Tuning In To Community Radio

"While we acknowledge there is a tyranny of distance between Pacific countries...we have the opportunity to strengthen existing information and communication exchange models which amplify voices and brings visibility to the desire for equality, just and sustainable development and a human security approach to building peaceful communities."

FemLINKPACIFIC is a regional feminist community media network working to enable women in all their diversities to claim their communication rights to define their peace, human security, and development priorities. In Fiji, the women-led community radio network "FemTALK 89FM" enables the production of a range of media and communication initiatives to inform media and policy action. (See Related Summaries, below.) This publication responds to the challenges raised by participants during an April 2015 Regional Training Institute and Community Radio Roundtable convened in Nadi, Fiji by FemLINKPACIFIC, World Association of Christian Communication (WACC) Pacific, and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) Asia-Pacific. Section 1 of this publication highlights the background paper and recommendations from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conference "Community Media Sustainability: Strengthening Policies and Funding", where community media stakeholders representing governments, regulators, practitioners, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and experts from all regions of the world pooled their experiences and developed a set of recommendations to guide advocacy in the region. Section 2 provides a simple guide to enhancing understanding of and community radio practice drawing on FemLINKPACIFIC's experience with community radio (2003 - 2015). The purpose of the publication is to provide communication rights activists and community radio practitioners as well as broader civil society a tool for amplifying the collective call for a vibrant community radio network in the Pacific region.

As noted here, the State of Pacific Media report published by the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) highlights the rich and complex media and communication environment of the region; much of the region’s media industry has undergone privatisation over the last decade. The report notes: "Overall radio remains an extremely important broadcast media platform for communication across vast distances and audiences, with most radio consumption occurring on public transport and in other communal spaces. Television retains its importance (especially in urban areas)....Finally, many newspapers and newsletters are published, and have taken on a new life as they are uploaded and shared online to be read by members of the various Pacific diasporas." The report further highlights that access to media is widening: "...individuals in the community and community media are training to use radio, internet and mobile. Provisioning High Frequency (HF) radios in small and isolated communities in PNG [Papua New Guinea] has been a core focus of the NGO Christian Radio Missionary Fellowship (CRMF). In Solomon Islands, NGOs have focused on the use of ICTs [information and communication technologies] for education in rural areas.... We also have women-led community radio networks in Fiji, Tonga and Marshall Islands."

In addition to that background, the FemLINKPACIFIC also notes that, as Pacific Island communicators, there is a need to respond to gender inequalities. Feminist media initiatives including daily media monitoring linked to the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) are being used to generate content that promotes women's participation and women's human rights and address the imbalances in representation of women through gender inclusive content. "This is vital as the Pacific region has the lowest numbers of women elected and represented in local and national government."

It is in this context that the April 2015 regional consultation took place, asking attendees to consider ways to enhance understanding and collaboration on the development, production, and communication of key Pacific Island priorities, with a focus on the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - in particular, the goals of gender equality, climate change/disaster risk reduction-management, and peace and security - and on the development of radio programmes and strategies to advance communication rights in their countries.

The recommendations that are provided in the publication aim to foster a strong and effective community broadcast sector, which is recognised as being an essential part of a free, pluralistic and independent media landscape. They are addressed: to Governments and Regulators, to Community Media Outlets and Associations, to UNESCO, and to the international community (donors, international NGOs (INGOs), and international governmental organisations). To cite only one example (for community broadcasters): "Collaborate with other actors to promote media and information literacy, to combat hatred and xenophobia, to contribute to a culture of tolerance, and to raise awareness about the importance and role of community media in their target communities." Another suggestion is to consider measures to assess sustainability gaps in the community media sector and/or within the media landscape as a whole - for example using UNESCO's Media Development Indicators and UNESCO's Media Viability Indicators. Participants at the regional consultation also focused on recommendations for community broadcasters, based on an understanding that:

• Airwaves are a public resource and that community broadcasting is an important use of this resource, particularly in light of progress towards the range of SDGs, including the target on public access to information and fundamental freedoms; and
• Community media as a whole rely on an environment in which a free and vibrant civil society sector can flourish, including groups that promote and support community media.

Readers of section 2 learn what community radio is, what is meant by "appropriate and accessible technology", and how community media is a participatory process ("Community radio is more than about one person taking to the airwaves to share an opinion. It is closely linked to a process that brings together diverse community knowledge, experiences and recommendations on issues that affect their daily lives."). Community radio is described here as enabling access for everyone and serving as a platform for advocacy - for example, FemLINKPACIFIC transforms information raised through their community radio programmes into a range of policy and media initiatives such as the Community Radio Times and the Women's Human Security First report.