On May 4, at UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day Conference in Santiago, Chile, GFMD convened a Summit to discuss how to implement the OECD Development Cooperation Principles on Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment in Latin America and the Caribbean.
| 2. May 2024
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Co-organisers:
Date: May 4th, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Santiago Time (UTC-3)
Location: BiblioGAM (library), Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral, Centro Gabriela Mistral Av. Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins 227, Santiago, Chile.
Full Title: Implementing the OECD Development Cooperation Principles for Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Related events: The meeting was organised as an official side event of UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day in Santiago, Chile from 2-4 May 2024.
Participants: This meeting brought together GFMD members and partners (donors, researchers and policymakers) active across the Latin America and Caribbean region.
View the official translations of the Principles in English and French
Working translations of the Principles provided by the GFMD Community are available in Spanish and Portuguese
What was the objective of the Summit? The summit reinvigorated support for independent media and the information environment across Latin America & the Caribbean by uniting journalists and media support actors with donors and policymakers in brainstorming strategies for implementing the recently adopted OECD Development Cooperation Principles for Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment.
What are the six Principles? The six Principles aspire to encourage development cooperation providers to improve the relevance and effectiveness of their support to preserve, protect, and promote public interest media and information integrity in the following ways:
How were the Principles developed? The Principles are the successful culmination of more than two years of consultations and advocacy led by GFMD and the Centre for International Media Assistance (CIMA) in collaboration with bilateral donor agencies (including Sweden, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States), intergovernmental institutions (including the Media Freedom Coalition, through its Media Development Working Group and UNESCO’s IPDC), implementing organisations, civil society representatives, and media development experts.
What do the Principles aim to achieve? They aspire to encourage development cooperation providers and other actors to improve the relevance and effectiveness of their support and policies to preserve, protect, and promote public interest media and information integrity. In doing so, they fuse the vital role of media and journalism in development and democracy, the severity of the crises facing public interest media and information integrity, emerging initiatives to improve innovation and coordination, and growing understanding of aid and development effectiveness and the impact of assistance.
What was the format of the summit? The meeting was a collaborative event, designed by GFMD’s members and partners to facilitate dialogue on how to solve the interconnected systemic challenges that confront independent media in the region through a series of interactive sessions that build trust and deepen collaboration on journalist safety and the sustainability of journalism throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
08:30 – 09:00 Welcome, coffee, and registration
09.00 – 09.20 Introduction
Ambassador Raúl Fernandez Daza, Chairperson of the IPDC and Permanent Delegate of Chile to UNESCO and Ambassador to France
Introduced by Laura Becana Ball, Advocacy and Policy Manager, Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)
09.20 – 09.50 Using the Principles as a catalyst for change
Conversation with Nick Benequista and Jaime Abello Banfi on the OECD Development Cooperation Principles. Followed by Q&A.
In conversation with Laura Becana Ball, Advocacy and Policy Manager, Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) and with participation of all attendees.
09.50 – 10.25 Flash presentations
GFMD members outline the latest evidence, trends and experiences from the region in the context of what implementing the principles would change for their organisations
Maria Vitória Ramos, Fiquem Sabendo, and Laura Becana Ball, GFMD
10.25 – 10.30 Breakout groups briefing
Instructions for the activity of the Breakout Groups
Break
10.40 – 11.50 Breakout groups
Participants will be organised into breakout groups to discuss how each of the principles could be implemented in the Latin American and Caribbean contexts.
Break
12.00 – 12.25 Reporting from breakout groups and discussion
Breakout groups’ rapporteurs highlight the main areas for future work, collaboration and practical ways that the principles could be implemented.
12.25 – 12.55 Next steps
Open discussion to comment on the outcomes of the Breakout Groups and outline next steps for the implementation of the Principles in Latin America and the Caribbean.
12.55 – 13.00 Conclusion