huridocs-tech Report: Broadcasting & Internet in developing countries

Edited/Distributed by HURINet - The Human Rights Information Network
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## author     : boa@COMUNICA.ORG
## date       : 20.10.99
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                                  Converging Responsibility
            Broadcasting and the Internet in Developing Countries
                    September 4-6, 1999 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
                               http://www.comunica.org/kl/

"Converging Responsibility: Broadcasting and the Internet in
Developing Countries" was a conference held in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia from September 4-6, 1999. It was attended by people
from 35 institutions in 19 countries.

The meeting was hosted by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and
supported by UNESCO and IDRC.

The report of the meeting was taken to the full annual
meeting of the International Institute of Communications,
also in Kuala Lumpur, on September 8.

In their report, conference participants expressed concern
about the disparities between levels of access in various
parts of the world and stressed the importance of addressing
the issue with innovative responses. "As we enter the era of
the knowledge society and the knowledge economy, access to
the infrastructure to share knowledge is essential for
social and economic progress..."

"The seriousness of the challenge requires creative
responses from government agencies responsible for
communication policy and regulation, from the
telecommunication industry and from international governance
bodies."

The report also emphasised the importance of transparency
and public involvement in communications policy and
regulatory processes. Noting the efforts by various bodies
to educate and support new telecommunication and broadcast
regulators, the report underlines the "need to expand these
efforts to include the education of citizens and NGOs to
ensure they are aware of their rights and responsibilities
in the new regulatory environments."

Transparency and participation are also important on the
international level. Global governance bodies are playing an
increasingly important role in setting communication
standards, allocating radio spectrum, and defining broad
policies that are shaping how people communicate. Thus, the
report says, "global governance bodies such as the ITU, WTO,
WIPO and the World Bank must also be transparent,
accountable and allow broader participation from civil
society."

The report also offers a creative solutions for extending
the reach of the knowledge infrastructure by making use of
existing radio broadcast networks. "While in some parts of
the world a radio is most often seen as an accessory for an
automobile, in large parts of the South, it is the only
communication device that most people have access to." In
Sri Lanka, for example, only one person in 500 has access to
the Internet, but virtually everyone listens to the radio.

Conference participants examined a number of pilot projects
combining the radio and the Internet to mutually enhance
their development impact. Some of these, such as Latin
America's Agencia Informativa Pulsar and Indonesia's Kantor
Berita Radio 68H, use the Internet to link radio stations.
Others, such as Kotmale Community Radio in Sri Lanka, are
experimenting with using radio as a "gateway" to the
Internet. These projects seek to make the Internet's
information resources available to rural and under- served
communities.

Information about the conference, including the text of the
report and of the keynote address by Dr. Rohan Samarajiva,
is available at http://www.comunica.org/kl/

For further information, contact either of the conference's co-
chairs:
             Bruce Girard <bgirard@comunica.org>
             Sucharita Eashwar <suchrita_eashwar@hotmail.com>


-
Bruce Girard
bgirard@comunica.org or bruceg@sepa.tudelft.nl
TU Delft: +31 - 15 278.8548   Fax: +31 - 15 278.7925
Home office: +31 - 15 213.3830  Mobile +31 - 6 2039.6958
Kloksteeg 17b, 2611 BL Delft, The Netherlands




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