Consultation on Media Viability/Summit for Democracy
Media viability in crisis
Consultation on media viability in crisis that will feed into the Media Freedom Cohort of the Summit for Democracy
Organisers: GFMD, UNESCO, Free Press Unlimited, and DW Akademie
When: March 29th from 13:30 – 18:00 CET
Where: “Amazon” room, World Forum, The Hague, The Netherlands & online
What: GFMD and its partners are hosting two sessions that will bring together recommendations on how to sustain viable independent media and journalism to inform the contribution of the Media Freedom Cohort into the Summit for Democracy. GFMD is the civil society co-lead if the Cohorts Working Group 3, which is focusing on “Bolstering Independent and Diverse Media”.
Agenda
Coffee and registration (13:30 – 14:00)
Opening remarks from event organisers (14:00 – 14:15)
- Zoe Titus, Chair of GFMD & Director of the Namibia Media Trust
- Saorla McCabe, Deputy Secretary of the International Programme for the Development of Communication at UNESCO
- TBC, Free Press Unlimited
- Laura Moore, Head of Research and Evaluation, DW Akademie
SESSION 1: Tunisia, Lebanon and Namibia (14:15 – 16:00)
This first session draws on discussions from the national consultations in Namibia, Tunisia, and Lebanon. Local partners from all three countries will be present at the Summit, providing an opportunity to present the recommendations from the consultations to international policymakers, donors, and other actors across the media development landscape.
Moderator: Saorla McCabe, Deputy Secretary of the International Programme for the Development of Communication at UNESCO
Rapporteur: Dr. Maha Taki, Senior Media Adviser, BBC Media Action
Presentations: (14:15 – 14:50)
Lebanon (15 mins)
- Roula Mikhael, Executive Director, Maharat Foundation
- Ayman Mhanna, Executive Director, Samir Kassir Foundation’s (SKeyes) Center for Media and Cultural Freedom
Tunisia (15 mins)
- Ahmed Amine Azouzi, Managing Director and Senior Consultant, Pencils Consulting
- Khadija Maalej, Senior Projects Manager, BBC Media Action – Tunisia
Namibia (15 mins)
- Zoe Titus, Chair of GFMD, Director of Namibia Media Trust
Roundtable discussion: (15:00 – 16:00)
International media assistance organisations, donors and policymakers will be invited to respond to the presentation and reflect on how well their existing programmes meet the needs and priorities raised in the three presentations.
National and regional actors will be invited to A) give further examples of how media viability can be best supported in their country/region and B) respond to the contributions from international media assistance organisations and donors and give feedback on how responsive international media assistance is to the priorities and approaches identified by national actors.
All participants will be asked to put forward solutions to the issues raised in the presentations and roundtable discussion.
Coffee break (16:00 – 16:30)
SESSION 2 – Support for media in crisis (16:30 – 18:30)
A session on media assistance efforts in situations of crisis.
Moderator: Tom Law, Deputy Director, GFMD
Rapporteur: Dr. Laura Moore, Head of Research and Evaluation, DW Akademie
Presentations: (16:30-17:00)
Perspectives on media viability in Ukraine? (16:30-16:50)
- Jakub Parusinski, Chief Financial Officer, The Kyiv Independent / Managing Partner, Jnomics Media / Editor, The Fix Media
Perspectives from Afghanistan (16:50-17:00)
- Ahmad Quraishi, Executive Director, Afghanistan Journalists Center
Perspectives from other countries (17:00-17:20)
- Isabela Ponce Ycaza, Cofundadora y directora editorial en GK, Ecuador
- Leo Munyao Mutisya, Manager, Stakeholder engagement and Professional ethics, Kenya Media Council
- Laxman Datt Pant, Chairperson, Media Action Nepal
Roundtable discussion 17:20-18:20
All participants will be asked to put forward solutions to the issues raised in the presentations and roundtable discussion.
National and regional actors will be invited to A) give further examples of how media viability can be best supported in their country/region and B) respond to the contributions from international media assistance organisations and donors and give feedback on how responsive international media assistance is to the priorities and approaches identified by national actors.
International media assistance organisations, donors and policymakers will be invited to respond to the presentation and reflect on how well their existing programmes meet the needs and priorities raised in the three presentations.
Concluding remarks 18:20-18:30
Rapporteurs and event organisers will give concluding comments.