Removing Barriers, Increasing Effectiveness - amarc

if we want to achieve poverty reduction. Gender stereotypes carried by traditionalmedia are obstacles to women rights and empowerment. Community radio caneffectively facilitate women’s inclusion and the recognition and exercise ofwomen’s rights. Engendering community radio both in terms of content and inaccess to radio management and technology is a fundamental development anddemocratic challenge.Community radio is about politics, in terms of democratization of societies but notin terms of partisan politics, as CR must maintain their independence andautonomy from governments and political parties. The role of community radio ingood governance, accountability and democratization was highlighted in relationto several experiences.Common opportunities being used by community radios are the benefits thatcome from mixing “old” and “new” information technologies. The people centeredapproach leads to the use of the appropriate combination of technologiesallowing capacity building and knowledge sharing conducing to voice for theexcluded, marginalized and building citizenship. It also shows that the crornerstone in a democratic and inclusive information society is goes well beyondtechnology, it about people communicating.The sustainability of local and specific CR is a recurrent challenge in allcontinents, to the point that it may hinder CR social impact. Social sustainabilityof community radio is a reality closely linked to local ownership, but socialsustainability also raises issues about capacity building and knowledge sharingto ensure community participation in the survival of community radio experiences.The sustainability of local and specific CR is related to its capacity to haverelevant, participatory and creative programming that attracts the audience andencourages access to the media in their own language, and is alternative anddistinct from commercial and public broadcasting. Sustainability is alsodependent on financial support otherwise it distracts CR practitioners fromdedicating themselves to ameliorate radio production, increase communityparticipation and pertinence of programming. The proposal is, as it is done insome countries, the unconditional public funding justified by the social nature ofcommunity radios, ensures CR basic financial sustainability. Sustainability is alsorelated to curtailing specific geographical and technological challenges tobroadcasting and to access to the media including the necessary capacitybuilding to facilitate local communities ownership of the media.CR experiences, notably good experiences are not highlighted and suffer fromtheir local and specific characteristics rendering scaling up more difficult.Furthermore and even though community radio has become a global sector, theinteraction and knowledge sharing between regions is weak and systematicimpact assessment is rare. A multifaceted challenge for community radio is theneed to strengthen its own networks and communications. There is need toembed appropriate assessment tools, to document and disseminate goodAMARC Community Radio Social Impact Assessment 2007 Page 23 of 128