AMARC Africa and the National Forum of Community Radio Broadcasters of Mozambique (FORCOM) held a Conference on Community Radios and Access to Information in Southern Africa from December 3-5 in Maputo, Mozambique.
The Conference critically examined both the governance of community radios and their effective role as channels of participatory and democratic communication for development for the poor and marginalized communities in the various Southern African countries, considering the socio-economic and political developments and the advent of the ICTs.
The 3-day event gathered 200 community radio stakeholders, academics, representatives of civil society organizations, regulatory authorities and media support organizations from 20 African countries. Participants included the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA), the Women Association in Social Communication (AMCS) and civil society organizations such as the national women organization, Forum Mulher, the Mozambican Association of Women Lawyers, the Mozambican Youth Organization and academic institutions, such as the Art and Communications School (ECA) of the national Eduardo Mondlane University.
The final declaration of the conference calls on “African States and actors of civil society, to preserve national and international mechanisms that support cultural diversity and freedom of expression”. This involves controlling the allocation of frequencies to private business and putting in place legislative and conducive regulatory frameworks that guarantee equitable access to the frequencies for all communities, including the most marginalised.
For more information you can contact AMARC Africa regional Coordinator, Alymana Bathily, at alymanab@yahoo.fr
AMARC Africa is the regional branch of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC). Through service to members, networking and project implementation, AMARC Africa brings together 567 members including radio stations and national networks of community radios in 33 countries.