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Renewing MediaDev principles
Renewing the principles for effective media development and support to journalism.
With support from the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), GFMD International Media Policy and Advisory Centre has taken on a leadership role in the OECD's Development Assistance Committee's Network on Governance adopting a process to renew principles on effective support to media and the information environment.
The 2022 concept note for the initiative argues “that an agreed set of principles will improve overall results and impacts of media assistance and help to overcome challenges of media development efforts.”
This process aims to renew and operationalise a set of principles that can be used to guide donors in their media assistance and and the information environment strategies. It is informed by a series of consultations from 2021 to preset among more than 200 representatives from bilateral donor agencies, implementing organisations, civil society representatives, and media development experts.
Oct-Dec. 2023 - OECD DAC GovNet is expected to launch a consulation process for all stakeholders to comment and make suggestion on the draft of the principles for effective media assistance.
Jan-Feb. 2024 - Principles draft finalised by OECD DAC GovNet drafting commitee
March/April 2024 - Final principles presented to and voted on by the OECD DAC GovNet.
Starting with the most recent, below is a list of the consultations, interventions and mile stones in the process so far:
Sept. 2023 - GFMD launches report on funding in the media development sector: “Transforming Media Development – Recommendations for Effective Funding and Collaboration “. This study is based on a body of desk research as well as a series of online interviews with GFMD members from Eastern Europe, Asia and South America. It documents the challenges that GFMD’s members face daily in their attempts to raise funds and live up to donor expectations on reporting and accountability.
28 June 2023 - OECD DAC GovNet members at the annual plenary meeting welcomed and made constructive comments on a first draft of the Principles on Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment document. France offered to join Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and US as the drafting group for the next steps of the process.
16 June 2023 - The 67th meeting of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council of Unesco's International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) welcomes the OECD DAC GovNet process to Principles on Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment document.
7 June 2023 - A group of OECD donors, including Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and US take over process of drafting the principles from GFMD and CIMA in order to present them to the OECD DAV GovNet plenary meeting on 28 June.
28 April 2023 - GFMD co-organises "Philanthropy for Ukraine" with Philea (Philanthropy Europe Association) to brief European foundations on how best to support indepenet media and journalism in Ukraine.
1 May 2023 - GFMD and CIMA convene a meeting of directors and CEOs of GFMD members attending UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day in New York to update them on the process and for further consultations.
30 March 2023 - GFMD & CIMA host a working meeting on how to operationalise the principles for effective media assistance on the sidelines of the Summit for Democracy in The Hague, The Netherlands.
27 March 2023 - As part of the process to gather commitments to the Summit for Democracy via the Media Freedom Cohort: The Media Freedom Coalition’s Media Development Working Group, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the United Kingdom, the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), and the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) have committed to advancing their engagement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee’s Network on Governance (GovNet) to update the existing media assistance principles so they better respond to the current context, and include a more operational focus. This is in line with a GovNet commitment in its programme of work 2023-2024.
To complement this commitment GFMD and CIMA issued a Statement calling for engagement by the Summit for Democracy and the Media Freedom Coalition
Feb. 3, 2023 - in partnership with UNESCO IPDC, the Namibia Media Trust, and the Editors' Forum of Namibia, GFMD organised a roundtable on media viability in Namibia. The roundtable was part of a series of national consultations that brought together key local and international stakeholders, including media support organisations, donors, big tech representatives, policymakers, and media professionals around the question of building resilience in the Namibian media sector. Participants drafted policy recommendations that are intended to feed into future high-level policy discussions on media viability.
Jan. 24, 2023 - in partnership with UNESCO IPDC, the Al Khatt Foundation, and the EU's Programme d'appui aux médias tunisiens, GFMD organised a roundtable on media viability in Tunisia. The roundtable was part of a series of national consultations that brought together key local and international stakeholders, including media support organisations, donors, big tech representatives, policymakers, and media professionals around the question of building resilience in the Tunisian media sector. Participants drafted policy recommendations that are intended to feed into future high-level policy discussions on media viability.
Jan. 18, 2023 - in partnership with UNESCO IPDC, the Samir Kassir Foundation, and the Maharat Foundation, GFMD organised a roundtable on media viability in Lebanon. The roundtable was part of a series of national consultations that brought together key local and international stakeholders, including media support organisations, donors, big tech representatives, policymakers, and media professionals around the question of building resilience in the Lebanese media sector. Participants drafted policy recommendations that are intended to feed into future high-level policy discussions on media viability.
Nov. 25, 2022 - UNESCO's IPDC council supported the principles process. Explicit support came from Netherlands and France. A request came from Oman that the principles take account of the new landscape and competition from tech companies.
Nov. 23, 2022 - GFMD co-organsied a seminar with the Sahafa Med project (funded by the EU) on the challenges and perspectives for media support programs in the Southern Neighbourhood region. The meeting brought together 40+ donors, NGOs supporting media and journalists and implementing partners working with media outlets and journalists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
21-22 Nov. 2022 - The proposed OECD GovNet work on ODA to public interest media and information ecosystem integrity that was on the agenda of the meeting. There were no opposing voices and we expect these three points of the work plan to be formally adopted on 9 December. The process to develop principles for effective media development is adopted into the OECD DAC GovNet programme of work 2023-24.
Sept. 13, 2022 - The process to develop principles for effective media development is adopted into the OECD DAC GovNet programme of work 2023-24.
August 4, 2022 - In partnership with Article 19 Tunisia & MENA, the CIMA organized a roundtable discussion in Arabic with media support organizations, media outlets, and civil society based in Tunisia. The 25 participants discussed how to make principles for effective media assistance more specific, actionable in Tunisia and the MENA region.
June 28, 2022 - GFMD Chair, Zoe Titus presents the principles process at a joint GovNet-UNESCO event on ‘The economic Impact of Covid-19 on media and potential ODA responses”.
June 2022 - GFMD held a series of meetings for members (in English, French and Spanish) with members to discuss the structural, environmental, and administrative challenges they face when applying, implementing, and reporting on journalism support and media development projects and programmes.
June 15-16, 2022 - The principles process is accepted onto the offical agenda of the annual meeting of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IDPC) in November 2022.
May 2-3, 2022 - With UNESCO and the Government of Uruguay, CIMA and GFMD hosted a three hour roundtable discussion with participants at the UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day Conference in Montevideo, Uruguay. CIMA and GFMD also hosted a panel discussion at UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day Conference in Uruguay - “Developing Principles for Effective Media Assistance” - featuring Abraji, Sembra Media, and UNESCO.
April 14, 2022 - In partnership with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), GFMD organised a round table discussion in Belgrade, Serbia with 15 other organisations. The 25 participants were asked to contribute ideas for how to make the general principles for effective media development more specific and actionable and to interpret how the principles might be actioned in specific contexts.
April 13, 2022 - GFMD's Executive Director presented the work on the principles to date to the OECD DAC's GovNet session on Overseas Development Aid (ODA), public interest media and information ecosystems. The objective of the session is to firm up interest among OECD member states and galvanise support for this area of ODA for GovNet's programme of work 2023-24.
Feb. 9, 2022 - CIMA and GFMD organised a session on “Renewing the principles for effective media development” at the Global Conference for Media Freedom in Tallinn, Estonia. The session was co-convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (UK FCDO), and UNESCO. As well as hearing from all co-conveners, the session also heard from the Council of Europe, as well as regional and international media development organisations.
Feb. 1, 2022 - After a review of the literature to identify the general principles and guidelines for effective support and engagement, GFMD launched a survey to gather perspectives from across the field. The survey is being used to query donors, practitioners and other stakeholders on which of the general principles have seen the greatest progress, which the least, which should be prioritised and gaps.
Jan, 27, 2022 - CIMA and GFMD convened an invitation-only virtual roundtable conversation to discuss principles for effective media assistance with 18 representatives of national and regional media development organisations, members of GFMD’s policy and learning committee, and GFMD IMPACT regional coordinators.
Dec. 7, 2021 - CIMA and GFMD hosted a webinar on principles for media development which was one of over 40 events held on 7 December as part of the Global Democracy Coalition Forum, a virtual 24-hour event convened to provide recommendations to the Summit for Democracy. The webinar, which heard from four civil society and media development stakeholders, as well as representatives from UK FCDO and UNESCO, distilled three recommendations to the Summit for Democracy.
Nov. 23, 2021 - A first draft of the concept note, developed by CIMA and the GFMD IMPACT help desk, was discussed at the Media Freedom Coalition’s Working Group on Media Development. After the meeting the roadmap and rationale were revised.
July 2021 - Recommendations from the submission were used as a basis for an options note presented by the UK FCDO to a meeting of the MFC Working Group on Media Development. The option to review and update the principles for effective media development was among the options that were received positively.
May 2021 - Responding to a request from the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), the GFMD IMPACT help desk - in partnership with the Centre for International Media Assistance (CIMA), produced a two-page briefing on ways MFC could work with members to improve media assistance, ODA data, and information sharing.
The development of principles for effective support to the media sector and journalism would build upon prior efforts. These include:
The latest research on media development cooperation, as laid out in a recent position paper by MEDAS 21: "Lessons learnt from a Media Development Research Program (2022)". In this position paper which draws on the GFMD and CIMA's concept note, MEDAS 21 stresses the relevance of media development in international cooperation. It includes a summary of research and case studies from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia that came out of MEDAS 21's graduate school.
Lessons learnt from a Media Development Research Program.pdf
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The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which recognises the importance of public access to information, fundamental freedoms and the safety of journalists for the creation of peaceful, just and inclusive societies, under Goal 16, Target 10.
Multilateral guidelines outlined for media support, including the 2013 OECD/DAC study Accountability and Democratic Governance: Orientations and Principles for Development. (Although published by OECD/DAC as part of a research project, these principles were not official adopted and therefore are not an official instrument of OECD DAC)
Declarations such as the Windhoek+30 Declaration on Information as a Public Good adopted by UNESCO member states on 18 November 2021.
Existing strategies and guidelines developed by bi-lateral donors and private philanthropies for their support to independent media.
Codes of conduct, ethical guidelines, and do-no-harm principles developed by media support groups for funders of content.
Indicators: Initiatives to systematically assess and monitor the situation of the media sector and media professionals, such as UNESCO's established Media Development Indicators (2008) and DW Akademie's more recent Media Viability Indicators (2020).
Various initiatives to collect existing learning and best practises in the field, including the International Media Policy and Advisory Centre run by the Global Forum for Media Development - GFMD IMPACT.
For futher literature used by CIMA and the GFMD IMPACT help desk to identify the general principles and guidelines for effective support, see:
MediaDev effectiveness: Academic studies and papers; Research and reports; Policy briefs, working papers and primers; Articles
This statement is being submitted as part of the Global Forum for Media Development’s commitments/pledges to the 2023 Summit for Democracy in GFMD’s role as a civil society co-lead of the Media Freedom Cohort and as a member of the Global Democracy Coalition.It calls on members of the Summit for Democracy and the Media Freedom Coalition to engage in the process to renew the Principles on Effective Support to Journalism and Media, which was initiated in 2021 by GFMD and the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), in partnership with the Media Development Working Group of the Media Freedom Coalition.The process has been adopted into the work plan of the Network on Governance (GovNet) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) and given non-binding endorsement by the Council of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC).To strengthen and reinforce effective international support to the media sector through a process that updates and codifies guiding principles, GFMD and CIMA have committed to work together with representatives from bilateral donor agencies, implementing organizations, civil society representatives, and media development experts to use such principles to inform a roadmap for collective action to benefit the media sector.Timelines and measurement:Success of this commitment to the 2023 Summit for Democracy will be judged by whether the principles for effective media development have been officially adopted and incorporated into the work of key sector bodies, institutions and mechanisms.
The original version of this draft concept note was shared for comments and suggestions ahead of a GFMD/CIMA seminar on 7 December 2021. The seminar was part of the Global Democracy Coalition Forum, which provided recommendations to the Summit for Democracy. Based on feedback received from various stakeholders the concept note before, during and after the seminar, an updated version was published on 4 January 2022. The draft was updated again in February 2022 based on feedback from the CIMA/GFMD session at the Global Conference for Media Freedom on 9 February in Tallinn, Estonia.
Nota conceptual - Desarrollar principios para el apoyo efectivo al periodismo y los medios de comunicación
ESPAÑOL - Nota conceptual Principles on Effective Support to Media - CIMA_GFMD.pdf
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