Promoting social cohesion: the role of community media - amarc

While some organisations run severalEU-funded projects in parallel,others believe there is no EU fundingavailable to CM at all” (ibid. p.47). Itis therefore helpful that the reportoffers a brief “tutorial” on the subject– a summary of the two mainstructural funds, the EuropeanSocial Fund and the EuropeanRegional Development Fund, as wellas the various directorates generaland relevant calls for proposals. Thereport suggests that the sectorwould be better advised to looktowards programmes that have a“social or civil society component”rather than the EU’s Media Programme,even though elsewhere(4.2.3) it suggests that the Cultureand Education Committee should“sound out whether communitymedia could play a greater role inEurope’s communications strategywith DG Communications.”Under the heading, “The sector’sneeds: an interface with EU policy”(4.1.2), there is a useful summarywhich coincides with AMARC andCMFE demands. There is, the reportsuggests:• need for legal recognition ofcommunity media in media law;• need for regulations pertainingto radio spectrum licensing anddigital switchover that takeaccount of community media;• need for public support to enablethe sector to develop the capacitiesneeded to operate in a morecontinuous and sustainable fashion;• need for increased networkingand knowledge exchangebetween community mediaorganisations and associations;• need for more continuous representationat EU level in order todevelop a public profile of thesector.The report’s formal recommendationsinclude suggestions thatthere should be encouragement, andin some cases “support” for:• exchanges of best practice;• the creation of a pan-EuropeanCommunity Media association;• networking and presence of thesector at European level;• increasing awareness of the sector’spotential to connect Europewith local communities;• the inclusion of communitymedia as part of future calls forproposals under the 7th FrameworkProgramme.(European Parliament 2007:53)ConclusionsThe various proposals apply atthree levels: European, national andindividual community mediaprojects.The Council of Europe could lendweight to the proposals by encouragingmember states to:• create legislative infrastructurewithout which communitymedia cannot develop;• preserve analogue frequenciesthat may, in some countries,continue to be needed after thedigital switchover, and to ensurethat community media are notdisadvantaged in the digitalenvironment;• recognise the social value ofcommunity media and its role asa form of local public service bycommitting funds to support thesector, both directly, withschemes such as the French levyon the commercial audiovisualsector (FSER), the allocation of aportion of the licence fee (Ireland,some German Länder) orby lowering the cost of licences,and indirectly, through fundingprojects as part of governmentprogrammes directed towardshealth, community development,education, social inclusion,support for minority ethniccommunities, etc.There are also areas in which theCouncil of Europe could play a moreactive role. The sector needs supportat European level to understand andidentify relevant polices and potentiallysupportive programmes, tolobby and organise events that raisethe profile of the sector, for networkingand knowledge exchange.Some specific opportunities:• commissioning studies of bestpractice in community media,surveys of emerging needs suchas multicultural programming,and audience research on theAustralian model;• supporting a trans-Europeannetwork to monitor policy, ineffect a community mediaobservatory;• encouraging training schemes aspart of lifelong learning andmedia literacy;• supporting programmeexchange within the Europeancommunity media sector – andbeyond, with regions which arethe “homelands” of diasporiccommunities;• supporting exchange of staff andvolunteers for short periodsbetween community mediaprojects;• facilitating workshops to studyfunding opportunities;• inviting representatives ofAMARC and the CMFE to attendrelevant Council of Europe committeesas observers and to participatein meetings andconferences.Paul Beaud’s 1980 report CommunityMedia?, whose interrogativetitle is perhaps appropriate (Beaud1980), summarised nearly a decadeof studies commissioned by theCouncil of Europe to report on aphenomenon which was only beginningto emerge and whose significancewas not apparent to policymakersat the time. In its series ofmeetings and colloquia, the Councilplayed a part in bringing together aloose and informal network of academicsand practitioners.The present moment is far moresignificant. In a hugely changedmedia landscape, community mediahave an important role to play. Theperceived need to communicate asense of and participation in theEuropean project at local andregional level, and the challengesposed by the presence of migrantcommunities – as well as the benefitsthey bring to their host communities– are issues that can beaddressed most effectively at locallevel. The sector is already making asubstantial contribution to social32 Promoting social cohesion: the role of community media