Introduction

By R. Gonzalez, Latin America and Caribbean Desk, Communication Division,
J. Josiah, Regional Communication Adviser.

The communication situation in the Caribbean can be summarized as follows:
Lack of endogenous productions and omnipresence of foreign programming, reflecting foreign values and cultures,
Low professional standards, particularly in the less developed islands, and
Lack of standard broadcasting equipment. In the Caribbean, the widespread media expansion and the local market situation have led to an alarming crisis in local programming. Extra-budgetary funds have been mainly directed towards raising the standards of journalism and upgrading media skills as well as providing the necessary infrastructure to boost local production. Senior and junior practitioners have benefited from UNESCO's training projects, carried out in collaboration with the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU), the Caribbean News Agency (CANA) and the Caribbean Institute of Mass Communication (CARIMAC). Special emphasis has been placed on countries with particularly low professional levels. Long term endogenous co-production initiatives have also found support. The lack of standard broadcasting equipment has so far prevented Caribbean independent producers from competing with foreign programming, as well as from gaining access to the international market. Providing production capacities has therefore been one of the priorities in the Caribbean. The increase in local programme production should enhance the appreciation of Caribbean cultural heritage, particularly among youngsters. A regional animation facility in video cartoon production was set up with this purpose as well as to train indigenous talent, with a view to developing a training and production outlet in animation production. In Cuba, the National Information Agency (AIN) has received UNESCO's assistance in an effort to increase the national flow of information, particularly in rural and remote areas.