[cma-l] Community Media and European Policy: Workshop and Panel Discussion, Halle, 12-14 March 2009

[Salvatore Scifo]

---Apologies for cross-posting---

Community Media and European Policy: Workshop und Panel Discussion

März 12-14, 2008, Halle (Saale), Radio CORAX/Mitteldeutsches Multimediazentrum (Mansfelder Straße 56)

Organized by: medien ost e.V.
Supported by: Staatskanzlei Sachsen-Anhalt, Aktion Mensch (dieGesellschafter.de), Medienanstalt Sachen-Anhalt, Mitteldeutsches Multimedia Zentrum GmbH, 
Radio CORAX, Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE)


The medien ost e.V. invites to an international workshop aiming at networking and exchange on the status of Community Media (CM) in the European
Political Sphere.  The workshop will be held from March 12-14, 2009, in Halle. Knowing about the growing interests in non-commercial broadcasting 
media offering open access noticeable in the European Parliament or in the Council of Europe politicians, representatives of CM and European, national 
and regional organizations will discuss the potential and the perspectives of the third media sector in Germany as well as in Europe as a whole. 
The workshop will be in English, the panel discussion will be in German.

Besides the public service and the private commercial broadcasters private non-commercial  broadcasting media play an increasingly important role in 
most of the European countries. They offer free access for social minorities and local communities, for individual, experimental and unusual approches 
to media. They forward the intercultural dialogue and communication across borders, the regional identity or the political discourse on the current status 
and the future of our society.  There are thousands of CM working in Europe including a number of more than 100,000 active volunteers. 
Community Media mean in this context most of all radioand TV, whereas plenty of initiatives broadcast via internet as well or even exclusively because 
of not having broadcasting frequencies. In Germany the CM-sector contains the non-comemrcial local radios (German: NKL) and - with some restrictions - 
the open channels (OK).

The motives and the profiles of CM are very heterogenous - on the international, national and even on the regional level. But they have common features:
a relatively open access, a high level of participation, ownership by the communities, openness for minoritiy-issues and -formats, an important role of 
social, political and cultural volunteering and active citizenship: CM are part and expression of the civil society. In the political institutions of the 
EU and in the Council of Europe CM had been eking out a shadowery existence for a long time - in spite of the growing importance of the European political
level for the national and regional political regulation in the fields of culture, education and media. But durung the last two years a number of 
activities and reports first of all in the European Parliament and in the Council of Europe have been initiated which aim at the improvement of the 
political and economical status of the ‚third media sector’.

The workshop is to contribute to a better state of information on CM and to involve existing organizations and associations like the Community Media Forum 
Europe (CMFE) and AMARC, which play an increasingly important role in the European media policy and which regularly provide information on the sector on a 
European or even global level. The workshop will also offer an opportunity for the exchange of knowledge and experience across borders among acitivists 
coming from community radio and -TV-stations. It will contribute to the debate on the characteristics and potential of CM and present selected projects 
and approaches from CM as examples of ‚best practice’. Finally, relevant conditions for CM will be discussed on the European and on the national level, 
including the general question about the current and future status of CM.

The workshop will bring together representatives of federations and initiatives, which stand for the interests of self-organized and CM in their countries, 
politicians and practicioners coming from CM. It will focus issues like the status of CM in the European political spere, co-production and co-operation on 
a European level, the relationship of CM and minority or alternative media, CM and intercultural dialogue, CM and digitization and others. The workshop will
include a number of keynotes but it will offer a space for the development of new projects and ideas as well. On March 13th, from 19-21 hrs., there will be
a public panel discussion with the Minister for European Issues in Sachsen-Anhalt, Members of the European Parlimant and representatives of the Council of 
Europe and the European Commission, which will be broadcasted via FM and internet stream.

Participants can register via mail: info(et)medienost.de, part. fee is 10 €, which will have to be paid at the reception desk.
Info: Thomas Kupfer, Tel. ++49 +345 681 95 70 / ++49 +178 388 16 11

Internet: www.medienost.de, www.cmfe.eu