Saturday, 27 February 2010

[creative-radio] AMARC: THE BANGALORE COMMUNITY RADIO DECLARATION

 

RT @mediamentor: THE BANGALORE #COMMUNITY #RADIO DECLARATION #AMARC
http://ow.ly/1c4Ok

February 28, 2010, 3:14 am
Filed under: Human Rights, Uncategorized | Tags: AMARC, asia pacific,
bangalore, freedom of expression, Human Rights, india, kodao, Raymund
Villanueva, right to know

The right to know is essential to every person's humanity. So we believe,
so we struggle, so we live, so we celebrate.

We, the champions and supporters of community broadcasting in the
Asia-Pacific region, shall safeguard, uphold and promote Freedom of
Opinion and Expression. This right goes hand-in-hand with the freedom to
communicate and be informed. This is guaranteed by Article 19 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We affirm that everyone has a right to life, with dignity. All people have
the undeniable right to be informed about decisions affecting the quality
of their lives such as right to health, right to education, right to work,
the right to free expression, and the right to information.

In cognizance of these principles, we declare:

• Our reaffirmation of AMARC's principles on Democratic Regulation in
Community Broadcasting (May 2008) and the Montreal Declaration (November
2008).
• Our recognition of the increasing concentration and corporatization of
commercial, private and state media.
• Our recognition of the need for forging alliances and building networks
at local, national, regional and international levels for solidarity,
advocacy and sharing of information, experiences and technologies.
• Our recognition that access to clean water and the right to food are
universal human rights.
• Our recognition of the diversity in our communities.
• Our affirmation of the immediate need for oppressed and marginalized
communities to take control over their own means of communication.
• Our affirmation, in conjunction with the Indigenous Statement of the
Bangalore Declaration, of the immediate need for Indigenous people's right
to vote, the right to self determination, rights to land, resources,
livelihoods, cultures, and their right to live with dignity.
• Our affirmation of our solidarity with those discriminated against on
the basis of their sexual orientation including the lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgendered community and assert their right to live with dignity
and without fear of persecution.
• Our affirmation of gender equality and the rights of women to own and
control their means of communication.
• Our recognition of the special needs of migrant communities, internally
displaced persons, guest workers and refugees and their right to live free
from discrimination, harassment and violence.
• Our recognition of the disproportionate and disastrous impact of Climate
Change (natural and human created) especially on Indigenous Peoples, the
poor, the marginalized, women, and children.
• Our recognition of the need for community radio broadcasters to report
issues in a manner that promotes non violent responses to conflict based
on the values of respect, dignity and diversity and which seeks to break
down barriers and stereotypes.
• Our affirmation of our condemnation of all forms of violence and
legislation that restrict citizen's rights, spreads an atmosphere of fear
and serve sectarian interests or extremist views.

Having recognized these challenges and affirmed our commitment to
solidarity with those who are confronted by these challenges we reaffirm
the Jakarta Declaration of AMARC Asia-Pacific, December 2005, and we
continue our struggle to democratize the media.

It is against this backdrop that we commit ourselves and our community
radios to:

• Place people's communications rights at the centre of development and
support initiatives for access to digital and other technological
opportunities that enable community broadcasting in an ever-widening
scale;
• Create spaces on the airwaves for diverse and marginalized voices,
irrespective of caste, creed, race, colour, gender, sexuality, faith, and
differently-abled or other differences;
• Challenge the hegemony of commercial, private and state media by
promoting community-owned and operated media as an essential tool to the
preservation of the diversity of voices, cultures, languages and
ecosystems;
• Lobby governments to institute adequate mechanisms promoting media
freedom, protection of community media, and protection of journalists;
• Work towards ensuring food security and food sovereignty with those
whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by denial of these basic human
rights;
• Develop collaborations with educators in order to develop participatory
tools that will provide formal and non-formal educational opportunities,
especially for non-literate communities;
• Include the voices of all migrant, internally displaced peoples and
refugee communities in our community radios and support their
establishment, ownership and management of their own community radios;
• Provide localized information about disaster risk reduction;
• Provide localized emergency news, disaster recovery, relief,
rehabilitation, and sustainable alternatives as well as create a space for
trauma healing and reaffirming faith in the face of adversity;
• Build alliances with grassroots and human rights movements for
strengthening communities and the community radio movement;
• Endorse and implement Article 16 of the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which reaffirms the right of Indigenous
peoples to establish their own community radios in their own languages and
have access to non-indigenous CRs without discrimination;
• Promote and encourage gender equality in our communities with programs
that are fully integrative and supportive of women;
• Endorse and implement the AMARC gender policy drafted by AMARC-AP WIN
members, and ratified by AMARC International Board and incorporate gender
equality in all areas of community radio activity; and
• Oppose violence against journalists, media practitioners, restrictive
legislation, or sectarian interests, and work for an atmosphere of peace
and progress.

We, the representatives of community radio broadcasters, production groups
and other community media practitioners from Afghanistan, Australia, The
People's Republic of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Fiji, The Republic of
India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos PDR, Malaysia,
Mexico, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Philippines, Senegal,
Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste, United Kingdom and the
United States of America agree to uphold this declaration and strive to
implement the values and aspirations it states.

= = = = = = =

AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving the
community radio movement, with almost 3 000 members and associates in 110
countries.

Its goal is to support and contribute to the development of community and
participatory radio along the principals of solidarity and international
cooperation.

AMARC-Asia Pacific's 2nd Regional Conference was held in Bagalore, India
last February 20 to 23, 2010. It was attended by more than 300 delegates
from 21 countries.

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