Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)

GFMD draws upon the internet as well as face-to-face interactions to provide an international forum for media assistance NGOs to share best practices in the areas of training journalists; supporting broadcast stations, newspapers, and magazines; working for open and accessible internet and telecommunications policies; and reforming media law. It does this through:

• Collaboration - creating a practitioner-led platform for the media development sector to liaise with donors, governments, opinion leaders, and the wider public. This includes advocating for higher-level, strategic policy linkages between media support and existing human and economic development instruments and frameworks (i.e., Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs).
• Substantiation - promoting and disseminating research and analysis on the effects of media development assistance on governance, civic participation, poverty alleviation, emergent crises, and markets worldwide in order to make the case for media development as a primary pillar for advancing social, economic, and political development.
• Professionalisation - establishing agreed-upon standards and ethics for media development work that encourage cross-sector co-operation.
• Shared Learning - critiquing and evaluating the media development sector to identify and advance best practices, methods, and technology. Plans are to create a GFMD Secretariat to facilitate cooperative initiatives, organise joint lobbying for policy reforms, maintain databases of media laws and best practices, and design common systems for monitoring and evaluating media development work.

GFMD's global conferences are part of the core approach to integrating the above-detailed strategies. The first 3-day forum was held in October 2005 in Amman, Jordan, and attracted more than 500 media development NGOs from 97 countries. A representative Steering Committee has operated on its behalf since then, and a permanent Secretariat has been established in Brussels. Throughout 2008, the GFMD organised Regional Forums for Media Development, which were attended by more than 350 participants from over 100 countries. The regional forum meetings identified regional challenges for media development, set up regional networks, and defined priorities for discussion at the GFMD 2008 World Conference in Athens, Greece, in December 2008. The GFMD 2008 World Conference theme "Quality Information for All" represents GFMD's conviction that, "in today's linked-up world, where the process of globalisation affects us all, people need reliable, relevant and timely information to give meaning to their democratic lives....[This] is not just essential to democracy; it is the lifeblood of any process that will give meaning to genuine respect of human rights and human development..."

Beyond and between the periodic conferences, GFMD website is an interactive, web-based platform for media professionals seeking to learn and connect. Resources include manuals, information about training and media law, as well as lessons learned and the importance of media aid.

Media Development.

"There is a growing recognition among donors and policy makers that media and information play essential roles in every aspect of development - from poverty reduction to human rights, to civil society building, gender, the environment, public health, good governance and conflict resolution. The media development sector has demonstrated that capacity building for local media and the 'enabling environment' in which they operate are critical factors in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. An understanding by the donor community of the challenges faced by this emerging sector can facilitate the growth and maturity of its work. As we create a defined sector of media development through the establishment of the GFMD as a membership network, we want to reinforce the partnership between donors and implementers of media development." Throughout 2008 the GFMD has organised Regional Forums for Media Development, which were attended by more than 350 participants from over 100 countries. The regional forum meetings identified regional challenges for media development, set up regional networks and defined priorities for discussion at the GFMD 2008 World Conference in Athens.