<amarc-3> Section II and III of Milan Declaration

[Elvira Truglia <elv@alcor.concordia.ca>]

HI EVERYONE, 

HERE IS SECTION II AND III FOR YOUR REVIEW. I HAVE TRIED TO INCORPORATE
EVERYONE’S IDEAS BUT PLEASE FEEL FREE TO MAKE ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS
(REWORDING, RE-ORDERING, ADDITION/DELETION OF CLAUSES, ETC.) AS YOU SEE
FIT. THE DOCUMENT WILL BE AMENDED AS COMMENTS COME IN. 

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR COMMENTS INCLUDE SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS FOR CHANGES. 


SECTION II

WE DECLARE THAT:

1. Communication 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.

4. The market economy is not the only model for the shaping the
communications infrastructure. People must be seen as producers and
contributors of information and not  be defined solely as "consumers".

5. New digital broadcast systems are leading to re-planning existing
frequency allocation and new approaches to regulation which risk further
marginalization of communication services run by and for citizens,
communities and social organizations.

6. While convergence between telecom, computing and broadcasting is
increasing the number of potential users, the telecom development gap –
measured by disparities in telephone lines per capita – supports the
division of the world into "haves" and "have-nots". 

7. The continual expansion of transnational corporations characterized,
among other things, by media conglomerates and concentration of ownership
increasingly threatens plurality, including the existence of independent
and community broadcasters.

8.  As elaborated in the Santiago Declaration, "Respect for pluralism,
cultural, language and gender diversity should be a fundamental factor in
our democratic societies and should be reflected through all the media."

9. Communications media have a responsibility to help sustain the diversity
of  the world’s cultures and languages, which should be supported through
legislative, administrative, and financial measures.

10. Community media can play an important role in strengthening cultural
rights, and in particular, the rights of linguistic and cultural minorities,
indigenous peoples, migrants and refugees by providing access to the means
of communication.

11. 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 media and communication skills.


SECTION III
PLAN OF ACTION

SECTION III

WE CALL FOR

1.international recognition of the community broadcasting sector as an
essential form of public service broadcasting and a vital contributor to
media pluralism and freedom of expression and information; 

2. support by governments, corporations and international institutions for
development of the right to communicate as a fundamental principle to
underpin the regulation of the convergent sectors of telecommunications,
media and information technology; 

3. establishment of standards, norms and measures at national, regional and
world levels, to enable and assist the current and future development
of independent community broadcasting services including: 

-rules to prevent the take-over and accumulation of community broadcasting
services by commercial companies 

- measures to assist adaptation to media convergence and new technology
including support for new forms of content 

- preservation of existing analogue frequencies used by community
broadcasters until such time as a digital replacement is available  

- assessment and monitoring of the impact of technological convergence and
regulatory change on the community media sector 

- support for the development of digital systems which are appropriate to
the current and future needs of community broadcasting services 

-measures to ensure that in the goal to establish "universal access" to
communications technologies, consideration be given to specific cultural
and social contexts and that there be consultation with cultural
communities to assess the adoption of only what is deemed to be
"appropriate" technology by those communities

WHAT CAN WE ADD TO THIS SHOPPING LIST? PROVIDE PERSPECTIVES FROM VARIOUS
REGIONS PLEASE…

4. the World Trade Organisation, and regional trading blocks, in the
context of the liberalisation of telecommunications markets to adopt
complementary regulations to prevent excessive concentration of media
ownership 

5. the ITU to ensure that frequency planning, technical standards for
telecommunications and radio, and development priorities take account of
the needs of non-governmental organisations

6. the establishment by UNESCO within the framework of the International
Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) of a Community Media
Fund to support projects for the creation of new community media,
adaptation of existing community media to new technology, research into the
impact on community media of technological convergence, and pilot projects
in new forms of community media distribution and community media content.

7. the community media sector to:

-establish an observatory to track transnational corporations and launch
international activist efforts to raise consciousness about the increasing
control these entities have on our communications future

- lobby for national and international measures to ensure new information
and communication technologies provide affordable access to citizens and
communities to establish new community media services

- develop community media programme exchanges and to build solidarity and
support for other community struggles in the world 

-[Recalling the Santiago Declaration] "(P)romote and support the training
of journalists, broadcasters and other media professionals, especially
those working in rural and marginal urban areas. 

-educate:
-CSO constitutiences by organizing colloquiums -- in partnership
with other institutions and the regulators themselves -- on the policy
issues of regulation
-regulators on the importance of a sustainable and pluralist
broadcasting environment
-communities on the benefits of community media and production

8.  the establishment by the community media sector of local, national,
regional and worldwide coalitions to work together through official and
alternative communications forums in order to promote communication rights
and to implement the measures called for in this Declaration.



Someone had suggested we include something on children’s broadcasting: I
tried writing something below but it doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere,
perhaps this document is not the appropriate place…

"demand media accountability to its constitutiencies – especially regarding
children’s programming -- which corresponds to the need for fair
and educational representation."


Elvira Truglia
Editor, InteRadio
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters
Association Mondiale des Radiodiffuseurs Communautaires
Asociacion Mundial de Radios Comunitarias

International Secretariat
3575 Saint-Laurent Blvd. #611
Montréal, Québec  H2X  2T7   CANADA
Tel : +1 (514) 982 03 51	Fax : +1 (514) 849 71 29
Email: interad@amarc.org
WWW : http://www.amarc.org



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
AMARC 7 Foro Virtual Forum Virtuel
http://www.amarc.org/amarc7
to unsubscribe / pour se desabonner / para abandonar :
e-mail "unsubscribe amarc-3 " to: majordomo@comunica.org