International Programme for the Development of Communication: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:22, 22 February 2022

Revision as of 16:46, 30 July 2022

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On December 10, 1948, Article 19 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] was adopted and proclaimed by the [[United Nations General Assembly]] as Resolution 217 A (III). It stated that "''Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.''"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208080853/http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html |archive-date=2014-12-08 }}</ref>

In 1977, UNESCO initiated the International Commission for the Study of Communications Problems, known as the [[MacBride Commission]] and named after the Commissioncommission's Chairman [[Sean MacBride]]. The Commissioncommission was given a three-year time frame to conduct investigations and report back to UNESCO. In October 1980, the report ''Many Voices, One World'' was presented at the Belgrade Assembly.

As a result of the report, UNESCO launched the '''International Programme for the Development of Communication''' (IPDC). The programme web site states that it "exists to strengthen the means of [[mass communication]] in developing countries, by increasing technical and [[human resources]] for the media, by developing [[community media]] and by modernising [[News agency|news agencies]] and broadcasting organizations."

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== Composition ==

The IPDC is mainly composed of the Intergovernmental Council and of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council. The Council normally meets in plenary session in November every two years, and the Bureau annually in March. The Bureau discharges duties decided by the Councilcouncil and has full responsibility for Project selection, approval and allocation of funds.<ref name=":1" />

=== The Intergovernmental Council of the IPDC ===

The IPDC Council comprises 39 Member State delegates elected every two years from the UNESCO General Conference, and submits to it a report on its activities. The Council elects a Chairchair, who is also Chair of the Bureau. The Councilcouncil, according to the Statutes as amended in 2003, is responsible for:

* [[Policy|Policy-making]], guiding the planning and the implementation of the Programme;

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=== The Bureau of the Intergovernemental Council of the IPDC ===

The Bureau members comprise the Chair of the Bureau, three Vicevice-Chairpersonschairpersons, a Rapporteur and three other members, giving a total of eight who remain in office until a new Bureau is elected. The Bureau with Secretariat support is the appropriate body to submit proposals for a strategic framework to the Councilcouncil for consideration.<ref name=":0" />

== Journalism ==

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==== UNESCO’s Director-General Report on killing of journalists ====

Data on killings is gathered and verified for the Director-General’sGeneral's report and [[World Trends Report|World Trends]] from multiple sources, including NGOs, UNESCO Field Offices and UNESCO Permanent Delegations. The Director-General further requests a report from States on the status of investigations into these killings. State responses are categorized as: i) no information received from the relevant State on the judicial enquiry’senquiry's status; ii) the case, subject to specific official information being provided, is ongoing or unresolved; or iii) the case is resolved through conviction, the death of a suspect, or a judicial decision that the death was not related to journalistic practice. The response rate of states has risen from 30% in 2013 to 74.5% in 2017.<ref name=":0" />

In addition to feeding into the Director Generals’ Report biennially, the data gathered is used in several ways. It is formally submitted to the IPDC Council, contributes to the World Trends report; it feeds into UNESCO’sUNESCO's contribution to the global monitoring of [[Sustainable Development Goal 16|SDG indicator 16.10.1]]; it is used as an input for UNESCO’sUNESCO's submissions to the Universal Periodic Report of the [[United Nations Human Rights Council]].<ref name=":0" />

==== Strengthening national mechanisms to promote the safety of journalists ====

The IPDC’sIPDC's strategy since 2017 to enhance safety of journalists at national levels is to strengthen national mechanisms that promote safety and combat impunity for crimes against journalists.<ref name="unesdoc.unesco.org">{{Cite web|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000259913_eng|title=General Conference|website=unesdoc.unesco.org|access-date=2019-10-25}}</ref> This was further highlighted during the November 2017 Eastern African Conference on National Mechanisms for Safety of journalists with the Nairobi Declaration during which [[East Africa|Eastern African countries]] called for the establishment of national mechanisms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Nairobi/nairobideclarationsafetyjournalists.pdf|title=The Nairobi Declaration on National Mechanisms for Safety of Journalists|access-date=2019-10-25}}</ref> Toby Mendel considers that “making sure that relevant stakeholders are effectively integrated into a safety mechanism can dramatically increase its chances of succeeding by harnessing the skills, resources, and support of different stakeholders, and by promoting coordination as opposed to duplication or even competition”.<ref>Toby Mendel, Supporting Freedom of expression: A practical guide to developing specialized safety mechanisms, UNESCO, April 2016.</ref> These mechanisms include capacity building, legislative reforms, monitoring, training, and the provision by media companies of protective equipment.<ref name="unesdoc.unesco.org"/>

=== Global Initiative for Excellence in Journalism Education (GIEJE) ===

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== Media Development ==

This was the first of the IPDC Special Initiatives, initiated by the Council in 2006 and launched in 2008 after a period of research, drafting and consultation. The framework is built on UNESCO’sUNESCO's Constitutional mandate to foster “the unrestricted pursuit of objective truth”, “the free exchange of ideas and knowledge” and “the free flow of ideas by word and image”. It has been applied in over 20 countries<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.unesco.org/programme/ipdc/initiatives/mdis|title=Media Development Indicators (MDIs)|date=2017-04-21|website=UNESCO|language=en|access-date=2019-10-25}}</ref> and assessments are ongoing in 18 more.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/IPDC/ipdc59_MDI.pdf|title=Applying UNESCO's Media Development Indicators (MDIs)|access-date=2019-10-25}}</ref>

The indicators cover the media sector as a whole, under five categories:

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=== The Media Development indicators (MDI) ===

The Media Development indicators (MDI) were developed by the IPDC Intergovernmental Council 2006 in line with IPDC’sIPDC's priority areas of promotion of freedom of expression and [[media pluralism]], development of [[community media]], and human resources development.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000160017|title=Defining indicators of media development|website=unesdoc.unesco.org|access-date=2019-10-25}}</ref> In a 2013 assessment<ref>Mariona Sanz Cortell (2013) Report on the impact of the UNESCO Media Development Indicators assessments. UNESCO.</ref> of the impact of the MDIs, outcomes were identified based on interviews with UNESCO HQ and Field Staff and over a dozen media development experts. The first refers to the specific impacts of the MDIs, such as:

* In [[Bhutan]], the MDI completed in 2010 contributed to amending a media law to create an Independent Press Council; and an IPDC Project,<ref>The Project documentation can be seen here: <nowiki>http://www.unescoci.org/ipdcprojects/content/development-third-tier-broadcasting-community-radio-bhutan</nowiki></ref> run by the [[World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters]] (AMARC) in 2012, instigated a process introducing community radio as a third tier of broadcasting. The first two stations were opened in 2016.

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* In the [[Maldives]], the decriminalization of [[defamation]] in 2011 can “in part be attributed [to] one of the MDI report’s recommendations”, according to the Evaluation of the International Programme for the Development of Communication published in 2018.

A second point of influence of MDIs aims at purposes other than enhancing government [[policy]]. The third type of outcome noted by the report is the enhancement of dialogue, empowerment and capacity building. In [[Ivory Coast|CoteCôte d’Ivoired'Ivoire]], the process of consultations initiated by the MDIs resulted in the creation by the government of a Media Development Committee comprising both government and non-governmental organizations.<ref name=":0" />

=== Journalism Safety indicators ===

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=== The Gender Sensitive indicators for Media ===

The goal of the Gender Sensitive Indicators for Media framework (GSIM)<ref>http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/crosscutting-priorities/gender-andmedia/gender-sensitive-indicators-for-media/ {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref> is to contribute to [[gender equality]] and [[Women's empowerment|women’swomen's empowerment]] in and through media of all kinds. The framework covers two dimensions: gender equality within media organizations; and gender portrayal in media content. It is designed for use by all media organizations.<ref>GSIM Framework p.17.</ref> The GSIM has been applied under IPDC on a number of occasions and in different contexts, including the following:

* In 2014, Gender and Media in [[Southern Africa]] (GEMSAT) applied it (after refinement for use locally) in [[Tanzania]] to seven community radio stations enhancing understanding of the issues and encouraging change.<ref>See Project database: <nowiki>http://www.unesco-ci.org/ipdcprojects/content/application-unesco-gendersensitive-media-indicators-means-promoting-gender-equality</nowiki></ref>

* In 2015, it was implemented in [[Paraguay]] by an NGO, Global News Agency, focusing primarily on content in two each of print and digital media and of television channels, and analyzing over 1,100 articles and 400 advertisements.<ref>See Project database: <nowiki>http://www.unesco-ci.org/ipdcprojects/content/promotion-gender-equalitythrough-use-unesco-gender-sensitive-indicators-media-policies</nowiki></ref>

* Thai Public Service Broadcasting (TPSB) was established in 2008 partly to become a best practice leader in media. The GSIM fitted well with its goal, and TPSB’sTPSB's training institute implemented it in 2014 - 2015 across six prominent broadcasting outlets both public and commercial. The goal was also to raise awareness among these media organizations, the media regulator and the public.<ref>See Project database: <nowiki>http://www.unesco-ci.org/ipdcprojects/content/assessing-gender-sensitivity-thaipublic-media</nowiki></ref>

* In the [[Dominican Republic]] in 2014, a Project implemented both the MDI and GSIM by the Dominican College of Journalists, in a wide consultation process.<ref>See Project database: <nowiki>http://www.unesco-ci.org/ipdcprojects/content/media-assessment-dominicanrepublic-using-media-development-indicators</nowiki></ref>

* A similar Project of the Haiti State University’ Communications Department began in 2016 implementing the GSIM and MDI together, with the goal of producing a set of recommendations to strengthen the development of the media sector and guide future policy.<ref>See Project database: <nowiki>http://www.unesco-ci.org/ipdcprojects/content/media-assessment-haiti-usingmedia-development-indicators</nowiki></ref>