Removing Barriers, Increasing Effectiveness - amarc

CR should increase its role in facilitating women’s inclusion and the recognition ofwomen’s rights, the reduction of poverty and promotion of sustainabledevelopment.Community Radio contributes to social change by initiating or accompanyingcommunication processes and should carry responsibility for being effective infacilitating civil society development in democratic processes. CR alone cannotaddress these challenges. Alliances with social organizations and movementsare essential. We are a movement in relation to others. They need to beaddressed through coalition building, networking and increased communicationsand harmonization of the different bodies of AMARC.AMARC Evaluation: A Network, a Movements or an NGO?One of the key challenges that came out of the evaluation of AMARC is that ithas effectively contributed to the development of the CR movement worldwide bydeveloping basic principles and sharing experiences and expertise and hasbecome a diverse and international movement with members on all thecontinents. But AMARC is increasingly challenged by the existence of diversepractices and definitions of CR arising from the very different political, social andreligious contexts where their members evolve. The World Assemblies help tointegrate the differences and set up the policies and definitions for the sector. InLatin America and the Caribbean AMARC members have decided not to be anONG that serves radios but to recognize the entire social movement ofcommunity radio, whereas in other regions members perceive AMARC not onlyas part of CR movement but also as an NGO essential in giving birth to newprojects and giving service to member stations. In other regions AMARC isconsidered as a space where members can share ideas, define policies andexchange on best practices. The key recommendation of members is to considerAMARC as an NGO, a network and part of various social movements.Alliances with social organizations and movements are essential to advocate forthe recognition of community radios within the wider struggle for thedemocratization of societies. We must stop separating communication from othersocial problems. We are convinced that AMARC cannot face the processes ofchange that it set out to bring about in solitude. The participants on the surveyconfirmed that among the most valuable contributions of AMARC is thearticulation and building of links in order to strengthen the CR movements andthe fact that it institutionalizes and gives legitimacy and visibility to theinternational CR movement. Among more specific interventions is (1) the defenseof CR and its contribution to the struggle for legal recognition of CR; (2) supportin training and exchange of experiences and knowledge; (3) support for the birthof new projects; (4) expressing the interests of the communities; (5) promotingwomen’s empowerment and (6) as a source of information and advice on runninga radio station..AMARC Community Radio Social Impact Assessment 2007 Page 87 of 128