[WSIS CS-Plenary] CYPRUS COMMUNITY MEDIA DECLARATION

Wed Nov 16 12:13:51 GMT 2011

WSIS-C9

CYPRUS COMMUNITY MEDIA DECLARATION 

19 November : Nicosia, Cyprus 

We the participants of the 1st Community Media Forum Europe Conference and General Assembly, held in Nicosia, Cyprus, 17-19 November 2011, 

- Recalling Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; 

 - Recalling the Commission Communication of 20 December 2007 on a European approach to 

media literacy in the digital environment (COM (2007) 0833);  

- Recalling the 2007 study commissioned by the European Parliament on 'The State of 

Community Media in the European Union'  

- Recalling the European Parliament resolution of 25 September 2008 on Community Media in 

Europe (2008/2011(INI));  

- Recalling the Council of Europe Declaration (Decl-31.01.2007E) of the Committee of Ministers 

on protecting the role of the media in democracy in the context of media concentration;  

- Recalling the Council of Europe Declaration (Decl-11.02.2009) of the Committee of Ministers 

on the role of community media in promoting social cohesion and intercultural dialogue. 

Define Community Media in Cyprus as: 

- Non-profit making and politically independent, engaging primarily in activities of civil society 

and/or in the public interest;  

- Accountable to the communities which it seeks to serve, providing accurate and fair 

information; 

- Open to the creation of content by civil society and members of the community, fostering a 

spirit of active participation and volunteering;  

- Serving clearly defined objectives which always include social value and contribute to 

intercultural dialogue;  

- Promoting effective dialogue and interaction between citizens and their elected 

representatives, with the aim of strengthening democratic participation in decision-making;  

- Strengthening media pluralism by providing a variety of perspectives on issues that lie at the 

heart of the communities served;  

- Improving the media literacy of all communities through their direct involvement in the creation 

and distribution of content, and building up skills that can be used for further community media 

participation;  

- Encouraging innovation, creativity and diversity of media content; 

- Strengthening cultural and linguistic diversity, social inclusion and local 

identity, which reflects the diversity of the community media sector;  

- Promoting intercultural dialogue by educating the general public, combating 

negative stereotypes and correcting the ideas put forward by the mass media regarding communities 

within society threatened with exclusion;  

- Playing a significant role in media skills training programmes involving external organisations, 

including universities, and community members, and acting as a valuable hub for work experience; 

demonstrating by example that the training of individuals in media production and editing skills 

provides useful and transferable skills. 

And declare that: 

 - The Right to Communicate is a universal human right which serves and underpins all other 

human rights, and which must be preserved and extended in the context of rapidly changing 

information and communication technologies; 

- All members of society should have just and equitable access to all communications media; 

- Respect for pluralism, cultural, language, faith and gender diversity should be reflected 

through all media as a fundamental element of democratic societies;  

- Access to the means of communication must be supported by education and training to assist 

a critical understanding of the media and to enable people to develop their own media and 

communication literacy and skills;  

- The market economy is not the only model for shaping communications infrastructure. 

Citizens must be seen as producers and contributors of information and not be defined solely as 

"consumers";  

- Community Media is a positive force in reconciliation on the island and inclusion of all 

communities into a multicultural Cyprus.  

We call on the relevant authorities and independent agencies to: 

- Consider Community Media as a complimentary, grass-roots solution for increasing media 

pluralism; 

- Recognise the community broadcasting sector as an additional and essential form of public 

service broadcasting, promoting freedom of expression and access to information;  

- Recognise Community Media as a distinct sector, operating in a pluralistic media landscape 

alongside public and commercial media;  

- Make analogue and digital television and radio frequencies available to Community Media with 

awareness of the social value they provide; 

- Facilitate an enabling environment for Community media through the provision of funding 

and/or other forms of financial assistance. 

We call on the media in Cyprus to: 

- Recognise Community Media as an additional component of the media landscape that 

enriches debate and offers alternative perspectives for issues relevant in society; 

 - Work collaboratively and in partnership with Community Media and civil society, sharing media 

platforms and providing broadcast airtime to civil society-produced content;  

- Recognise the benefits of working together and producing joint content, with 

the aim of providing information in the most accurate and fair way, and to showcase 

the island's diversity and culture; 

- Recognise Community Media as a model for cooperation in the media of a future post-solution 

Cyprus. 

 We call on civil society to: 

- Take greater ownership of Community Media, and recognise the benefits it can offer towards 

amplifying unheard voices and messages; 

 - Participate more actively in Community Media activities, and collaborate more effectively as a 

sector with the aim of facilitating positive social change. 

We call on educational institutions to: 

- Support partnerships with Community Media institutions through research; 

- Provide students with academic credit in exchange for Community Media-focused internships; 

- Incorporate Community Media within curricula, and encourage delivery of courses by local 

Community Media practitioners and researchers; 

 - Share media facilities, technologies, equipment and broadcast services to joint productions 

with Community Media actors. 

We call on the private sector to: 

- Embrace and partner with Community Media actors in public/private strategic partnerships; 

- Provide direct financial and in-kind support to Community Media as part of their Corporate 

Social Responsibility

----------------------------------------------------

_______________________
AHM. Bazlur Rahman-S21BR
[MSS in Government & Politics, Legislative Development Fellow- USA]

Chief Executive Officer
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication
[NGO in Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council]

Lifetime Member : Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC)
Member              : American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
Member               : Bangladesh Amateur Radio League (BRAL)
Member               : World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)
Member               : Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) 
Member  : Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education 

House  : 13/1, Road: 2, Shaymoli, Dhaka-1207 Bangladesh
Phone  : 88-02-9130750, +88-02-9138501, Cell: +88 01711881647 
Fax  : 88-02-9138501-105
E-mail  : ceo at bnnrc.net, bnnrcbd at gmail.com 
Web  : www.bnnrc.net

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