<div dir="ltr"><p><b>Aswatona 2015 community media conference</b></p><p><b>26-28 February 2015, Rabat, Morocco</b><br></p><p>The
fourth Aswatona conference on community media in the Arab world, will take place in the
Moroccan capital, Rabat, 26-28 February 2015, under the theme 'All Our Voices', in
partnership with "Forum des Alternatives Maroc (FMAS)". The three
day annual event will provide community broadcasters with an opportunity
to network and advocate for better media law and regulation.</p>
<p>Mohammad Leghtas, the coordinator of the Maghreb-Machrek portal <em>ejoussour</em>,
a program of Forum des Alternatives Maroc, said the Aswatona
2015 conference will give a big push to the growing civil society
interest in communications. “We have been working hard at creating the
right infrastructure to enable community radio and holding the
conference in Rabat will give us a big push forward.”</p>Steve Buckley,
Managing Director of Community Media Solutions, said the holding of the
fourth regional conference of the Aswatona network is a testament to
community media
stakeholders' commitment to mutual support and greater recognition in
media law and policy. "The growth of community media in Morocco is an
indicator of a vibrant civil society and a desire for alternative voices
to be heard including those of women, youth, rural communities and
minorities."
<p>The conference will feature government and expert speakers from
Morocco, the Montreal-based World Association of Community Radio
Broadcasters (AMARC) and Daoud Kuttab founder/director of the
Jordan-based Community Media Network as well as practical workshops.<br></p>
<p>Aswatona’s steering committee consists of community broadcasters in
Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Yemen. Previous
regional
community media conferences of the Aswatona network were held in Tunis
2012, Cairo 2013, and Jordan’s Dead
Sea 2014. The conference is supported by the UK Foreign and
Commonwealth
Office, the European Union programme "Media and culture for development
in the Southern Mediterranean" and Copenhagen based, International Media
Support, together with local authorities in the Kingdom of Morocco.</p>
<p><strong>For further details visit: <a href="http://aswatona.net/category/en">http://aswatona.net/category/en</a><br></strong></p><strong>or contact Eman Jaradat: <a href="mailto:eman@cmso.co.uk">eman@cmso.co.uk</a></strong></div>