In questa città Pari ha incontrato una serie di emittenti confessionali, portavoce di movimenti religiosi. “Qui nelle radio è difficile che ci siano anche i pc e i telefoni”, racconta il nostro Francesco Diasio. Non sembra essere meglio la situazione a Mwene Ditu , un paesone di 800.000 persone a 150 km da Mbuji Mayi che Pari ha visitato subito dopo aver lasciato Mbuji Mayi. “Qui ognuno deve provvedere alla propria corrente elettrica. I giornalisti che leggono il Gr devono essere accompagnati da qualcuno che con una torcia gli illumina le notizie da leggere”, dice Francesco. In questa piccola città la delegazione di Pari ha fatto visita all’antenna locale di Radio Okapi, la radio delle Nazioni Unite nata nel 2002. Tre passaggi pubblicitari giornalieri costano tre euro al mese e ognuno deve procurarsi il proprio gruppo elettrogeno per provvedere alla propria autosufficienza energetica.

Dopo la visita alle radio di Mwene Ditu, Pari ha fatto ritorno a Mbuji Mayi, dove con sorpresa hanno raccolto le critiche delle radio che non avevano ricevuto il sostegno di Panos. “Queste emittenti sono soprattutto di proprietà dei grandi commercianti di diamanti, che non hanno gradito la “discriminazione” attuata dal progetto”, ha concluso Francesco.

A Kolwesi, la città delle miniere a un’ora e mezzo di volo da Lubumbashi, l’obiettivo era fare il diagnostico di radio RCL, Radio Comunitaria Libera. “Lì l’atmosfera è veramente buona, la redazione ha anche una squadra di calcio”, dice divertito Francesco, “le trenta persone che lavorano in radio formano una squadra molto affiatata, che partecipa anche a un progetto con Okapi, la radio delle Nazioni Unite, l’ emittente partecipa cioè alla produzione di Okapi con i suoi servizi e le sue corrispondenze.

Mbuji Mayi è stato l’ultima cittadina visitata per questa seconda tappa. Nella prima radio che Pari ha visitato a Mbuji Mayi sono stati istallati degli apparecchi telefonici fissi, “una tecnologia che in Europa sembra scontata, ma che qui non lo è. Fino a ieri le interviste telefoniche si facevano semplicemente avvicinando un telefono cellulare al microfono”. Ora i giornalisti dovranno abituarsi a questo nuovo strumento, e affiancare l’uso del telefono all’uso della rubrica telefonica e all’archiviazione di contatti e numeri.

Intanto continua il “tour della scommessa” per le cittadine del Congo, dagli studi romani attendiamo nuovi sviluppi e racconti dal nostro inviato.

Una scommessa, perchè le condizioni culturali e logistiche non sono favorevoli. Ma in questa quarta spedizione di controllo del progetto i cooperanti stanno assistendo alla crescita delle radio e al raggiungimento di diversi risultati. Le radio cominciano a lavorare insieme a diversi progetti in direzione di una informazione libera, democratica e indipendente.

“Lavorare sull’informazione tende a diminuire i rischi di una deriva autoritaria” racconta il nostro Francesco Diasio, proprio in questi giorni in spedizione in Congo, ” e lo abbiamo visto alle elezioni presidenziali del 2005, quando grazie al lavoro delle radio i cittadini congolesi sono diventati osservatori del processo elettorale”.

Oggi in Congo l’antenna libera rappresenta un punto di riferimento per la comunità che le ascolta ma anche per chi guarda il paese con gli occhi lontani di un europeo o di un emigrato.

Systeme PETRA - Trazione animale per le Radio, il progetto. (scarica formato pdf)

COMUNICATO STAMPA

RED DE SOLIDARIDAD NTERNACIONAL DE AMARC

El texto reconoce a la radiodifusión comunitaria como un tercer sector en la radiodifusión, complementario a los medios comerciales y estatales, estableciendo una reserva de espectro de un tercio de las frecuencias disponibles en AM, FM y TV abierta, para garantizar una mayor diversidad en la propiedad de medios de comunicación.

Por primera vez en la legislación uruguaya se incluyen procedimientos transparentes y no discrecionales para el otorgamiento de frecuencias, asegurando la igualdad de oportunidades en el acceso a través de concursos abiertos y públicos, y la realización de audiencias públicas para la concesión y renovación de los permisos.

Otro aspecto a destacar es la creación de un organismo asesor con participación ciudadana que controlará el desempeño estatal y brindar mayores garantías a todas las personas en los procedimientos de otorgamiento de frecuencias, que muchas veces han sido utilizado como mecanismos de censura indirecta por los gobiernos.

El Consejo Honorario Asesor de Radiodifusión Comunitaria estará integrado por representantes de algunos ministerios, de los propios medios comunitarios, universidades públicas y privadas y organizaciones de defensa de la libertad de expresión.

El proyecto habilita a las organizaciones sociales tener tanto radios como televisoras. A diferencia de otras legislaciones que imponen barreras a la libertad de expresión al establecer limitaciones previas y arbitrarias de potencia o cobertura de las emisoras comunitarias como los casos de Chile y Brasil, expresamente señala que “en ningún caso se entenderá que el servicio de radiodifusión comunitaria implica necesariamente un servicio de cobertura geográfica restringida. Dicha área estará definida por su finalidad pública y social y (…) dependerá de la disponibilidad y planes de uso del espectro y la propuesta comunicacional de la emisora”.

Los medios comunitarios tendrán derecho a contar con recursos económicos para “asegurar su sustentabilidad económica, independencia y desarrollo” a cuyos efectos “podrán obtener recursos, entre otras fuentes, de donaciones, aportes solidarios, auspicios, patrocinios y publicidad”.

AMARC y otras organizaciones internacionales de libertad de expresión como Artículo 19 y Reporteros sin Fronteras han destacado esta ley como un referente para la región. “La nueva legislación uruguaya sobre radios y televisiones comunitarias debería inspirar al continente americano” dijo RSF en un comunicado firmado por Benoît Hervieu, mientras que Agnés Callamard, directora ejecutiva de Art.19, afirmaba que “esta ley, una vez aprobada y aplicada, constituirá un precedente crucial para América Latina, un modelo que debe ser emulado por los otros países en la región”.

Los senadores realizaron algunas mejoras al texto original que, aunque no modifican los contenidos principales del proyecto, hacen que deba volver a ser nuevamente considerada por los diputados. Fuentes oficiales aseguraron que la ley será aprobada antes de fin de año.

DICHIARAZIONE DI MONTEVIDEO

INICIATIVA REGIONAL IFEX FRENTE A LOS PODERES PARALELOS

América Latina se ha convertido en un lugar altamente peligroso para el ejercicio del periodismo y la libertad de expresión debido al crecimiento de poderes que actúan fuera de la legalidad, definidos como “poderes paralelos”. Todo ello ahondado por el alto nivel de impunidad en la región.

El crimen organizado, el narcotráfico, las maras, grupos armados, paramilitares, caciques o líderes regionales vinculados con los intereses
de grupos económicos, políticos y otros, son una realidad en todo el continente y sus efectos ahí están: amenazas, atentados, desapariciones, asesinatos y la autocensura como mecanismo de autoprotección de los periodistas; cierre de medios de comunicación y un silencioso desplazamiento de periodistas en agravio permanente para la sociedad al violentar sus garantías y derechos a la libertad de expresión, información y comunicación.

Las organizaciones asistentes a la Asamblea General IFEX-2007 en Montevideo, Uruguay, reconociendo la presencia de los poderes paralelos como una grave amenaza, se adhieren al esfuerzo que las organizaciones latinoamericanas desarrollan en el marco de una iniciativa regional frente a esta problemática.

Los firmantes abajo exhortamos a los gobiernos latinoamericanos para actuar frente al problema de los poderes paralelos y garantizar, con acciones legales y concretas, el ejercicio de la libertad de expresión para periodistas, medios de comunicación y ciudadanos.

Firmantes:

Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Indonesia
Arab Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo), Egypt
ARTICLE 19 - Sección México, México
Asociación Mundial de Radios Comunitarias (AMARC) Internacional, Canada
Asociación Nacional de Periodistas del Perú (ANP), Perú
Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Associação Brasileira de
Jornalismo Investigativo, ABRAJI), Brazil
Canadian Journalist for Free Expression (CJFE), Canada
Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES), Nepal
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), Philippines
Center for Media Studies and Peace Building (CEMESP), Liberia
Centro de Ética y Periodismo (CEPET), México
Centro de Reportes Informativos Sobre Guatemala (CERIGUA), Guatemala
Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social (CENCOS), México
Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), Egypt
Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Nepal
Foro Periodismo Argentino (FOPEA), Argentina
Free Media Movement (FMM), Sri Lanka
Freedom House, United States of America
Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP), Colombia
Index on Censorship, United Kingdom
Initiative for Freedom of Expression (DSKG), Turkey
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Belgium
International Press Institute (IPI), Austria
Institute for Reporter’s Freedom and Safety (IRFS), Azerbaijan
Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS), Perú, Venezuela, México
IPS Communication Foundation (BIANET), Turkey
Journaliste en Danger (JED), Democratic Republic of Congo
Mizzima News, India
Observatorio Latinoamericano para la Libertad de Expresión, Perú
Prensa y Democracia (PRENDE), México
PROBIDAD, Honduras
Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay (SPP), Paraguay
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), Thailand
West African Journalists Association (WAJA), Mali
World Association of Newspapers (WAN), France

Radio Iriba FM, « La source » en langue mashi, a émis son premier signal sur les fréquences modulées de 88.40 et 96.00 Mhz le dimanche 2 septembre 2007, depuis ses studios de l’avenue Maniema dans la commune d’Ibanda, à Bukavu. Elle diffuse tous les jours de 5h45 à 22h00. Dotée d’un émetteur de 1 kW, elle peut être captée jusqu’à 200 km à la ronde, et le serait jusqu’à Goma, selon son directeur. Iriba FM se définit comme une radio communautaire d’information de proximité, de promotion du développement, d’éducation de masse mais aussi de détente.
Ses trois premiers journalistes - Donatien Musema, Ephrem Bisimwa, Bertin Bugale - ont déjà travaillé à la Radio télévision nationale congolaise (RTNC), Radio Maendeleo et Radio Maria Malkia wa amani de Bukavu.

Lo stato dei media comunitari nell’Unione Europea (Download pdf)

State of the community media in the European Union
Executive Summary

I. Introduction

Community Media (CM) constitute a dynamic and highly diverse part of the European Union’s media landscape. Yet, little information is available regarding the sector’s scope, its potential nd on the status of CM organisations in different Member States. The purpose of this report is o investigate the state of CM in the EU and to examine the factors that influence their evelopment. Particular attention has been focussed on examining how CM activity meets EU olicy objectives. Furthermore, an assessment of the sector’s involvement at EU level is xpected to inform future policy choices regarding CM.

II. The State of Community Media in the European Union
According to the client brief, the term CM is defined as “media that are non-profit and owned by r accountable to the community that they seek to serve. CM are open to participation in rogramme making and management by members of the community”.
This study begins by examining a number of CM’s contributions that are of public interest. hese contributions are illustrated with several case studies of CM initiatives. The sector’s ctivities are often of social, cultural, political and economic relevance. Its contributions owards the public interest form the basis of political support CM receive in several Member tates. These contributions are perceived and prioritised differently by CM organisations and
governments across the EU. Subsequently, the sector’s public profile varies from country to country.
On the basis of a sector mapping, consultants estimated CM activity across the EU, indicating higher levels of activity in Member States in the North-West of Europe and modest levels of activity in many of the new Member States. Results of a country by country survey, and a total
of 36 conducted consultations, show that levels of activity are closely related to public awareness and legal recognition of the sector as well as to the existence of underlying regulatory procedures. The mapping also confirms the high diversity of the sector and the different roles CM play in different Member States. Moreover, desk research exhibited that audience shares and the number of participants of CM vary significantly. Whereas some initiatives are well known across different communities, others operate on a much smaller scale and may cater for one specific community. However, research also shows that CM often reach out to large proportions of very specific audience groups.
The diversity described above is also reflected in how the sector is organised at national level,where CM are represented by a variety of different sector associations. As further outlined in Section 1, results of the mapping should be perceived as indicative due to the scarcity of available data regarding the sector. Legal status of CM is important to the development of CM organisations. Research shows that a recognised legal status enables CM organisations to engage with regulatory authorities, funding partners as well as advertisers, thus contributing to their sustainable development. Organisations are registered as various legal entities while some broadcasters still operate as pirate stations.
The underlying regulatory situation in most Member States reflects low levels of awareness amongst policy makers regarding this sector and its potential societal contributions. While EU regulation contains provisions that could enable recognition of CM at national level, the sector finds it difficult to make policy makers aware of its requirements. There are some countries that have implemented policies which support CM development; this study has used Hungary, the United Kingdom, France and Ireland as examples to demonstrate this. Digital technology is an opportunity as well as a challenge for CM. Internet-based CM allows the sector to reach out to new audiences as well as to engage new participants in innovative ways. It also allows the sector to adopt new operational models as well as the ability to disseminate and exchange content. Furthermore, the future switch-over to digital broadcasting
could free radio spectrum that could potentially be utilised for new CM services. However, there is a growing concern among the sector that switch-over policies of most Member States do not take CM into account. Moreover, transition to Digital – whether to internet or digital broadcasting – involves some high initial costs that many CM organisations (as well as many other small scale media organisations) cannot afford. Finally, digital broadcasting standards often do not cater for the needs of small media organisations such as CM and may exclude the sector from future platforms. The study shows that only few countries include must carry rules to prevent this from happening.
CM organisations rely on a variety of different resources. These include commercial revenues as well as state support. The sector also heavily depends on volunteers. Differing economic and social circumstances make it difficult to estimate an average budget for a Community Media Organisation. Moreover, public policy sets the parameters under which the sector operates in each country. Though in some countries regulation promotes high flexibility and entrepreneurship from CM organisations, others adopt policies that lead the sector to operate in a more stable and institutionalised fashion.
In the context of all these differences and distinctions, the sector shares some common traits.
Research has shown that there is currently momentum in the development of CM across the EU. The sector has embraced digital technology and CM organisations are trying to act collectively to articulate their positions before policy makers. Moreover, in the current climate of things, CM could certainly benefit from the increasingly stronger concept of emerging knowledge-based societies. For if society’s future relies on the active involvement of informed, media literate citizens, CM can play a definitive role in facilitating such a future. A key challenge for the sector is to raise awareness among policy makers and the general public regarding this potential contribution.

Dowload the report (77pages Pdf)

Disciplina giuridica radio comunitarie in Italia (Download Pdf), a cura di Patrizio Dalmazzone

Le radio libere arrivarono nel 1978 al numero di 2.500, per poi subire una inevitabile contrazione per tutti gli anni ottanta, in conseguenza del fatto che nascevano i primi network privati, e che molte realtà non erano in grado di mantenersi in vita per i crescenti costi di gestione.