programmes involve 46 out of the 57 African countries. Training is the dominant activity area. More than 1/3 of the projects have training as the main content. Additionally, in many cases the training activities support other activity areas, like production of programmes, setting up of radio stations etc. Only one small project address education of future journalists. 152 projects (76%) address only one country. These projects include 36 countries (63% of the countries in Africa and 78% of the countries which have received support). The projects targeting only one country amount to 60.739.635 €, which is 60% of the funding recorded in the survey. Very few countries receive the majority of the funding. The three countries receiving support for more than 5 mil € receive 32,8% of the total support. The data indicates that the major part of the support goes to countries in conflict/post-conflict or democracy crisis situations. ¾ of the projects are implemented by non-African organisations/institutions. Regarding New Media, the analysis shows that mobile phones and the Internet are gaining importance in the continent because of the numbers of subscribers and access possibilities are increasing. Initiatives are taken in many countries to make these tools real means of communication as well as sources of information and evidence and channels of dissemination of information in several areas of development. Despite of this development, only very few projects address new media." (Executive summary, page 5-7)
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"For almost twenty years, United Nations peacekeeping missions have set up local radio stations in conflict-prone countries - 14 to date, seven of which remain in operation. According to this report, some of the fourteen peacekeeping radio stations implemented by the United Nations contributed more
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to democratisation and media development in certain post-conflict countries than any other media assistance programmes. Surveys have confirmed their popularity and credibility with national audiences, and local journalists have lauded their contributions to media diversity and journalism standards. Nevertheless, Bill Orme states that the UN radios were created without long-term planning. Upon disappearance of UN peacekeeping missions the stations were simply closed, therefore losing their positive effects on democratisation and plurality. Only in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Radio Okapi) were there serious attempts to continue the stations after the exit of the UN missions. Based on detailed description and analysis of the different experiences, Orme formulates a number of policy steps that would help UN radios to become lasting contributions to press freedom and peacekeeping." (CAMECO Update 2-2010)
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