Community Radio Broadcasters of Asia Pacific call for placing people’s communications rights at the centre of development

Bangalore, India, February 24, 2010. Community radio broadcasters from 20 countries of the Asia Pacific region have demanded to place people’s communications right at the centre of development.  The Bangalore declaration issued at the conclusion of the regional assembly of community radio broadcasters held in Bangalore, India from 20-23 February 2010 has also called for supporting initiatives that aid access to digital and other technological opportunities to enable community broadcasting in an ever-widening scale, while calling for creating spaces on the airwaves for
diverse and marginalized voices, irrespective of caste, creed, race,colour, gender, sexuality, faith, and differently-abled or other differences.

Over 300 Community broadcasters, activists, NGO representatives, academics, as well as  governmental and multilateral institutions participated in the regional conference organised by the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters AMARC in collaboration with VOICE, India. While analysing the situation and challenges to community radio, the conference reaffirmed the need for the oppressed and marginalized communities to take control over their own means of communication. Conference participants attended several knowledge sharing and capacity building workshops while engaging in networking with like-minded individuals and institutions from across the region.

The 2nd AMARC Asia Pacific Conference has committed to build alliances with grassroots and human rights movements for strengthening communities and the community radio movement and has put forward the rights of women, migrants, indigenous peoples and the poor. It has called for further recognition of Community Radio in the region as a tool for disaster preparedness, poverty reduction, inclusion, human rights, and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

A number of resolutions ranging from human rights violations in the Philippines, to removing the ban on news in the recently adopted India Community radio legislation and simplifying license application procedures to calling on the Government of Bangladesh to forward the process of granting licenses for community broadcasting, were endorsed by the conference participants.

A regional assembly of community radio broadcasters held on the 23rd of February 2010 elected the Asia Pacific Regional Board. The newly elected board of directors comprises of Ashish Sen, India as President, Maica Lagman, Philippines as deputy president, Shane Elson, Australia as Treasurer, Bianca Miglioretto, Philippines as Women International Network representative, Raghu Mainali, Nepal as vice-president for South Asia, and Imam Prakoso, Indonesia as vice-president for South East Asia. The assembly also ratified the strategic working plan of AMARC Asia Pacific
for 2010-2013.

Representatives Afghanistan, Australia, The People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, The Republic of India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos PDR, Malaysia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Philippines, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste, and observers from Africa, Europe and Latin and North America participated in the conference. The previous AMARC Asia
Pacific regional conference was held in Jakarta, Indonesia in November 2005.

Further information is available at:
http://asiapacific.amarc.org/index.php?p=2_Conference_Asia_Pacific_2010

For further information please contact
Suman Basnet AMARC Asia pacific Coordinator
Suman_basnet@asia.pacific.amarc.org