Removing Barriers, Increasing Effectiveness - amarc

• Promote and support the training of journalists, broadcasters, engineersand other media professionals, especially those working in rural andmarginal urban areas; and• Educate civil society organizations, governments and regulators, and thegeneral public on the policy issues of regulation, the importance of asustainable and pluralist broadcasting environment, and the benefits ofcommunity media.We, the members of the General Assembly of AMARC gathered here in Ammanare firmly convinced that community media plays a specific and crucial role inenabling public participation towards a just and equitable information andknowledge society that includes the voices of the poor and marginalized. Werecognize that the lack of proper enabling legislation is the single principle barrierto the further development of community radio. We call for communitybroadcasting to be recognized as a distinct media sector as a vital alternative tostate owned public broadcasters and commercial private media. We assert theexistence of a positive link between information communication technologies andcommunity radio. We recognize that community radio sustainability is a globalchallenge and the in spite of the increasing positive experience of sociallysustainable community radio; financial and technological sustainability remainschallenges for community radio organizers. We view community radio as aninitiator or accompaniment to social change that carries responsibility to beeffective in facilitating the civil society development in democratic processes. Werecognize the role community radio can play in facilitating women’s inclusion andthe recognition of women’s rights, the reduction of poverty and promotion ofsustainable development.We are committed to the realization of our demands in this declaration and wepledge to continue our work for the promotion and protection of people’scommunication rights and all rights embodied in the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights. We call on the international community and all independent andcommunity media advocates to contribute to the same.AMARC Community Radio Social Impact Assessment 2007 Page 35 of 128