AMARC AFRICA ACTIVITIES

AMARC Africa Capacity Building Seminar: Community Radios

in African Human Development held in Johannesburg

The seminar on the theme: Community Radios in African

Human Development, Improving content, Networks contribution and Women Empowerment was held from July 19 to
22 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The seminar was organised by the AMARC Africa Board
with funding from the UNESCO/PIDC Windhoek (Namibia)
office.
he seminar has looked at the situation of the different
community radio networks and at the on going as well
as projected activities on HIV AIDS, Water and
Sanitation , women empowerment. Participants exchanged
on the required methodologies and technologies as well as
on the best practices for the coverage of human development issues in Africa.
25 delegates came from stations and networks of 12 countries: South Africa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic
Rpublic of Congo (DRC), Cte dIvoire, Ghana, Kenya,
Mozambique, Ouganda, Sngal, Tchad and Zimbabwe.
Participants exchanged on techniques of tutoring and of
knowledge exchanges which would reinforce networks,
improve community radios contents and thus facilitate their
contribution to human development in Africa.
They also agreed on the activities to be undertaken in priority in implementing the AMARC Africa Strategic Action
Plan for 2010-2014. n

AMARC AFRICA ACTIVITIES

4 AMARC Africa Capacity Building Seminar:

Community Radios in African Human

Development held in Johannesburg
4 Declaration of Johannesburg

AMARC AFRICA NETWORKS NEWS

4 Zimbabwe Media Stakeholders meeting

4 AMARC Africa Open letter to the President of

the Islamic Republic of Mauritania,

RADIO EVENTS AND ADVOCACY

4 NIGERIA : Community Radios on the Air!

4 BURUNDI : Suspicions brews between

the government and the media

4 Site Web des Radios Communautaires en

RDC/A Web Site for Community Radios in DRC

EVENTS

4 The 2010 Internet Governance Forum

DOCUMENTS & LINKS

Declaration of Johannesburg
e the members of AMARC AFRICA representing
community radios and networks of community
radios from 13 Western, Eastern and Southern
African countries (South Africa, Burkina Faso, Cote
dIvoire, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Chad,
Uganda and Zimbabwe), gathered in Johannesburg with
the objective to contribute to the strengthening of national Community Radio Networks, the improvement of their
content and the empowerment of women in community
radio in order to enhance the impact of community radio
in African Human Development,
Recalling the First knowledge sharing meeting of community radios in Africa in Accra, Ghana 16-18 December
2009;
Recognizing the importance of the role played by community radio in promoting human development in Africa,
Resolve to promote stronger partnership, collaboration
and harmonization among community radios across
countries and with the national networks as well as with
AMARC, to improve on the quality of radio programs,
through knowledge sharing, peer tutoring and through
the use of the WEB and Information communication technologies
Call on the community radio broadcasters throughout
Africa to reinforce their engagement to contribute to the
fight against HIV AIDS, malaria and other epidemics, to
the alleviation of poverty and hunger, for food security
and to develop awareness on the challenges and threats
brought by the climate change,
Encourage AMARC Africa member community radios
and national networks to organize knowledge exchanges
on a continuous basis among them in order to enhance

their skills and capacities and increase the social impact

of their programs and promote more efficiently human
development, good governance, social justice, the
empowerment of women and human rights.
To that end the seminar calls upon community radios and
networks to adapt digital technologies and techniques
and to prepare for the analogue to digital migration,
Call on AMARC to continue tutoring and mentoring community radio broadcasters in using ICT tools and techniques to produce and exchange good quality programs.
Recalling the African Charter on Broadcasting of 2001
and recognizing the importance of an enabling legal
framework and an independent regulator to promote the
development of free, independent and pluralistic media
in Africa;
Call on the governments of Africa to urgently recognize
community radio as the third tier of the broadcasting sector and to adopt the necessary legislative and regulatory
policies to allow for its sustainable development.
AMARC Africa Board and delegates at this seminar
expressed concern about the state of the legislations of
in such countries as Mauritania, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and
Botswana where community radio is not recognized.
It expressed also its concern of the situation in Namibia
where state regulation limits the development of community radios.
It calls upon the Governments the African Union, the
Southern African Economic Development Commission
(S.A.D.E.C) and the Economic Commission of West
African States (ECOWAS) to now fully recognise community radios in line with the recommendation of the African
Charter of Broadcast adopted since 2001. n

AMARC AFRICA NETWORKS NEWS

Zimbabwe Media Stakeholders meeting

MARC Africa was represented at the annual
Zimbabwe Media Stakeholders meeting which was
held this year in Harare, between September 2 to 6,
2010. About 50 of local media organizations and international media support organisations participated.
The meeting was organized by the Zimbabwe Media
Alliance with the support of the International Media
Support (IMS), an international media support organization of which AMARC is a member, the Frederich Ebert
Foundation and lUNESCO.
Participants included the Zimbabwe Association for
Community Radio, (ZACRAS) and the Media Institute for
Southern Africa (MISA).
The Zimbabwe Ministry of Information was represented
as well.
The situation of the print media in Zimbabwe has
improved and the independent daily News Day challenges the government controled Herald but the broadcast media is still state monopoly.
The meeting thus adressed two topics: the reform of the

AMARC AFRICA NEWSLETTER

press laws, the Access to Information and Protection of

Privacy Act (-AIPPA) and the Public Order and Security
Act and the lifting of the state monopoly on broadcasting.
The Zimbabwe Ministry of Information representative
indicated however that his government will consider
each frequency application on its own specific attributes.
The AMARC Africa delegate exchanged both with the
ZACRAS officialsand with the international media support organizations on ways and means of developing the
capacities of the community radio stakeholders to advocate for the allocation of frequencies to community
radios in urban and in rural areas, notably to existing stations such as the Harare Community Radio (CORAH),
Radio Dialogue and the Women Radio which programs
are presently distributed on CD and over the Internet.
Zimbabwean and international partners expressed their
renewed commitment to work together and with AMARC
Africa for the reform of the media laws and for the establishment of community radios in Zimbabwe. n
No 4

Octobre 2010

Page 2

AMARC Africa Open letter to the

President of the Islamic Republic
of Mauritania,
Mister President,

he World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters in

Africa (AMARC Africa) had rejoiced at your declaration of
March 2010 in favour of the liberalisation of the airwaves in
Mauritania.
Such an evolution would be in line with both the true essence and
the expressed commitments of the Constitution of the Islamic
Republic of Mauritania, in particular its guarantees on freedom of
expression, press freedom, the right to communicate and media
pluralism. It would mark a significant contribution in favour of
Democracy in your country.
However, considering that :
n Fredom of expression has necessarely to translate into the right
to communicate and to access the means of communication for
the people, for all its diverse segments, the women, the youth, the
city inhabitants as well as rural dwellers,
n Broadcasting constitutes, notably in Mauritania and in Africa in
general, the best mean for the people to access to communication,
n The radio frequencies are a public commodity which should
be equally shared by all the people,
n We, in the spirit of the the African Charter on Broadcasting
which was adopted by the African Union in 2005, call on you to
Facilitate the adoption in the context of the liberalisation of broad-

casting a legal and a three tier system of broadcasting with a

public sector, a private sector and a community sector.
Institute a regulatory system, in charge notably of the allocation
of frequency, which is a public
authority independent from the political and economic powers,
with the participation of civil society and operates in a transparent maner according to set rules and regulations.
See to it that such a regulatory system allows for the the transparent and equitable distribution of the frequencies between the
three sectors and promotes diversity of ownership and content in
broadcasting.
Facilitate the viability of the broadcasting enterprises, notably of
the community radios, by regulating a fair and equitable access
to publicity, public allocations and internional donorsinterventions.
We call on you, Mister President to facilitate the advent of
Community Broadcasting, which is for, by and about thecommunity, whose ownership and management is representative of the
community, which pursues a social development agenda, and
which is non-profit.
This is not rural, decentralized broadcasting which is in fact part
of the public sector and managed by state emplyees.
Community broadcasting legal framework should also facilitate
its access to the Internet and the ICTs.
To facilitae the liberalization of the airwaves and the promotion of
freedom of expression in Mauritania, AMARC is engaged and
ready to contribute with the government and civil society of
Mauritania in the developement of a legal framework and a three
tiers system of broadcasting. n
30 September 2010.

RADIO EVENTS AND ADVOCACY

NIGERIA :
Community Radios on the Air!
The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced a go-ahead for the licensing of community radio in Nigeria at the Africast conference in Abuja.

AMARC has issued the following press communique.

19 Octobre 2010
AMARC welcomes community radio breakthrough in Nigeria

he World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters

(AMARC) today welcomed the decision of the Federal
Government of Nigeria to give the go-ahead for community radio in Nigeria.
In a speech at the opening of the Africast 2010 conference in
Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan announced that the
Federal Executive Council had approved guidelines proposed
for community radio licensing by the National Broadcasting
Commission (NBC), the Nigerian broadcasting regulator.
The President stated further that government had devolved to
NBC, the power to consider and issue the licenses without
recourse to the presidency, once the applicant meets the legal
conditions.
The move is a crucial breakthrough for Nigerias Community
Radio Coalition, which has been campaigning for such a move
for several years since Nigeria returned to multi-party democracy.
Steve Buckley, AMARC International President said:
We greatly welcome the announcement by President
Goodluck Jonathan confirming approval of proposals from the
National Broadcasting Commission to proceed with community radio licensing in Nigeria. We especially applaud the delega-

AMARC AFRICA NEWSLETTER

tion of licence assessment and decision making to the regulatory body as another important step in democratising Nigerian
media law and regulation.
We congratulate the President and the Government of Nigeria
for taking this bold step towards the development of community broadcasting, along side private and state broadcasting, to
ensure the access of all people of Nigeria to information and
communication, consistent with recommendations of the
African Charter on Broadcasting which has been endorsed by
African governments. n
For more information:
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters
705, rue Bourget, bureau 100
Montreal, Quebec H4C 2M6 Canada
secgen (@) si.amarc.org
Phone: +1 514 982 0351
Fax: +1 514 849 7129
http://www.amarc.org
AMARC Africa Coordinator
Alymana Bathily
Phone : (221) 77 637 06 44
Dakar, Senegal
alymanab@yahoo.fr
No 4

Octobre 2010

RADIO EVENTS
AND ADVOCACY AT TO PAGE 4
Page 3

RADIO EVENTS
AND ADVOCACY FOR TO PAGE 3

BURUNDI :
Suspicions brews between
the government and the media
he electoral process has been engaged in Burundi since May 2010. The
media houses had been called to
cover an electoral campaign which is seen
as crucial for the country which is recovering from a long civil war.
15 radios decided then to work together to
be more effective.
This was based on the lack of resources,
both in equipment and personnel, to cover
the whole country. Also, it was to ensure a
common approach to coverage of the elections.
Radio is present in every household in Burundi.
It is therefore estimated that it was crucial that radio deliver balanced and credible information.
The group of 15 radios had already worked together to
cover the 2005 elections and were quite successful.
However when they wanted to renew the experiment for the
2010 elections, the CNDD-FDD government was apparently suspicious and saw this as detrimental to the ruling party.
This was demonstrated after the county level elections held
on May 24, 2010 which were widely covered by the radios.
The election results were rejected by many opposition parties which refused to take part in the presidential elections
and the incumbent President Pierre NKURUNZIZA was
thus the only contestant.
The radios reported the ensuing low participation rate with
not a single person voting in many voting booths.
The regulatory authority- Conseil National de la
Communication-which President is a member of the ruling
party, branded the radio coverages as biased and inflamatory You have put the country on fire with these
coverages and it is by the grace of God that the consequences were not damaging added the regulatory
body President, Vestine NAHIMANA. She even compared
the radios with the Rwanda RTLM radio which was instru-

mental in the 1994 genocide in that country.

This reaction of the Conseil National de la Communication
provoked the anger of the media professionnals who have
regularly denounced the lack of independance of the regulatory body This is the stance of a party member not
that of a regulatory body cadre said Corneille NIBARUTA,
prsident of the Broadcasters Association of Burundi (
ABR).
According to Alexandre Niyungeko, Prsident of Press
Union of Burundi who indicates that the CNC reaction is
not surprising: Her assessment is unprofessionnal considering that all the development partners of Burundi have
recognized the quality of the coverage done by the associated radios .
It is this context of suspicion that the media operate now in
Burundi.
The ruling CNDD-FDD has scored a complete victory during the presidential elections which gives it total control
over the country for the next 5 years with almost no political
opposition. Only media constitutes now a check on the
power of the President and of the ruling party. n

Emelyne MUHORAKEYE
Radio Renaissance FM

A Web Site for Community Radios in DRC

he Democratic Republic of Congo Federation of Local
Radios (FDRC) is on line since August 24, 2010 at
www.frpcmedias.net, it is a dream come true for the
Executive National Secretariat.
The Federation of Local Radios, known by its French
acronym FRPC was set up April 13, 2007 in Kinshasha by
a group of local radio managers, after exchanges with
radio personnel in most of the regions. FRPC is made up of
11 regional networks and a total of 217 member radio station in the country. It is a not-for profit organization, registered under the DRC laws and with the Ministry of Justice
under the number F92/10126. It is headquartered in the
capital city, Kinshasha. FRPCs mission is to facilitate the
participation of DRC people in development and democracy through local radios. It seeks also to develop the capac-

AMARC AFRICA NEWSLETTER

ities of the radio personnel, look after their interests, facilitate socialisation and solidarity between members and help
the implementation of local radio projects.
We are very grateful to the media support partners who
have supported and facilitated the project of putting FDRC
on line.
Our special thanks to Michael Tragene and Michel
Philippart for the Site development
Please go to www.frpcmedias.net and leave us your messages. n

Rigobert MALALKO
FDRC President
Manager, Radio Bangu de Kimpese

No 4

Octobre 2010

Page 4

EVENTS

The 2010 Internet Governance Forum

he 5th Internet Governance Forum was held this year

from September 14 to 17, 2010 in Vilnius, Lithuania
under the theme Developing the future together. The
Internet Governance Forum is a space for exchanges on
the public policies and issues such as the governance , the
viability, the security, the stabilityand the development of
the Internet.
More than 1,900 participants from 107 countries attended
the meeting, the largest participation of all the five IGFs.
Delegations from 79 governments were represented along
with participants from the private sector, civil society, the
Internet community and the media. More than 600 people
participated remotely from more than 30 registered hubs as
well as individuals. There were 35 remote panelists.
Cloud computing was designated and discussed as the
emerging issueof the time
As an emerging issue cloud computing was seen as presenting lots of challenges to be resolved.
Participants acknowledged that there were different opinions about what was the cloud and how it could be used.
One definition suggested it meant programming the whole
infrastructure of the Internet and providing that as a service, others said it included web-based email services as
well as data storage and processing. The cloud could be
seen as a shared resource or as something that might lead
to computing power becoming a utility like electricity which
could be plugged into on demand.
Concerns were expressed about market dominance by
the most powerful IT companies, how cloud computing
might worsen the digital divide, the use of open standards,
the hidden costs of cloud computing and standards for
cloud service providers. There was a warning that cloud
computing was a disruptive technology that would change
how we process information and challenge existing regulatory paradigms.

The discussion looked at the benefits of cloud computing

such as the savings from economies of scale offered by the
cloud, and the drawback including concerns about data
security and privacy and interoperability were discussed. It
was argued that the cloud could offer governments the
opportunity to use information technology resources more
efficiently.
Another issue discussed in the session was the environmental impact of cloud computing. It was reported that
data centre energy use globally is now one per cent of
global electricity consumption and could rise to two per
cent this year.
Taking stock of Internet governance and the way forward
Participants took stock of the evolution in the overall
Internet governance landscape since the first IGF meeting
in Athens in 2006 and looked ahead at Internet governance
over the next five years leading up to the ten-year review of
implementation of and follow-up to the outcome of the
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in 2015.
There was a call form more youth engagement at the IGF.
One young person described how youth issues were often
discussed solely from an adult point of view, instead of
youth discussing the future of the Internet as equal stakeholders with all other participants.
One participant from civil society saw the IGF as an international space for open exchanges on matters of public
policy affecting the Internet alongside the regional and
national process but if it were to continue there was a need
to make the outcomes more visible and tangible without
compromising its non-binding and non-decision-making
nature. n
From: FGI 2010 :
http://www.igf2010.lt/

DOCUMENTS & LINKS

n Union Africaine : www.africa-union.org
n Nations Unies : www.un.org/fr/
n Programme des Nations Unies pour le Development :
www.undp.org
n Banque Mondiale : www.banquemondiale.org
n FAO : Sommet sur la Scurit Alimentaire :
http://www.fao.org/wsfs/sommet-mondial/fr/?no_cache=1
n UNICEF : www.unicef.fr
n UNESCO : www.unesco.org/fr
n Enda Tiers Monde : www.enda.sn/org.htm
n Africa Adapt /Guide sur le Changement Climatique :
http://www.africa-adapt.net/AA/
n Human Rights Watch : www.hrw.org
n IFEX : www.ifex.org
n Instutit Panos Afrique de lOuest : ipao.org
n Fondation pour les Medias en Afrique de lOuest :
www.mediafound.org

n Union des Etats de lAfrique de lOuest : www.ecowas.int

n Union Economique et Montaire de lAfrique de lOuest :
www.uemoa.int
n Union des Etats de lAfrique Australe : www.sadc.int
n March Commun des Etats de lAfrique Orientale et
Australe (COMESA) : www.comesa.int
n Union Europenne : http://europa.eu/index_fr.htm
n Fdration Internationale des Journalistes :
http://www.ifj.org/fr
n Association des journalistes de lAfrique de lOuest :
http://www.ujaowaja.org/
n Media Institute for Southern Africa : http://www.misa.org/
n Agence Canadienne pour le Dveloppement International : www.acdi-cida.gc.ca
n Agence Internationale de la Francophonie :
www.francophonie.org
n International Press Service-IPS: www.ips.org

A publication of AMARC Africa

Editorial Board : Oumar Seck Ndiaye, Franklin Huizes, Karamoko Bamba,Marcelo Solervicens, Alymana Bathily Editor : Alymana Bathily
Rdacteur: Alymana BATHILY, Coordonnateur AMARC Afrique - BP: 6202 Dakar-Etoile, Sngal

AMARC AFRICA NEWSLETTER

No 4

Octobre 2010

Page 5