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AMARC is the widest, and the best known organisation of community radio station in the World. AMARC has branches in the various continents, including Africa (link with AMARC Africa in TRRAACE website, sub-menu 'African Networks"). The AMARC website quotes various definitions of what is a Community Radio from various sources, under the section "AMARC & Community Radio". The website summarises the AMARC Strategic Plan 2003-2006 as decided during the last World Congress: Institutional reinforcement, Public education and mobilisation, Lobbying and advocacy, ICTs and capacity building, Women's International Network, Asia/Pacific Region, Community Media Fund. As we can imagine, such a website proposes also many links under the following headlines: National Associations, International NGOs, Training Centers, Inter-governmental Agencies, Funding Agencies, Women's Links. From 11th to 17th November 2006, AMARC held its 9th Congress in Amman, Jordan. "The conference has provided a very rich forum for knowledge sharing in the plenary and workshop sessions", said Steve Buckley, who was re-elected as AMARC president. We concluded the first phase of an extensive review of the state of community radio, its impact and AMARC's effectiveness, and have achieved a broad consensus on AMARC's priorities for the period ahead. It will be important to complete the documentation of this as comprehensively as possible in order to contribute to the body of knowledge about community radio and the current state of play." More than 300 broadcasters and radio advocates from a record-number 94 countries took part in the week-long conference and training programme, The organisation agreed on a strategic plan and budget for 2007-2010. Five main development areas were identified. The goals are: * Advocacy and policy research: to achieve improvement in the policy, legal and regulatory environment for community media, and for the right to communicate; * Knowledge sharing and capacity building: to strengthen the sustainability, effectiveness and relevance of community media, and to increase the appropriation of community media by excluded and marginalised communities to better identify, discuss, articulate and voice their development concerns; * Content exchange and social action campaigns: to amplify the voices of the excluded and marginalised on key issues in sustainable democratic development, and to strengthen south- centered perspectives; * Gender equality and women’s rights: To promote women’s voices and rights, to combat gender-based discrimination, and to strengthen women’s participation in community media at all levels; and * Network development and communication: To strengthen AMARC’s structure and functioning, to strengthen country, regional and international networking and communication within the community media sector, and to strengthen alliances between community media and other networks and social movements. The congress elected an International Board of Directors that includes: Steve Buckley, President, Aleida Calleja as deputy president Elizabeth Robinson, treasurer Marcelo Solervicens, Secretary General Maria Victoria Cabrera Balleza, Vice President of the Women International Network, Maria Pia Matta, Vice President for Latin America & the Caribbean Ashish Sen, Vice President of AMARC Asia Pacific Grace Githaiga, Vice President for Africa Mariano Sanchez, Vice President for Europe Daoud Kuttab, Vice President for Middle East-North Africa Oumar Seck Ndiaye, Vice President Sony Steuss, Vice President Jim Ellinger, Vice President _________________FRANCAIS AMARC est la plus large et la mieux connue des organisations de radios communautaires dans le monde. AMARC a des sections continentales, dont l'AMARC Afrique (voir lea présentation et le lien dans la catégorie "Réseaux Africains" de TRRAACE). Le site de l'AMARC cite plusieurs définitions de la Radio Communautaires, extraites de diverses sources (voir section "AMARC & Radio Communautaire"). Le site résume le plan stratégique 2003-2006 de l'AMARC, et propose de nombreux liens pertinents pour les radioteurs communautaires organisés selon les catégories suivantes: Associations nationales et fédérations, ONG internationales, Centres de formation, Agences inter-gouvernementales, Agences de financement, Liens entre femmes. |
