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UNESCO joins partners in carrying forward new guidelines to increase and improve media support
In May 2024, UNESCO supported global and regional partners to organize two summits – one in Latin America and the Caribbean and another in Europe. These summits marked the beginning of a series of discussions centred around the implementation of the recently published “Principles for Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment.”
These Principles are the result of over two years of consultations and advocacy led by experts and civil society actors such as the GFMD, which represents more than 180 media development organizations. The initiative reviewed trends in media support over the past decade, recalibrated guidelines to address contemporary challenges, and aimed to increase overall support for media and the information environment worldwide.
For the period 2016 to 2022, the total official development assistance (per year) allocated to media and the information environment … is on average only 0.5% of the total ODA. When ODA for infrastructure-related purposes is excluded, this number shrinks to 0.24%.
The document builds on guidelines issued by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) in 2014 and foundational UN and UNESCO documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Windhoek+30 Declaration. It outlines six key principles for relevant and effective support to media and the information environment: do no harm; increase financial and other forms of support; take a whole of system perspective; strengthen local leadership and ownership; improve coordination of support; and invest in knowledge, research, and learning.
Following OECD DAC approval of the document in March 2024, stakeholders around the world are now working to raise awareness about the Principles, contextualize them and put them into action.
Engaging partners and Member States toward collaborative action
On 4 May, the first of several planned GFMD regional summits was held as part of UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day global celebration in Santiago, Chile. Led by GFMD, the summit was also co-organized by UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) Media Development Working Group, and the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA).
Later that month, on the sidelines of the International Press Institute’s (IPI) World Congress and Media Innovation Festival, IPDC supported GFMD in the organization of a similar summit in Sarajevo, BiH, together with IPI, the Organised Crime and Corruption Project (OCCRP), and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN).
Both meetings sought to socialize and contextualize the Principles among local partners identifying key challenges and opportunities. Presentations from regional partners highlighted the need for and potential impact of on-the-ground implementation of the new guidelines. Participants identified current networks and resources that could be better leveraged, gaps in support and feedback mechanisms, and steps toward measuring success.
The consultative and collaborative approach that had informed the drafting and OECD DAC approval of the new guidelines continued during these meetings.
This advocacy effort was made possible by our whole community — implementing organisations, civil society representatives, and media development experts — actively engaging with bilateral donor agencies, intergovernmental organisations, and other policymakers and funders. There is a noticeable trend towards genuine multi-stakeholder cooperation within the sector, which is facilitating more collective action.
Discussions emphasized the importance of collaboration and knowledge exchange, identifying expertise and good practices to inform real-world application of the Principles.
UNESCO’s decades of experience in media support emphasize the critical need for local ownership and peer-to-peer exchange laid out in the final Principles document. As partners gathered in Sarajevo, UNESCO’s regional projects such as Social Media 4 Peace offered strong examples of the impact of coalitions and joint advocacy.
At its 68th meeting on 20-21 June, the IPDC Bureau will further discuss the OECD-approved Principles and UNESCO’s ongoing engagement in this initiative. This discussion will continue at the IPDC’s Intergovernmental Council in November 2024.
As she spoke with partners at the summit in Sarajevo, IPDC Deputy Secretary Saorla McCabe noted that the IPDC Chair has committed to bringing the non-binding Principles to the Council for possible approval. Given the Council’s representative makeup and role as a vital platform for consensus, its approval would send a significant message in favor of this initiative, providing a broader backing for this global effort that began among OECD members.
Read the full Principles document here, and learn more about IPDC’s initiatives and resources on the issue of media viability here.
