ComGAP: African Union Consultation Can Lead to a More Strategic Approach to Media Development

An informal expert meeting on media and development hosted by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the European Commission (EC) in Addis Ababa, March 23-25 agreed a range of practical proposals in support of African media. Participants representing journalists, media owners, media development practitioners, journalism schools and self-regulatory structures in Africa highlighted the important role the AUC can play in promoting media freedom and independent journalism in Africa.

The consultation attended by some 35 participants was the first time the African Union discussed media development with practitioners and marks an important step towards creating a strategic approach of the African Union Commission to media development.

The meeting launched the pan-African media network, a structure that aims to bring together the different players in African media. The Global Forum for Media Development's African Forum for Media Development will facilitate operation of the network, which will be organised along sub-sectors of media development.

The network builds on existing pan-African and sub-regional structures and aims to bring together the groups representing journalists, media owners, media development practitioners, journalism trainers, self-regulatory structures and advocacy groups. Together they can formulate a media strategy for Africa and do joint lobbying for support.

Secondly, it established a task force to develop terms of reference for a pan-African portal site. The African Media Initiative will facilitate the work of the task force.

Participants agreed that it is crucial that the portal site works with existing organisations in Africa and aims to strengthen their work rather than duplicate it. There is a lack of information on African media; for instance, data on the national advertising markets, conditions of journalists, training opportunities and the portal site can fill these information gaps.

But none of these key initiatives will come into being unless there is funding support. Therefore, the meeting called on the AUC and EC to provide the necessary financing to put the two initiatives into place.

The expert meeting in Addis Ababa marked a change in the AUC’s approach to media development. The African Union and European Union had first focused on media at their media and development conference in Ouagadougou in September 2008. After that conference the AU and EU launched a controversial proposal for a pan-African media observatory in July 2009. The Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) together with other organisations representing journalist, media owners and journalism trainers criticized the observatory proposal for trying to establish a pan-African media council with government involvement that was more likely to restrict media freedom rather than promoting it.

The expert meeting in Addis Ababa echoed that criticism. The overwhelming majority of participants agreed with the GFMD statement and highlighted shortcomings in the proposal, notably its lack of recognition of principles of media freedom, its proposed involvement of governmental bodies in media disputes, the lack of clarity of its legal basis and its failure to recognise existing African initiatives.

The AUC assured the meeting that the proposal for a pan-African media observatory would not be pursued further.

Instead, AUC Chairman Jean Ping said the AUC supports the two pan-African portal site and media network as making an important contribution to the AU-EU Partnership Strategy, notably in the area of good governance, democracy and human rights.

“Africa needs quality, independence and protection of media,” said Jean Ping. “And we need editors and journalists to follow their ethical principles.”

It has taken almost two years but it seems that the AUC and EC are now on the right track in providing support for practical media development initiatives support by practitioners.

But more needs to be done. Participants at the meeting supported the GFMD’s call on the AUC and EC to recognise media as a sector of development in its own right.

Without structures that deal directly with media development and provide targeted support, it will not be possible to develop an effective media support strategy.

But, if adequate support is provided for the pan-African media network, the AU will be the first supra-national institution that has a structure of consultation on media development.

Finally, the AU needs to do more to engage Member States in a debate on their adherence and commitment to key African declarations in support of media freedom, such as the 1991 Windhoek Declaration and the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights.

Participants at the meeting in Addis Ababa urged the AUC and EC to provide more funding and support to the African Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information.

This office is doing important work and it is underfunded and not sufficiently recognised. The AUC and EC have to provide more support for the Special Rapporteur to do an annual report on freedom of expression and to urge AU Member States to live up to their commitments.

- April 08, 2010 by Bettina Peters
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Source: blogs.worldbank.org/publicsphere/african-union-consultation-can-lead-more-strategic-approach-media-development (accessed on 10.04.2010)