Communication rights are crucial to the World AIDS Campaign

 Image from Over One Billion Served - Conceptual Photography from People's Republic of China

Message from the President and the General Secretary of
the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC)
on the Occasion of the World AIDS Day

1 December 2010

Communication rights are crucial to the World AIDS Campaign

On World AIDS Day 2010 we express gratitude to the members and partners of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) for their efforts to advance communication rights that help prevent the stigmatisation of people living with HIV and AIDS.

Significant progress in achieving universal access to HIV treatment, care, prevention and support in some countries is reported in Towards universal access published in September 2010 by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Many agree that even greater progress is possible if universal access to care and prevention are understood as a fundamental human right. According to the World AIDS Campaign, “linking universal access to human rights helps bring the HIV diagnosis and treatment issues into existing fora and before world leaders who are already committed to pursuing a human rights agenda.” A rights-based approach “gives more credence to the international agreements related to human rights and their precedence in international law.”

In its own work, WACC has found that communication rights are essential to promoting universal access to HIV and AIDS treatment, care, prevention and support. Communication rights empower people living with and affected by the virus to express their needs, to make their voices heard, and to take charge of their own lives.

As an example we highlight WACC partner Fondation Solidarité Familiale in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which embarked on a campaign to publicize national law 08/011, enacted on 14 July 2008 and which upholds the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS with the aim of combating all forms of stigma and discrimination.

Another partner, Groupe Chrétien contre le Sida in Togo, is placing the spotlight on a little known national law enacted to protect people living with HIV and AIDS against stigma and discrimination.

A third partner, the Christian Council of Ghana, is contributing to efforts to increase knowledge in communities in the Greater Accra Region about the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS. New knowledge on the right to a life free of discrimination aided Regina, a project beneficiary, to successfully challenge a landlord’s threat to evict her from a rental home because of her seropositive status. Information on the legal supports in place made it possible for Regina to stay until the end of her tenancy agreement.

Creating awareness about such laws is a first step towards providing people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS with the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about their lives. Such decisions bear directly on their possibilities to access treatment, care, prevention and support.

Let us together find more intentional approaches to advance communication rights that challenge stigmatisation and discrimination and save lives. The World AIDS Campaign needs communication rights.

Dennis Smith DD (hon) WACC President

The Rev Karin Achtelstetter WACC General Secretary

Community Radio Helps During Hungarian Emergency

Three days after a storage reservoir at an aluminum company burst, flooding the town of Devecser, Hungary, with toxic mud in early October, several community radio stations pitched in to form Közös Hullámhossz Hírszolgálat.

KHH Hírszolgálat, a temporary emergency radio station, initially launched without a license in Ajka and later in Devecser.

The station is now run by media students from Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem, a Catholic university, under a temporary license. The students are editing and reading newscasts, collecting interviews and broadcasting live local events working 20 hours a day despite frequent problems, ranging from Internet dropouts to power failures.

The first temporary license for the station expired on 21 November, but KKH Hírszolgálat is looking for a one-month extension because the state of emergency remains in effect in Veszprém county.

Local programs are produced at temporary studios in the Devecser parish church; the station antenna is atop the church belltower. Other programs originate from the studios of Best Rádió in Ajka. 

Community Art Project to Save River Bed

   

SANTA FE—The Santa Fe Art Institute, in coordination with  Bill McKibben’s 350.org, is spearheading the New Mexico  FLASH FLOOD for a living river project, which is one of five  U.S. sites out of 20 global locations. Joining forces with an  incredible list of community partners, the SFAI is recruiting  3,000 community members to carry and flip blue-painted  recycled cardboard to compose a FLASH FLOOD in the dry  bed of the Santa Fe River, which has been designated as  one of America’s most endangered rivers. The art action  and aerial design will be visible and documented from outer  space via satellite, from the air by award-winning cinemato- grapher Doug Crawford, and from the ground by still cameras,  video cameras, and thousands of individual cell phones and  cameras. The FLASH FLOOD satellite images will be  projected worldwide alongside the 19 other global aerial  designs as part of the Cancun Climate Change Summit,  November 29 – December 10, 2010. In conjunction with the FLASH FLOOD project, there is an open call  exhibition, which will open at the Pre-event party on Friday night 11/19  at 5pm at the SFAI. Artists wishing to participate must deliver work related  to water issues in New Mexico that is no larger than 4’ x 4’ to the SFAI by  3pm 11/15 and must install and de-install their own work. For more info,  please contact the SFAI at (505) 424- 5050. Ongoing on Tuesday and Thursday evenings until the event are  cardboard painting workshops at the SFAI. We have paint and cardboard  to use, but also welcome any blue paint and cardboard the community can  donate. These events are free and open to the public. Our newest partner,  Santa Fe Trails, has offered to provide shuttle service to and from parking  areas near the SanYsidro site, to reduce parking nightmares and congestion!  This art action is an amazing example of a community coming together for  a common good. Santa Fe Mayor David Coss says of the project, “The Santa Fe River  sustains the people. The People need to sustain the Santa Fe River. This  great project is a true demonstration of the connection between our  community and our river.” SFAI director Diane Karp adds: “Working together with all our amazing  partners, the Santa Fe Art Institute is honored to have "FLASH FLOOD:  for a living river" chosen as one of the twenty art actions world wide that  will address environmental stress and climate change for the Cancun  Climate Change conference.” “Our many languages and cultures, histories and perspectives merge  in this fabulous community art project to focus on the Santa Fe River  and its importance for us all. Art can make the difference that makes  the difference.” For more information about this event, please contact: Alysha Shaw at alysha.shaw@gmail.com or (505) 795 8096 Michelle Laflamme-Childs at mchilds@sfai.org or (505) 424 5050.

Letter from Seoul:Mediact

Thanks to many people's support..... Mr. Hee-moon Cho, the chairperson of KOFIC has been recently fired by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Toursim. (as of Nov. 8, 2010) He was absolutely responsible for all the problems and regressions that KOFIC has caused during last 1 year. So this dismissal surely means a victory when seen from the film/media movement's perspective but we need to see who will be the next person to take charge after him.  And moreover, KOFIC's 2011 budget plan contains many serious problems including total budget cutting of film production support for independent films and art films. MCST/KOFIC is also planning to run the media center and independent film theaters for themselves based on the low performance of these facitilies this year. This means a regression in terms of autonomous governance model of these public facilities, which used to be run by civil society so far.  And KOFIC doesn't seem to have enough capability of running these public media facilities well, either. So judging from KOFIC's current budget plan, it seems that 2011 will be another tough year.

2.
Mediact is doing their best to survive and keep a hopeful spirit. Now we are trying to be more systematic in building a more sustainable operating structure and expanding our supporters and fundraising/revenue sources. For example, we are trying to get the status of "preliminary social enterprise" so that we can get fund from the Seoul City government. We are also contacting Mapogu local government if they can fund our activities, too. Of course, these are done with the perspective of advocating and strengthening public media policies and buidling networks with local civil organizations...

We are also keeping our eye on the 2011 budget of Korea Broadcasting and Communications Committee esp. regarding their participatory/citizen media related activities. Recently they have submitted 2011 budget plan which contains budget cutting of public access program by 40% from 2.5 million USD in 2010 to 1.5 million USD in 2011...

And besides working for winning public funds, we are also considering fundraising from the private sector such as enterprise sponsorships.We are considering over the implications and terms of these sponsorships...

We are also trying to expand our individual supporters. We have now reached 120 regular donors who submit a monthly payment. I hope you guys can spread the word and recommend your friends for possible monetary support for MediACT using fb MediACT 3.0 Cause page.
http://www.causes.com/causes/496849
http://www.mediact.org/web/etc/pop_sponform5.php

And celebrating our 200th day of survival since the re-opening in Sangam-dong, we are having a little event with our supporters on December 19th, 2010.  (Actually the exact date of 200th is Nov. 29 but we needed some time to prepare for the event because we wanted to involve our community members in the preparation stage.)  On this day, we will be holding a flea market and a screening of films made by Mediact students.

So these are some of the current news about Mediact and its struggle. Hope this was of interest to you and please forward the message to those who would be interested in.
best regards,
jihyun kim
Media policy and research dept.

MediACThttp://www.medioact.org/

La Tribu

Venezuelan Government Begins Distribution of 350,000 Laptop Computers to School Children

by Juan Reardon

Mérida, November 17^th  2010 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government this week distributed the first of an additional 350,000 portable laptop computers to be provided to public elementary school children by the end of the year.

In the Caracas neighborhood of El Paraíso on Tuesday, Minister of Education Jennifer Gil, presided over the ceremony in which 109 Canaima computers were handed to first and second grade students at Mario Briceño Iragorry Elementary.

“The Canaima Plan is a milestone and a technological innovation. It allows us to keep deepening our integral and massive education system that does not involve just students, but the entire family environment, parents, representatives and teachers,” stated Gil at the event. 

According to Gil, the Venezuelan government has invested BsF 700 million (US$163 million) this year in the acquisition from Portugal of the kid-friendly Canaima laptop computers, 228,000 of which have already been distributed this year. The goal for 2010 is to distribute a total of 525,000 Canaima computers.

During his weekly televised address to the nation on Sunday, President Hugo Chávez announced that all public schoolchildren are to be secured a portable computer, school uniforms, and books.

In reference to an educational program available on the laptops that portrays Venezuela’s liberation hero Simón Bolivar, Chávez said that, “it is much better [that the children] watch these historical and cultural programs than the narco-soap operas filled with anti-values and the destruction of society.”

“Only in socialism is it possible to make real the rights of children, the rights of the people, to an improved quality of education and standard of living,” affirmed Gil.

The Canaima Program began in mid-2009 as part of an oil trading agreement between Venezuela and Portugal. The laptop computers run on the open source operating system Linux, and the educational programs and software included in them is designed by Venezuelan engineers at the Ministry of Education and the National Center for Information Technology (CNTI).

While in Portugal last month, Chávez announced the purchase of an additional 1.5 million Canaima computers as well as plans to install a Canaima production plant in Venezuela.

Andean Meeting of Radio Communicators

AMARC10 Conference Sets High Objectives for Community Radio Movement

13 November 2010, La Plata, Argentina. The tenth Global Conference of Community Radio broadcasters, AMARC10, hosted by AMARC Argentina, gathered together more than 500 community radio broadcasters and stakeholders from 87 countries in la Plata, Argentina, in what was the first global conference to be held in South America. Speaking in the closing ceremony of AMARC 10, María Pía Matta, the new president of AMARC, called for increased solidarity for persecuted community radio broadcasters and deepening the social impact of community radio to face the challenges of humanity in the 21st Century.

The weeklong conference participated by grassroots broadcasters and activists and well-known freedom of expression advocates and communicators; adopted the la Plata declaration, elected the members of the international Board of Directors of AMARC global network; gave, in its sixth edition, the solidarity prize to the Haitian community radios for their role in supporting the population after the February 2010 earthquake. AMARC 10 also adopted the strategic lines of action for 2011-2014 assembling in part the rich content exchanges and recommendations from plenary, seminars and workshops on reinforcing the social impact of community radio in development, democratization and recognition of diversity of societies; on creating enabling environments for community radio development and; on ensuring social, economic and political sustainability of the sector at local, regional and international levels.
The new board of directors of AMARC following AMARC 10 is composed by:

                  Maria Pia Matta, President, Chile.
Emmanuel Boutterin, Deputy President, France.
Franklin Huizies, Treasurer, South Africa.
Marcelo Solervicens, Secretary General.
Maria Eugenia Chávez, Vicepresident for the Women International Network, Mexico.
Ashish Sen, Vicepresident for Asia-Pacific Region, India.
Oumar Seck Ndiaye, Vicepresident for Africa, Senegal.
Carlos Aparicio, Vicepresident for Latin America & Caribbean, Mexico.
Sony Esteus, Vicepresident, Haiti.
Silvia Richardson, Vicepresident, Canada.
Wilna Quarmine, Vice president, Ghana.
Sawsan Zaida, Vicepresident, Jordan.

The AMARC 10 Conference ended in the locality of Moron in symbolic homage to the memory of Argentina's disappeared during the latest military dictatorship in Argentina and recalling the importance of communication rights in building democratic societies. For further information, please visit http://amarc10.amarc.org
About AMARC:
AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving the community radio movement in over 110 countries, and advocating for the right to communicate at the international, national, local and neighbourhood levels. AMARC has an International Secretariat in Montreal. It has regional sections in Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific and offices in Johannesburg, Buenos Aires, Brussels, and Kathmandu. For more information, please contact us atsuman_basnet@asiapacific.amarc.org

Hofstra Communication Students Visit Democracy Now! Studio

Amy Goodman with journalism students from Mario Murillo's Hofstra class during a visit to the studio of the daily news program, Democracy Now!  

An educational component has been added to this important news program: journalism and communication students can visit the studio and watch the preparation of the morning news program, and speak with the producers and technicians.  This is not the mindless circus that the NBC Today Show holds at Rockefeller Center each morning, but an opportunity for an in-depth look at the research, preparation, graphic design and guest interviews  of one of the most respected news organizations in the world.  In addition of meeting the dedicated staff of Democracy Now!, the students often meet the world leaders who are interviewed live on the program.  Interested teachers and international visitors should contact Democracy Now! for information.  http://www.democracynow.org/get_involved/education

Journalists Held After Covering Safa Village Arson

Hebron – PNN - Israeli forces held a group of journalists who tried to cover Wednesday’s settler assaults in the village of Safa, near Hebron.

Archive

Muhammad Ayad Awad, media spokesman for the Palestine Solidarity Project, said that troops detained a Palestine Television crew including Fada Nasir and Mahmoud Khilaf, as well as a group of solidarity activists. They were forbidden from taking pictures of the fire started in Safa by Israeli settlers from nearby Bat Ayin. The fire reportedly destroyed more than ten acres of olive and almond trees.

According to Awad, the military’s explanation was that the burning acreage was a “closed military zone.”

Source: Wafa (Palestine News & Information Agency)

From http://english.pnn.ps/

http://english.pnn.ps/

Last night settlers from the Bat Ayn settlement set fire to 70 olive trees in the Saffa region of Beit Ommar. The trees belonged to the Thalji Aady family, who have been subject to frequent settler violence and military harassment. The fire was lit around 9:30 pm, and burned for 3 hours before fire trucks from the village were able to extinguish the flames. At 11:00 pm 3 military jeeps arrived and attempted to prevent villagers from extinguishing the fire, arresting 3 Palestinian youth in the process.

Settlers from the Bat Ayn settlement frequently destroy trees belonging to Palestinian farmers in Saffa, and several farmers have been violently attack. A series of settler attacks in 2009 left several farmers wounded and hundreds of trees destroyed. The Israeli army regularly denies the farmers access to their land, which they claim is Israeli state land despite the fact that all of the farmers have ownership documents.

For the past two weeks solidarity activists have been arrested accompanying farmers to their land in Saffa, and tear gas was shot at a larger group of supporters that joined the farmers last Saturday. Farmers who went to their land in Saffa without international accompaniment on Tuesday were detained in their land for five hours and threatened with arrest if they returned.

KOAST RADIO SET TO MAKE WAVES IN NORTHUMBERLAND, UK

People in Northumberland’s most heavily populated area will soon be able to listen to a new community radio station which eventually plans to broadcast to 140,000 homes.  The fledgling Koast Radio station aims to offer a lively mix of music and talk, and help bridge the gap between public authorities and deprived communities in Blyth, Ashington, Cramlington and Morpeth.

It has just secured a £10,000 grant the National Lottery, Awards for All to help pay studio and equipment costs, and expects to receive a further £20,000 to £25,000 in the next couple of months.

The Koast Radio board has identified its own studio premises in Bedlington, and in about 5 weeks’ time people should be able to listen to its first output online, via its website.  The station hopes to run two or three trial radio broadcasts early next year, before applying for a full-time FM licence from Ofcom later in 2011.

The Koast Radio website is currently being set up in readiness to stream content by the end of November or early December, but the long-term aim is to take to the airwaves with a mixture of 70% music and 30% talk.

Station manager Vicky Oakley, 38, who lives in Bedlington, gave up her job as an auditor with the county council in July to spearhead the project.

Radio bosses say the station aims to ‘make a difference’ to South East Northumberland and provide volunteering opportunities for disadvantaged teenagers and unemployed adults and are forging links with local councils and other statutory bodies.  Yesterday Vicky said:

“I believe there is definitely a real need for a community radio station in this area.  We want to bring communities together and feel this fits in well with David Cameron’s idea of a Big Society. We aim to bridge the gap between the authorities and local people by having debates and phone-ins about the issues, and make things more accessible in south east Northumberland.  The area seems to have gone backwards, there is less hope around and we want to try to make things better.”

Koast Radio will look to work with local people, who will be given the chance to volunteer for roles both on and off-air. It is targeting 14 to 19-year-olds, from disadvantaged backgrounds, to help unleash their creative potential.

The station will also look to help adults who are unemployed, have not had a proper chance in life or who simply want a change of direction.

Vicky said:

“The online streaming will be our initial lifeline until we obtain a full FM licence. I gave up my job at the county council because I didn’t think I was making a difference any more. I believe this radio station can make a massive difference.”

From Journal Live:

PEOPLE in Northumberland’s most heavily populated area will soon be able to listen to a new community radio station which eventually plans to broadcast to 140,000 homes.

The fledgling Koast FM station aims to offer a lively mix of music and talk, and help bridge the gap between public authorities and deprived communities in Blyth, Ashington, Cramlington and Morpeth.

It has just secured a £10,000 grant from a national funding body to help pay studio and equipment costs, and expects to receive a further £20,000 to £25,000 in the next couple of months.

The Koast FM board has identified its own studio premises in Bedlington, and in about 10 weeks’ time people should be able to listen to its first output online, via a website.

The station hopes to run two or three trial radio broadcasts early next year, before applying for a full-time FM licence from Ofcom later in 2011.

The Koast FM website is currently being set up in readiness to stream content by the end of November or early December, but the long-term aim is to take to the airwaves with a mixture of 70% music and 30% talk.

Station manager Vicky Oakley, 38, who lives in Bedlington, gave up her job as an auditor with the county council in July to spearhead the project.

Radio bosses say the station aims to ‘make a difference’ to South East Northumberland and provide volunteering opportunities for disadvantaged teenagers and unemployed adults.

Read More http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2010/09/14/new-radio-station-set-to-make-waves-in-northumberland-61634-27261355/#ixzz15kXP2UQ1

Yesterday Vicky said: “I believe there is definitely a real need for a community radio station in this area.

“We want to bring communities together and feel this fits in well with David Cameron’s idea of a Big Society. We aim to bridge the gap between the authorities and local people by having debates and phone-ins about the issues, and make things more accessible in south east Northumberland.

“The area seems to have gone backwards, there is less hope around and we want to try to make things better.”

Koast FM will look to work with local people, who will be given the chance to volunteer for roles both on and off-air. It is targeting 14 to 19-year-olds, from disadvantaged backgrounds, to help unleash their creative potential.

Read More http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2010/09/14/new-radio-station-set-to-make-waves-in-northumberland-61634-27261355/2/#ixzz15kWtcqR1

The station will also look to help adults who are unemployed, have not had a proper chance in life or who simply want a change of direction.

Vicky said: “The online streaming will be our initial lifeline until we obtain a full FM licence. I gave up my job at the county council because I didn’t think I was making a difference any more. I believe this radio station can make a massive difference.

“We will work with community groups, the police, local authorities, health service and other voluntary organisations who can use the station as a platform to communicate messages to the whole area.”

West Bedlington Town Council has donated £500 towards the website and funding bids have been made to other local town and parish councils.

Read More http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2010/09/14/new-radio-station-set-to-make-waves-in-northumberland-61634-27261355/2/#ixzz15kVhu1QF

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East Timor Radio Journalist at AMARC Meeting

AMY GOODMAN: Democracy Now! is here in Argentina for the tenth World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters conference, an annual meeting of hundreds of community radio stations from around the world. It’s taking place this year just outside Buenos Aires in a city called La Plata. Among the broadcasters in attendance is Prezado Ximenes from Radio Lorico in East Timor. Nineteen years ago today, in the Timorese capital of Dili, he survived the Santa Cruz massacre, in which Indonesian soldiers gunned down more than 270 Timorese at a cemetery called teh Santa Cruz Cemetery.

PREZADO XIMENES: My name is Prezado Ximenes. When the massacre at Santa Cruz happened, I was 15 years old. So, at the moment, I also participated in the demonstration at the Santa Cruz place. When the Indonesian military tried to shoot the demonstrators, I got out from the Santa Cruz one minute before the shooting. So I survived, because I am—maybe this is my lucky.

AMY GOODMAN: Did you know people who were killed?

PREZADO XIMENES: Yeah, I know some of my friends.

AMY GOODMAN: It’s now 19 years later, and you’re back in East Timor. You live in Los Palos, and you run a radio station.

PREZADO XIMENES: Yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: Why is radio important to you?

PREZADO XIMENES: I think because through radio, I can express out what people think, what people feel.

AMY GOODMAN: Did you ever think East Timor would be free when you were on the road near the Santa Cruz cemetery on November 12, 1991, just before the Indonesian military opened fire?

PREZADO XIMENES: At the moment, I feel empty. I just feel afraid. But I have a big, big dream that we will get independence.

AMY GOODMAN: Timorese radio broadcaster Prezado Ximenes, speaking about the Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor that took place on November 12th, 1991. He is a survivor and now here in Argentina for the meeting of AMARC, hundreds of community radio broadcasters from around the world who have gathered to talk about the future of community media.

Communication Rights and Human Rights

Ashish Sen at the 2010 AMARC Conference in Argentina:

Challenges for community radio in the 21st century: 40 principles for Plurality and Diversity

In several parts of the world Community Radio is at the crossroads. Even as communication rights are ever increasingly articulated as pillars of human development, the implications of the 40 principles for Plurality and Diversity remind us that community media/radio has a long way to traverse and has substantial challenges to address in the near future. If the Plurality and Diversity principles hold forth challenges to the current global media scape– they have particular relevance for community radio. Underlying these principles is their resonance with the fundamental importance of communication –whether perceived from the Right to Communicate and/or Communication Rights perspective.

At the base of these principles lie three cross-cutting factors: access, which provides the crux of the challenges that confront community radio today: access, inclusiveness or inclusion and equity. How can we address these?

The good news is that community radio is increasingly being perceived - irrespective of ideological contrasts - as an important player in development. This is borne out by changing legislation recognizing community radio as a part of the media landscape in more and more countries. The flip side is that the details of the legislation often indicate restrictions that also at variance with international norms and standards like the above-mentioned principles and prevent community radio from living up to their potential.

In South Asia, community radio is a recent player, but it has already begun to demonstrate the promise of social transformation. Countries like India have put a three tier media/radio structure – public, private and community in place, but have imposed a ban on news broadcasting. The Bangladesh policy is similar. Nepal has a much older and vibrant community radio tradition, but the policy does not distinguish between local and community radio blurring a distinction that compromises the potential of purpose and performance. In parts of South Asia, there is a mushroomingof hundreds of “legal” community radio stations as in countries like Indonesia, but in the absence of clear cut regulation mechanism they remain unlicensed.

There are larger and related implications. How equitable is the sharing of the spectrum – of the air waves? Airwaves have been increasingly upheld as “public property”, but the spectrum ratio is often skewed against community broadcasting in terms of cost, allocation, and access. True, there are examples to contrary especially in South America. But these are the exceptions. How can we reverse this especially in a climate of increasing media corporatisation? In many parts of the world community radio has been articulated as being a voice of the voiceless. But articulation needs to be appropriately “actioned” through enabling policies.

In several countries in Asia, there are moves to put a Broadcast Act in place. There are concerns voiced about cross media ownership. However when push comes to shove, we find that community spaces are increasingly put on the back burner. In my country the Broadcast Bill has been debated several times since the mid 1990s. It has yet to be ratified. Further, in its latest avatar, community radio is not even mentioned.

There are other challenges that need to be addressed. Attacks on Community Media/Radio journalists have also increased across the region. There are also challenges within the sector related to infrastructure, community involvement, content development and regulatory framework. Increasingly, community radio stations find themselves vulnerable to the criticism of „ngoisation.‟ On the other side of the coin, the sector to face the challenge of digitalization. The promise of digitalization is manifold. However this should not be reduced to a debate of digital versus analog, but worked through a framework and a prism of access, inclusiveness and equity.

These are complex issues which need resolution. How do we tackle the m strengthen on air diversity and pluralism?

Nearly 300 community radio practitioners, advocates and production groups who participated at the Bangalore AMARC Asia Pacific Regional Consultations in February

2010 recommended a 10 point agenda for the development of community radio in the region which are summarized below:

1. To have a distinct and clear definition of community radio;

2. To recognize community radio as a distinct sector and acknowledge its contributions to societies and communities;

3. To legitimize Community Radio/ or give it legal status;

4. To open up of the airwaves/frequencies to Community Radios, on an equitable basis: from 20 to 30 percent of frequencies;

5. To urge governments to provide financial and technical support to Community Radios ;

6. To support sustainability of Community Radios through initiatives like a community radio fund;

7. To remove unreasonable restrictions in terms of technical (power) and editorial policies such as the ban on news ;

8. To simplify licensing procedures,

9. To provide guidelines, mechanisms and funding for development, reform, research and development, and capacity building; and

10. To ensure protection of community radio journalists. These recommendations have relevance for other regions as well.

AMARC provides a unique space to amply these concerns and strengthen the voices from the margins. At AMARC 10 we need to see how we can put steps in place to ensure the journey from the precepts of the Plurality and Diversity principles to their practice

Ashish Sen, India