• WHAT is the GFMD?
• WHY we need the GFMD?
• WHO is the GFMD?
• Financial support to GFMD
• GFMD Mission: The 19 Points of the 2005 Amman conference
• GFMD Constitution
• Contact us
• List of Members
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WHY we need the GFMD?

The last two decades have seen an increase in free and independent media in many parts of the world. Independent and public interest media is crucial to states striving to overcome social dislocation and internal strife as they make the transition to democracy. Often they are unable to meet the basic needs of their population.

Strong indigenous media can help meet the needs of communities facing local and global challenges. They give voice to those yearning for social and economic development, for a more transparent, information rich world, and for an increase in democracy.

But to do that they often need to overcome the twin threats of poor market condition s and local political resistance to free expression.

Media development is vital to building indigenous media capacity and has borne fruit. It has nourished new publications, television, radio channels and internet sites that provide hundreds of millions of people with fresh, reliable and relevant information sources.

But there are shortcomings. Poor coordination within the media assistance community, the lack of recognition of media in reaching democracy and development goals, inadequate involvement of local players and a lack of commitment to the importance of media in good governance have meant lost opportunities to achieve the maximum potential of development programmes.

The failure to identify media as a development sector in its own right means media assistance programmes are rarely linked strategically to overall democracy building, good governance and development goals. Too often, they are relegated to the status of public communication and information campaigns.

Policymakers and donors will freely admit that media play a key role in democratic development, but the lack of an identifiable sector, supported by a global community of practice and membership network means that media development programmes have not achieved their full potential. 

A prime concern is that media assistance groups in transition, developing and least developed countries often fail to have access to policy making and donor strategies. Their experience, voice and input are often not sufficiently appreciated or put to good use.

The Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) aims to change that.