[cma-l] Press Release re Brno'13 MEDIA DIVERSITY FOR DEMOCRACY

[Jaqui Devereux]

*A Message from Community Media Forum Europe and brno '13 conference:

Press Release
*
Media Diversity for Democracy, Brno 4. - 6. October 2013

CMFE looks back on a successful Conference and General Assembly

Community media activists, academics and policy makers from 26 European
countries met in Brno at the CMFE Annual Conference to discuss the role of
community radio and community television as agents for change in
democracies. The state of community media in CEE countries was a central
focus, together with recent developments in the community TV sector and
special panels on participation in the media, gender equality policies and
Community TV youth initiatives. Legislation and technological developments
(including open source initiatives) formed another core of content.

Keynote speaker Prof. Vinod Pavarala, UNESCO Chair for Community Media at
Hyderabad University, remarked in the opening plenary that “Community Media
are not only about content delivery, but also about local participation and
citizen interaction. Governments need to recognize community media as a
distinct media sector and provide funding and equal access to the different
distribution platforms.”

Guest speaker Bissera Zankova, Member of the Bureau of the Council of
Europe Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI),
supported the idea of Community Media as a vital element of democratic
societies: “Community Media fill the gap left by public service and private
media, and work for cohesion, tolerance and trust. Policy for gender rights
is policy for human rights and community media have a central role to play
in the implementation of the recently adopted Council of Europe
Recommendation on gender equality and media.”

 During the conference the results of the worldwide Community Media Mapping
and Rating Project were presented. According to the CMFE 2012 mapping a
total of 2237 community radio stations and 521 community television
stations are active across Europe and 29 European countries were rated
according to their development of community media. Correlations between
democratic structures and the status of Community Media can be seen in this
first attempt to count community radio and TV stations not only in Europe
but also in the world.

Despite the recognition of the role and value of community media in the
expression of pluralism and social diversity in the media sphere, many
European states still have not met the recommendations and resolutions of
European and international institutions on community broadcasting. In
particular, access for community media still has to be guaranteed on all
available broadcasting platforms, ensuring that the shift from analogue to
digital technologies becomes an opportunity for more media pluralism rather
than for further media concentration.

In conjunction with CMFE’s Conference, AMARC Europe held its Second Forum
“Changing the communication environment: Networking for Community Radio in
Central and Eastern Europe”. Community radio broadcasters and academics
from across Europe met to develop strategies to strengthen community radio
across the region, as well as alliances and long term strategies for the
enhancement of the sector in Central and Eastern European countries.

 The joint conference and close exchange with AMARC Europe at the Faculty
of Social Sciences of Masaryk University is an important step towards
reinforced cooperation for a common European perspective on Community Media
in a global media sphere.

CMFE also held its Annual General Assembly on Oct. 4th. The new members
elected to the CMFE board are Urszula Doliwa from Poland, Judith
Purkarthofer from Austria and Gergely Gosztonyi from Hungary.

The CMFE Conference was funded by the EU under the Europe for Citizens
Programme 2013 and has been kindly hosted by the Faculty of Social Sciences
of Masaryk University and by the INGO RadioExpert.

* *






-- 
Jaqui Devereux
Director
Community Media Association

<http://goog_1822693262>http://www.commedia.org.uk/
http://twitter.com/community_media
https://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation

t: +44 (0)114 279 5219

Canstream Internet Radio & Video
http://www.canstream.co.uk/
<https://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation>
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