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Some examples of UNESCO's activities on behalf of the media
in post-conflict areas
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by the Secretariat of the World Press Freedom Day
AFRICA
The consolidation of free, independent media in Africa is a top priority for UNESCO in its endeavour to foster peace and development. Within the framework of this strategy, the Organisation is conducting the Media Rwanda II project, which has received financial support from the Norwegian Development Agency (NORAD).
Its objective is to build further upon the independence and pluralism of the media previously developed during Media Rwanda I -the first phase of the project, completed in 1998- which provided 18 months' intensive training for Rwandan newspaper and radio professionals.
The second phase of the project has two major goals: to support radio-programme production by independent female journalists and to improve journalistic standards and professional performance.
UNESCO is also currently promoting freedom of expression in the region through the Press Houses created in Rwanda (1996) and Burundi (1997). Their aim is to offer a space for free discussions and a centre for the exchange of information. The Press Houses go a long way towards helping combat the isolation of independent journalists.
In Angola, where UNESCO collaborates with the Fondation Hirondelle in developing free media, several training courses for radio professionals have been organised over the past two years.
EAST TIMOR
As part of the UN efforts to assist East Timorese people to build their capacity for self-government, UNESCO has sent a series of missions to East Timor to assess assistance that will be of greatest benefit.
UNESCO and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) have joined forces to rebuild the newspaper industry in war-torn East Timor. A mission of technical experts visited East Timor in February 2000 to assess the needs of the local press for printing facilities and a distribution network. An immediate interim measure has been undertaken to set up a viable printing facility.
A long term printing facility and a distribution network should be developed in the near future.
In order to clarify and organise the broadcasting landscape, an expertise has been provided to set up regulatory frameworks to guide the democratic and rational development of broadcasting.
Finally, UNESCO has established pilot community radios in some districts to involve the community and build around a strong community-based organisation comprising the major social sectors including farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, small industries, educators, social workers, women and especially youth. In the future, other radios should be launched.
FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
In December 1993, in accordance with its constitutional mandate "to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image", UNESCO launched a pilot programme to assist independent media in areas of conflict. Special emphasis was placed on the former Yugoslavia, where journalists had come under heavy political pressure and access to unbiased information was becoming increasingly difficult.
For the last six years, UNESCO has been supplying equipment to electronic media, newsprint to independent publications, office equipment to news agencies and training courses for journalists in most of the republics and territories of the former Yugoslavia.
These efforts are aimed at easing contact and information exchange between media in the region and with the rest of the world, as well as developing free, independent and pluralistic media.
UNESCO's latest initiatives include helping the electronic media in the area to adapt their infrastructure to modern ways of production. The Organisation has also distributed quality documentaries, films and children's programmes to TV stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
In Kosovo, UNESCO is currently working with the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) to set up a distribution system for newspapers and weeklies, to enable the population to enjoy regular access to a wider choice of news and opinion. A similar project was carried out by UNESCO and WAN in 1998, with the creation of APM Transpress, an independent distribution network for print press in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Transpress operations have helped palliate the difficulties in distributing newspapers and magazines to the population outside Belgrade.
[March 2000]
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