UNESCO and GFMD Launch New Guidelines to Strengthen Media Support at Regional Summits

The "Principles," resulting from over two years of consultations and advocacy led by experts and civil society actors, including the GFMD, were designed to address contemporary challenges in media support.

UNESCO, in collaboration with the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) and other partners, has initiated efforts to enhance the impact of support to media and the information environment through two multi-stakeholder regional summits. These summits, held in May 2024, mark the beginning of discussions on implementing the newly published "Principles for Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment."

The "Principles," resulting from over two years of consultations and advocacy led by experts and civil society actors, including the GFMD, were designed to address contemporary challenges in media support. The guidelines aim to increase overall support for media and the information environment worldwide. This initiative builds on the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) guidelines from 2014 and foundational UN and UNESCO documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Windhoek+30 Declaration. The six key principles outlined are: do no harm; increase financial and other forms of support; take a whole-system perspective; strengthen local leadership and ownership; improve coordination of support; and invest in knowledge, research, and learning.

Following the OECD DAC's approval of the document in March 2024, global stakeholders are now working to raise awareness, contextualize, and implement the Principles.

Collaborative Summits in Santiago and Sarajevo

The first summit, held on 4 May in Santiago, Chile, as part of UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day global celebration, was led by the GFMD and 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). IPDC Chairperson H.E. Raúl Fernandez Daza inaugurated the summit.

Later in May, a similar summit took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the sidelines of the International Press Institute's (IPI) World Congress and Media Innovation Festival. This event, supported by the IPDC, was organized with IPI, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN).

Both summits aimed to socialize and contextualize the Principles among local partners, highlighting key challenges and opportunities. Presentations from regional partners emphasized the 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.

Emphasizing Collaboration and Local Ownership

The consultative approach that guided the drafting and OECD DAC approval of the guidelines continued at these meetings. Discussions underscored the importance of collaboration and knowledge exchange, identifying expertise and good practices for real-world application of the Principles.

UNESCO's long-standing experience in media support stresses the critical need for local ownership and peer-to-peer exchange, as reflected in the final Principles document. During the Sarajevo summit, UNESCO's regional projects, such as Social Media 4 Peace, demonstrated the significant 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.

Speaking at the Sarajevo summit, IPDC Deputy Secretary Saorla McCabe noted that the IPDC Chair has committed to presenting the non-binding Principles to the Council for possible approval. Given the Council's representative makeup and role as a platform for consensus, its approval would send a strong message in support of this initiative, providing broader backing for this global effort that began among OECD members.