About The Alliance for Affordable Internet(A4A1)
The Alliance for Affordable Internet is a coalition of private sector, public sector, and not-for-profit organisations who have come together to advance the shared aim of affordable access to both mobile and fixed-line Internet in developing countries. The World Wide Web Foundationserves as the secretariat for the Alliance.
Our primary goal is to see the UN Broadband Commission Broadband Target of entry-level broadband services priced at less than 5% of average monthly income realised. In working towards this vision, we hope to help billions more users to come online (with a particular focus on low-income countries) and to make universal access a reality.
A4AI has a clear focus on policy and regulatory change. Why? Put simply, whilst innovative technological solutions to affordability challenges are progressing apace, the best technologies in the world can’t drive change if quasi-monopolies or regressive policies prevent them from being implemented. Experience shows that changes to policy can deliver impressive results, fast. So, through a combination of advocacy, research and knowledge-sharing, A4AI will drive policy change by seeking to create the conditions for open, competitive and innovative broadband markets. The Alliance has published a set of policy and regulatory best practices which will guide our work.
However, policy change is not easy to bring about. The Alliance’s added value lies in bringing major players together across sectors and geographies to generate both the will and incentives to drive change. By unifying diverse actors in pursuit of a goal that delivers both social and commercial dividends, we hope to achieve a much bigger impact than any one actor could achieve on their own. We work closely with national governments and other in-country players to deliver bespoke solutions tailored to local realities.
About Asia-Pacific Institute of Broadcasting Development
The AIBD is mandated to achieve a vibrant and cohesive electronic media environment in the Asia-Pacific region through policy and resource development.
The Institute seeks to fulfill this mandate by mobilizing the intellectual and technological resources available within the national broadcasting organizations of its member countries as well as regional and international bodies through a well-established infrastructure and networking mechanism which includes government agencies, non-governmental organizations, institutions of higher learning, private sector and individual professionals.
Full membership of the AIBD is confined to sovereign states and they are invited to designate the broadcasting authority of the country to be the beneficiary. The Institute has a membership of 26 countries, 76 affiliates and over 50 partners in Asia, Pacific, Europe and North America as of October 2012.
About Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union
Speaking to more than half the world’s population spread across half the earth’s surface, Asia-Pacific broadcasters need a strong voice. And they have it in the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union.
The ABU, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014, has more than 225 member broadcasters large and small spread across the region’s 63 countries, from Turkey in the west to Samoa in the east, and from Russia in the north to New Zealand in the south. Established in 1964 as a non-profit, non-government, professional association to assist the development of broadcasting in the region, the ABU promotes the collective interests of television and radio broadcasters and encourages regional and international co-operation between broadcasters.
Full members are national free-to-air broadcasters in the Asia-Pacific region and there is associate membership for provincial broadcasters, subscription broadcasters or national broadcasters in other parts of the world. Other organisations connected to broadcasting can hold affiliate membership. The ABU runs a wide range of activities, including the daily Asiavision satellite TV news exchange, co-production and program exchanges and technical, programming, legal and management consultancy services, as well as international frequency planning and coordination. It negotiates rights for major sports events and organises coverage for the region.
With a mission to assist all members wherever possible, the ABU provides rights-free content acquisition for developing countries, organises seminars, workshops and training courses and offers annual ABU Prizes for radio and television programs. From 2012 it will organise the Asia-Pacific’s first regional television and radio Song Festivals. And keeping everyone in the loop are the ABU website and publication such as ABU News and Technical Reviews.
The ABU is funded primarily by annual subscriptions from members. It has an elected President and three Vice-Presidents, who serve three-year terms.
The ABU Secretariat is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and is headed by a Secretary-General appointed by the General Assembly. It has over 30 staff, of whom more than a third are broadcast professionals recruited from among ABU members. ABU works closely with the regional broadcasting unions in other parts of the world on matters of common concern, and with many other international organisations to exchange information on the latest developments in broadcasting, undertake activities to improve the skills and technologies of its members and encourage harmonisation of operating and technical broadcasting standards and systems in the region.
Most of the ABU’s associate members comprise European, African and North American broadcasters, many of whom have operations in Asia, and pay-TV and cable operators in the Asia-Pacific. Its affiliate members include satellite providers, telcos, production companies, equipment vendors and regulators.
About World Association for Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)
AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving the community radio movement, with almost 4 000 members and associates in 110 countries. Its goal is to support and contribute to the development of community and participatory radio along the principals of solidarity and international cooperation.
All continents are represented on AMARC’s International Board of Directors. Once upon a time, in 1983 …
AMARC is growing so fast that its founders do not often notice the passage of time. In 1998, this formidable community radio world movement celebrated its 15th anniversary. In effect, it was in 1983 that a group of community radio fans met spontaneously in Montreal, only to realise at the meeting that there was already an embryonic world movement which brought them together.
At the 1986 2nd World Assembly which took place in Vancouver, in the west coast of Canada, what was initially a spontaneous movement officially became a non-governmental organisation. In 1988, at the 3rd World Assembly in Managua, the Association acquired the status of Non-Governmental Organization. In Dublin, in 1990, the debates taking place at the 4th AMARC World Conference focused on the confirmation of the right to communicate. It was also in Dublin that a group of women proposed the creation of an international network of women working in the field of community radio. But it was only at the Oaxtepec Conference, held in Mexico in 1992, that the International Women’s Network was launched, together with AMARC’s International Solidarity Network.
In Dakar, the 6th AMARC World Conference confirmed the existence of a locally rooted movement, with strong and independent regional offices evolving effectively in a context of world globalization. AMARC’s 7th Conference, which took place in Milan during the summer of 1998, followed the lines laid down at the Dakar Conference, allowing the organization to cross three new frontiers: the legal frontier, by discussing new international law’s recognition of community media; the technical frontier, by helping members to meet technological challenges and by enabling community radio collaboration with other media with a similar vocation; and, the geographical frontier, by making a breakthrough into Asia and the Arab countries.
The Katmandu’s 8th Conference of AMARC was the largest gathering of community broadcasters to take place in the region, becoming a cornerstone for the development of the community radio movement in Asia-Pacific. As well, participants in the event endorsed the organization’s Strategic Plan of Action for the period 2003-2006. The Kathmandu Declaration was the final document ensuing from the discussions and adopted by the General Assembly.
About Community Media Forum- Europe
The CMFE was founded to strengthen the participation of the “Third Media Sector” in European discussion and decision-making processes at a moment when freedom of expression and free access to information are increasingly endangered by the consequences of concentration in the media field.
The “Third Media Sector” is made up of non profit-making media serving a local community and has as such a clearly distinct identity alongside the national public service sector and private commercial media. The CMFE is a common platform for networks, national federations and projects active within this sector. On the one hand, it enables the participating organisations to bring up their concerns on a European and international level and, on the other hand, it represents a channel through which European institutions can spread information on relevant questions to CMFE participants.The CMFE was founded on 5 November 2004 in Halle (Germany) after a series of European and international conferences held over the last two years which had made clear that there is a lack of information and participation of the Third Media Sector on a European level. As a first step in this direction the CMFE has taken part in the consultation process launched by the Council of Europe for the Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy in Kiev on 10–11 March 2005. The proposal of the Community Media Sector was endorsed by over 50 national federations, networks and media initiatives from throughout Europe.
Since 2009 CMFE is an observer with the Steering Committee on the Media and Information Society (CDMSI) of the Council of Europe (formerly CDMC Steering Committee on the Media and new Communications Services). It represents the interest of the Community Media sector in various working groups at the pan-european level, alongside other associations representing the public and the commercial media sectors, as well as media and civil society stakeholders.
CMFE will be continuing its lobbying action to strengthen the community media sector in these arenas. CMFE has a total of 107 members from 25 European countries: 50 Individual Members and 57 Organizational Members, of which 26 are (National) Federations. Among its 20 affiliate members it counts also individuals and organisations from Africa, Asia and North America. (last update 28 February 2013).
Since March 2011, CMFE is an Associate Member of the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) Consortium.CMFE is also one of the 29 members of the EU Civil Society Platform on Multilingualism (CSPM). CMFE is registered in Belgium as an International Non Profit Organization (INGO) under Business number 0822992342.
The CMFE stands for
- obtaining recognition of the 3rd Media Sector by the European Union and the Council of Europe as a point of reference for national culture and media policy;
- the drawing up of a Framework Convention on Community Media to guarantee the basic requirements on a national level;
- establishing funding possibilities for community media within the future MEDIA programme and other media-related EU budget lines;
- raising awareness about the large number of social and cultural issues which are covered and supported by the activities of community media;
- building up a platform for continuous dialogue and discussion on how to ensure media pluralism, freedom of expression and access to information throughout Europe;
- strengthening cooperation and giving support to new independent civic media initiatives in transition countries, this being a key condition for democratic participation and development in their societies
http://www.cmfe.eu
About Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP)
GKPFs ensures the flow and availability of information and also that the available information reaches those who can make the best use out of it.In the core of GKPF stands the creation and implementation of win/win situations. Individuals and organizations should engage with and support GKPF in order to ensure that they and their organization have the best possible access to knowledge, networking, and communication.
GKPF as a Multi-stakeholder Partnership
All stakeholders in the field of ICT4D and K4D need global networking opportunities and real Multi-Stakeholders Partnerships (MSPs) based on win-win situations in order to effectively execute their aims. GKPF is an internationally recognized multi stakeholder network with a distinguished and well established track record. But GKPF is not just a network; GKPF is proactively creating and implementing win/win situations that respond to the specific needs of the membership organizations. GKPF is living in the real world as GKPF understands that the global development needs can only be realistically achieved through real world solutions.
Our Vision and Mission
Our Vision: A world of equal opportunities to all to have access to and use knowledge and information to improve their lives
Our Mission: As an evolving network of public, civil society, and commercial organizations, GKPF provides members, access to global knowledge and innovation; links with organizations within and across regions; supports capacity development and provides opportunities for resource mobilization to advance development
Our Members
Our members are the heart of our network. By bringing together governments, business, and civil society, we provide convening power to gather a broad range of partners for development, not only for advancing ICT for development and innovation across the globe but also for advancing their global development mission and goals. Find more information about our members and membership.
About Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education(ASPBAE)
The Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE) is a regional association of more than 200 organisations and individuals.
It works towards promoting quality education for all and transformative and liberating, life-long adult education and learning. It strives to strengthen an Asia-Pacific movement to support community and people’s organizations, national education coalitions, teachers unions, campaign networks, and other civil society groups and institutions in holding governments and the international donor community accountable in meeting education targets and commitments.
Through its work ASPBAE lobbies with governments to
Ensure the right of all to an education
Uphold education as an empowering tool to combat poverty and all forms of exclusion and discrimination
Enable active and meaningful participation in governance
Build a culture of peace and international understanding
ASPBAE is a network of organizations and individuals involved in formal and non-formal adult education, working with and through NGOs, community organizations, government agencies, universities, trade unions, indigenous people, women’s organizations, the media, and other institutions of civil society across the Asia Pacific.
About the Freedom of Information Advocates Network
The Freedom of Information Advocates Network (FOIAnet) is an international information-sharing network of organizations and individuals working to promote the right of access to information.Members of FOIAnet are civil society organizations with active programmes to promote the right to know.
That is, the right of everyone to ask questions of governments and inter-governmental organisations and to receive answers. The right of access to information also places the obligation on governments to promote information proactively so that the public can know what public authorities are doing without having to file requests for information.
FOIAnet runs a discussion list for news and debate on the right of access to information; there are currently over 400 people on this list, including CSO representatives and lawyers, academics, information commissioners and others with a specialised interest in the right to information.
The FOI Advocates Network launched International Right to Know Day. The first International Right Know Day was celebrated on 28 September 2003. Every year on 28th September activities take place around the world to promote the right to of access to information: the right to know!
About Communication Rights in the Information Society(CRIS)
Communication represents an essential and very important human need as well as a basic human right. Without having the possibility to communicate and talk to other people, no individual, community, group or any other institution would be able to exist, or prosper.
Strictly speaking the ability to communicate or the general right of communication make it possible to exchange opinions, thoughts and meanings. So it enables people to express themselves and show their own points of view. Consequently communication makes people who and what they are and particularly strengthens human dignity.
By having the right to communicate and express personal thoughts, ideas, and opinions, people feel themselves treated equally – in other words: Communication validates human equality. Thus the protection and implementation of communication rights represents an essential part of the general topic of human rights.
Strictly speaking there exist four central Pillars of Communication Rights. Each Pillar refers to a different domain of social existence, practice, and experience, in which communication generally represents a so-called core activity on the one hand and performs specific key functions on the other hand. The most important point considering the four pillars consists in the fact that each involves a relatively autonomous sphere of social action. So they are extremely necessary in order to achieve communication rights – a fact that means that everybody has the right to communicate about every single topic such as cars, poetry, plissee, music, school, etc.
The Four Pillars of Communication Rights are the following ones:
Communicating on the Public Sphere: The role of communication and media in exercising democratic political participation in society.
Communication Knowledge: The terms and means by which knowledge generated by society is communicated, or blocked, for use by different groups.
Civil Rights in Communication: The exercise of civil rights relating to the processes of communication in society.
Cultural Rights in Communication: The communication of diverse cultures, cultural forms and identities at the individual and social levels.
The Four Pillars of Communication Rights point out very clearly why the right to communicate is important for people in order to live in freedom, peace, justice, and dignity. So the right to communicate can be seen as a means to enhance human rights as well as to carefully strengthen the social, cultural and economic lives of people of different nations, communities, institutions and groups.
It is very important to know that the ‘right to communicate’ does not have the equal meaning of ‘communication right’. In spite of all the two terms are closely related in both their history and usage.
Strictly speaking the ‘right to communicate’ is generally associated with the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) debate and expresses the need for a legal acknowledgement as a framework for a better implementation. The other term, ‘communication right’, points out that a group of international rights fortifying communication already exists, but in spite of everything many are too often ignored.
About The Asian Media Information and Communication Centre(AMIC)
AMIC is a non-profit NGO and a registered charity in Singapore with the mission of spearheading the development of media and communication expertise in Asia within the broad framework of economic, social and cultural development.
AMIC was established with seed funding support from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), a private non-profit, public-interest foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany. FES provided AMIC with seed funding from 1970 to 2000. FES is a key partner and continues to extend its support through limited project funding. AMIC is located within the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at the prestigious Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. As part of its support for AMIC, the government provides the office premises to AMIC free of cost.
The government’s commitment in supporting the creation of a regional media organization and the historical significance of the country resulted in locating AMIC in Singapore. However, AMIC is a fully independent institution and covers the entire Asia-Pacific region in its activities.
AMIC is unique as it is the only regional media and communication research organization in the world. It was established in 1971 and exists to encourage ethical and social responsibility of the media to support democratic access and participation in media development and production. It also works to provide opportunities for empowerment of disadvantaged sectors in the communication/media environment.
It performs these roles on many fronts: As a research centre it examines critical issues in the media and communication sector and their implications for development, as reflected through its publications. As a resource centre it gathers and disseminates knowledge about communication and its effects in Asia.
By conducting training and professional consultations it is active in capacity building for the media and their users. AMIC has been unwavering in its commitments in these sectors and over the years has broadened its expertise base to encompass new challenges reflective of the changing scene within media and society in general.
One of AMIC’s key strengths is that, in addition to having major development partners and strong academic credentials, it is also actively involved in working with the industry in facilitating dedicated high-profile industry events.
These events are consciously designed and planned to bring industry, development partners, NGO’s and individual stakeholders together to share perspectives, challenges, and best practices. By facilitating this, AMIC has successfully reduced barriers and has been instrumental in facilitating knowledge sharing, collaboration and training to those that need it most.
About the American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
Founded in 1914, the American Radio Relay League is the national association for amateur radio in the USA. Today, with more than 160,000 members, the ARRL is the largest organization of radio amateurs in the world. The ARRL’s mission is based on five core areas or “pillars”: Public Service, Advocacy, Education, Technology, and Membership.
About of the UN Global Compact
The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour,environment and anti-corruption. By doing so, business, as a primary driver of globalization, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere.
As social, political and economic challenges (and opportunities) — whether occurring at home or in other regions — affect business more than ever before, many companies recognize the need to collaborate and partner with governments, civil society, labor and the United Nations.
This ever-increasing understanding is reflected in the Global Compact’s rapid growth. With over 10,000 corporate participants and other stakeholders from over 130 countries, it is the largest voluntary corporate responsibility initiative in the world.
Endorsed by chief executives, the Global Compact is a practical framework for the development, implementation, and disclosure of sustainability policies and practices, offering participants a wide spectrum of work streams, management tools and resources — all designed to help advance sustainable business models and markets. (See How to Participate.)
Overall, the Global Compact pursues two complementary objectives:
- Mainstream the ten principles in business activities around the world
- Catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
With these objectives in mind, the Global Compact has shaped an initiative that provides collaborative solutions to the most fundamental challenges facing both business and society. The initiative seeks to combine the best properties of the UN, such as moral authority and convening power, with the private sector’s solution-finding strengths, and the expertise and capacities of a range of key stakeholders. The Global Compact is global and local; private and public; voluntary yet accountable.
The benefits of engagement include the following:
- Adopting an established and globally recognized policy framework for the development, implementation, and disclosure of environmental, social, and governance policies and practices.
- Sharing best and emerging practices to advance practical solutions and strategies to common challenges.
- Advancing sustainability solutions in partnership with a range of stakeholders, including UN agencies, governments, civil society, labour, and other non-business interests.
- Linking business units and subsidiaries across the value chain with the Global Compact’s Local Networks around the world — many of these in developing and emerging markets.
- Accessing the United Nations’ extensive knowledge of and experience with sustainability and development issues.
- Utilizing UN Global Compact management tools and resources, and the opportunity to engage in specialized workstreams in the environmental, social and governance realms.
A more detailed analysis of the benefits of participation in the Global Compact can be found in The Importance of Voluntarism — which also focuses on the importance of the Global Compact as acomplement rather than substitute for regulatory regimes
Finally, the Global Compact incorporates a transparency and accountability policy known as the Communication on Progress (COP). The annual posting of a COP is an important demonstration of a participant’s commitment to the UN Global Compact and its principles. Participating companies are required to follow this policy, as a commitment to transparency and disclosure is critical to the success of the initiative. Failure to communicate will result in a change in participant status and possible expulsion.
In summary, the Global Compact exists to assist the private sector in the management of increasingly complex risks and opportunities in the environmental, social and governance realms, seeking to embed markets and societies with universal principles and values for the benefit of all.
http://www.unglobalcompact.org
| UNESCO Chair on Community Media |
|
Prof. Vinod Pavarala is UNESCO Chair on Community Media at University of Hyderabad. For over a decade, he has been one of the leading campaigners for democratization of airwaves in India and has played a significant role in drafting the national policy permitting community radio a space on the radio dial in the country. As founder-President of the Community Radio Forum of India, he plays an active role in civil society’s engagements with forging alternative media spaces for the marginalized, mostly rural, communities in India. His much-reviewed book, co-authored with Kanchan K. Malik, Other Voices: the struggle for community radio in India (Sage, 2007) documents community-based efforts across India to carve out an alternative public sphere. Prof. Pavarala has dual masters in Sociology and Communication and a Ph.D from University of Pittsburgh. He taught at the University of Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA), and IIT-Bombay, before joining University of Hyderabad in 1995. He was a Visiting Fellow at Princeton University in 1998-99, and had the honor of being invited by the International Communication Association to speak at a special plenary on communication research and policy at its annual meeting in Boston in May 2011. At the University of Hyderabad, he has served as Head, Department of Communication, Dean, Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication, and Director, International Affairs. He serves on the Boards of Studies of several universities and is on national level committees on media education. |
About the World Radio Day International Committee
World Radio Day seeks raise awareness about the Importance of radio, Facilitate access to information through networking within and Enhance Among broadcasters. radius has to be Recognized as a low cost medium, específicamente suited to reach remote communities and vulnerable people: the illiterate, the disabled, women, youth and the poor, while offering a platform to intervene in the public discussion, irrespective of people’s educational level. Furthermore, radio has a strong and specific role in emergency communication and disaster relief.
There is Also a changing face to Radio services Which, in the present times of media convergence, are taking up new technological forms,: such as broadband, mobiles and tablets. However, it is Said That up to a billion people still do not have access to Radio today.
On November 3, 2011, the 36th General Conference of UNESCO approved the creation of the World Day of Radio. The initial concept came from the Spanish Academy of Radio four years ago, Therefore, the Permanent Delegation of Spain to UNESCO formally present the proposal at the 187 session of UNESCO’s Executive Board in September 2011.
Resolution of the General Conference of the UNESCO
– 36th Session, Paris 2011 –
The General Conference,
1. Having Considered document 36 C/63 and the Executive Board’s decision 187 EX / Decision 13,
Two. Welcoming the results of the feasibility study presented by the director-General on the proclamation of a World Radio Day,
Three. Mindful That the celebration of a World Radio Day will raise awareness Greater Among the public and the media of the Importance of Radio as well as networking and international cooperation Enhance Among broadcasters,
April. Convinced That this event will Encourage decision-makers to Establish and Provide access to information through Radio where still Necessary, treats including community radio,
May. Proclaims 13 February as World Radio Day;
June. Calls upon the Member States of UNESCO to celebrate the Day with activities at Both the local and national levels, With The participation of National Commissions, NGOs, the public generally as well as diverse institutions (schools, universities, Municipalities, cities, broadcasters, the press , professional associations and unions, museums, cultural
organizations and so forth);
July. Invites the national, regional and international broadcasting organizaciones and unions, as well as the media at large, to Ensure the successful observance of the World Radio Day by devoting it as Appropriate to educational, cultural and public-awareness activities;
August. Invites the Director-General to the Encourage all national, regional and international Initiatives taken In this respect;
9. -Requests the Director-General to submit the present resolution to the General Assembly of the United Nations, at its 67th session (September 2012) for endorsement.