Promoting and Protecting Press Freedom & Freedom Of Expression In Nigeria


Home | About Us | Contact Us | Archives

  
 

THE GLOBAL FORUM FOR MEDIA DEVELOPMENT

October 1-3, 2005 – Dead Sea, Jordan

 

Bringing coherence and collaboration

to the worldwide movement for open and independent media

 

On October 1-3, 2005, representatives from over 300 media support NGOs, independent journalists, broadcasters and media activists will take part in the largest ever global gathering of the burgeoning media assistance sector. The Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) will take place in Jordan on the shores of the Dead Sea at the Convention Palace.

 

Why a Global Forum for Media Development?

 

The promotion of free and pluralistic media is critical to the establishment of civil societies in post-authoritarian and post-conflict countries. It is also central to economic and social development, the rule of law and human rights.  In the past two decades countless new publications, Internet sites, television, radio and satellite television channels have given hundreds of millions of people their first experience with alternatives to state-run media monopolies.  Media proliferation – via broadcasting, print and the Internet – has become a key driver of economic and cultural globalization.

 

Supporting the explosive growth of this new media are over 300 local, regional and international non-governmental media assistance organizations. These organizations have contributed to an extraordinary opening of democratic dialogue, providing hundreds of millions of citizens with access to information, without which they could not participate in emerging civil societies and democratic political development.

 

Yet as the media development sector has grown following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the wars in the Balkans, there has been very little coherence or coordination among the various stakeholders. Donor assistance is largely ad hoc, driven by the latest conflict or natural disaster, or designed to meet specific foreign policy objectives rather than provide the most needed help to local media outlets. Local media NGOs and independent media often face enormous challenges from government repression and the difficulties of long-term sustainability. Media organizations and those who support them sometimes work at cross purposes, resulting in wasted efforts. The absence of common guidelines and standards hampers training programs while international efforts are sometimes applied without adequate local and cultural adaptation. The development of open media law and broadcasting/ICT regulation to foster enabling environments for free and independent media are areas of increasing need.

 

An underlying cause of most of these problems is a lack of communication and cohesion among the various stakeholders. A common meeting ground and forum for discussion and resolution of these issues could have a profound impact on all of these problems.

 

GFMD Steering Committee

 

To begin to address challenges and opportunities facing the media development sector, a group of twenty media assistance organizations and experts from all parts of the world has joined together as the GFMD Steering Committee to bring this large and diverse movement together to find common solutions. In addition to organizing the Jordan conference, the Steering Committee will:

 

  • formulate open media policy papers;

  • jointly lobby donor governments for policies that enhance the long-term sustainability of independent media:

  • promote multilateral donor coordination;

  • improve methodologies for monitoring and evaluating media assistance projects; and

  • maintain a common database of media laws, information and best practices for all media NGOs. 

 

The organizations comprising the steering committee are:

 

GFMD Funders

The Global Forum for Media Development is made possible through the generous support of the Lodestar Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the United Nations Foundation, the Open Society Institute, UNESCO, and the Government of Jordan.

Contact Information

For more information on GFMD generally, please contact:

Susan Clay, Internews Network, PO Box 4448, Arcata, CA 95518, USA, voice +1 707 826-2030 ext 101, fax +1 707 826-2136, email sclay@internews.org

For more information on sponsorship of the Oct 1-3 GFMD Conference in Jordan, please contact:

JoAnne Sullivan, Internews Network, +1 (202) 833-5740 ext 208, email jsullivan@internews.org or Mark Harvey, Internews Europe, +44 (208) 853 8049, email mharvey@internews.fr

 

Coalitions

Partners

 

Home | About Us | Contact Us | Archives