Creating an enabling environment for free and independent

Indigenous Community Media

Multistakeholder event, 18 April 2023, 1.15 pm – 2.30 pm (EST)

Venue: Meeting Room 6, UN Headquarters Building in New York, USA

Live and on-demand webcast coverage on the UN Web TV website: http://webtv.un.org

In the margins of the 22nd session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
(UNPFII), UNESCO, in partnership with the Canadian National Commission for UNESCO, the Native
American Journalists Association (NAJA) and Whakaata Māori (Māori Television),
is organizing a multistakeholder event on Indigenous Community Media.
Right to freedom of expression and access to information
The founding milestone for community media development is enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights stating that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression;
this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information
and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.

Over the past decade, media has evolved from analogue and diversified its distribution platforms to
digital services. This development has helped media provide audiences dispersed across large and rural
areas with access to vast amounts of content and asymmetric-symmetric communication opportunities
for media professionals and organizations.

The growing appreciation for this outreach is also shared among Indigenous peoples recognizing
community media as a means of communication. In this non-profit media owned and run by
communities, diversity of languages, knowledges, and cultures usually get ample airtime. Community
radio, television, newspapers, and digital media can transmit their traditions, knowledge, languages, and
cultures of Indigenous peoples, often only encoded in the spoken word, through audio-visual content.

Community media are a vital enactment of citizens’ freedom of expression and access to information
since it gives voice and information to communities that seldom find a space in mainstream media.

Free and independent community media

Further to channeling Indigenous rights, community media enrich society with news on Indigenous
issues and events but, most importantly, with Indigenous voices on current affairs and a variety of topics,
making Indigenous people part of national conversations. Community media thus facilitate civic
participation and pluralistic debate.

For Indigenous community media to nurture dialogue on issues that are important to a country,
regulatory and self-regulatory safeguards against political, ideological, or commercial influence over the
community media outlets are essential. This allows for editorial autonomy and brings impartiality,
journalistic independence, and information accuracy to democratic debate.

Creating an enabling environment and favorable conditions

for Indigenous community media
Building on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the importance of media is enhanced in Article
16 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples acknowledging Indigenous
Peoples’ right “to establish their own media in their own languages and to have access to all forms of non-
indigenous media without discrimination” and inviting States “to take effective measures to State-owned
media duly reflect indigenous cultural diversity. States, without prejudice to ensuring full freedom of
expression, should encourage privately owned media to adequately reflect indigenous cultural diversity”.

The Thematic Output 3 of the Global Plan of Action for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages
(2022-2032) calls on all stakeholders to create "enabling favorable conditions for digital empowerment,
freedom of expression, media development and access to information in indigenous languages" (Ref.:
Activity 3.2.).
 Despite opportunities, in general, community media broadcasters face multiple challenges. These include
competition from commercial broadcasters, the rapid pace of transition from analogue to digital media
and operations in the digital market and reduced financial and human resources. A variety of obstacles
and restrictions on the media can limit their benefit for society, affecting citizens' freedom of expression
and access to information. The sustainable development of community media depends to a large
extent on the existence of an enabling environment for it.

The regulations and requirements for community media vary from country to country and are covered by
different laws and regulations. However, legal recognition is key to the effective and sustainable
functioning of Indigenous community media. Many community media organizations, often registered as
civil society, non-governmental organizations or private entities, may not have permission to function as
a media organization and have no mandate to inform, educate and entertain. They may not afford to pay
high fees for the licenses or taxes, though technical changes are making this less of a barrier. If illegal,
community media are threatened with closure, restriction of their work, confiscation of equipment or
other.

Furthermore, where community media are established and run by Indigenous peoples, Indigenous-led
groups, or organizations, they may be also linked to legislation on constitutional recognition of Indigenous
peoples’ rights, as well as other national laws and regulations. These factors may pose additional
challenges to the functioning of Indigenous community media.

Join and support UNESCO’s action for strengthening

Indigenous Community Media
UNESCO, in partnership with other stakeholders, will advocate for the development of community media,
with a special focus on Indigenous community media. Efforts will be made to:

Indigenous peoples

• Promote human rights and freedom of expression and access to information for local communities
through the effective functioning of Indigenous community media
• Strengthen the voices of Indigenous women and men in media coverage, foster multi-dimensional
portrayal of Indigenous Peoples
• Promote access to media content and services in Indigenous languages

Indigenous community media organizations

• Facilitate fair allocation of frequency for small and medium size Indigenous media organizations
• Build capacities for editorial independence, professional and ethical standards, programming, producing
and disseminating media content, and for improved media management practices
• Encourage establishment of self-governing and self-regulating mechanisms in Indigenous community
media organizations in order to ensure greater transparency and accountability to the communities
their represent
• Facilitate the creation of networks and cooperation among Indigenous community media organizations

Member States

• Help develop Indigenous community media, so that they can operate with legal recognition and provisions
• Provide advisory services and capacity-building to ensure media represents all social groups, particularly
Indigenous peoples
• Promote policies and practices that will result in an overall enabling environment for free and
independent community media
 Multistakeholder Debate
on Indigenous Community Media
in the margins of the 22nd session of the UNPFII
Agenda
Date : 18 April 2023, 1.15 pm – 2.30 pm (Eastern Standard Time - EST)

Venue : Meeting Room 6, United Nations Headquarters Building

405 E 42nd St, New York, New York 10017, USA

Interpretation : English, French and Spanish

Web page : LINK

Transmission : Live and on-demand webcast coverage on the UN Web TV website at: http://webtv.un.org

1.15 pm – 1.35 pm | Introduction: Why community media is important for democracies?

Co-chair: Ms Francine Compton, Associate Director, Native American Journalists Association (NAJA)
(Canada/USA)

• Welcoming ceremony by Ms Star Beardy (Canada)

• Ms Elaine Young, Program Officer, Communication and Information, Canadian National
Commission for UNESCO (Canada)
• Mr Francisco Calí Tzay, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

1.35 pm – 2.20 pm | Debate: What are the prerequisites for free and independent
Indigenous Community Media?

Co-chair: Ms Francine Compton, Associate Director, Native American Journalists Association (NAJA)
(Canada/USA)

• Ms Aluki Kotierk, President, Member, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)

• Mr Shane Taurima, CEO, Whakaata Māori (Māori Indigenous Television) (New Zealand)
• Mr Emmanuel Boutterin, Chairman, World Association of Community Radio Broadcasting
(AMARC International)
• Mr Dev Kumar Sunuwar, Founding Chairperson and Co-founder, Indigenous Television (Nepal)
• Ms Mónica López, Coordinator, Indigenous Radio Huayacocotla (Mexico)

2.20 pm - 2.30 pm | Next steps: How to facilitate Indigenous Community Media?

Co-chair: Ms Irmgarda Kasinskaite-Buddeberg, Advisor for Communication and Information, UNESCO

• Suggestions from speakers and audience for future action

• Closing remarks
 Follow the multistakeholder debate “Indigenous community media”:
Live and on-demand webcast coverage on the UN Web TV website at: http://webtv.un.org

Follow us on social media:

#WeAreIndigenous
#IndigenousLanguages
#ILDecade
#UNESCO
#ccunesco
#NativeJournalists
#whakaatamaori
@unesco
@ccunesco
@najournalists
@whakaatamaori

For further information:

Ms Irmgarda Kasinskaite-Buddeberg
Advisor for Communication and Information
Media Development and Media in Emergency Section
Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO
i.kasinskaite(at)unesco.org
https://www.unesco.org/en/communication-information/our-expertise

Ms Barbara Filion
Program Officer, Culture
Canadian Commission for UNESCO (Canada)
barbara.filion(at)ccunesco.ca

Ms Elaine Young
Program Officer, Communication and Information
Canadian Commission for UNESCO (Canada)
elaine.young(at)ccunesco.ca

Ms Francine Compton
Associate Director, Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) (Canada/USA)
fcompton(at)naja.com

Ms Te Whetu Thompson
Ringa Awhina Tāhuhu Rangapū
Whakaata Māori - Māori Indigenous Television (New Zealand)
tewhetu.thompson(at)maoritelevision.com

Cover photo: © Native American Journalists Association

CI/MDE/2023/ICM/1