Minority Community Media Campaign - Western Europe

The campaign's central strategy is a manifesto articulating key claims and demands on the part of members of the European community media. This manifesto calls for recognition of the role minority community media play in Europe. It demands a public service status for minority media, as well as independent, equal, and full access to national and local broadcast facilities and available frequencies. Organisers asked members of media initiatives throughout Europe to read and review the online version of the draft document, which was produced in 12 languages (English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish). Beginning in February 2004, organisers called on organisations and initiatives to sign this online manifesto. The initiators sought to get as many signatures as possible by April 15 2004. The campaign culminated in the presentation of the manifesto to the President of the European Parliament before the European elections in 2004.

Networking is the key tool for carrying out this advocacy process. After being initiated at the 2001 Aarhus workshop and solidified during two follow-up workshops, in London (at the 2002 symposium "Minority Media in Europe: A Revolution from below?") and Aarhus (at the 2003 Multicultural Media in Scandinavia seminar), a transnational network was formed. As of this writing, the network consists 14 European Union Member States (all except Luxembourg) and Norway. (If funding is secured, organisers will extend the network and the implementation of the European Manifesto also to the new Member States in Eastern Europe. At this stage, they invited organisations and individuals from these Member States to sign the manifesto).

The network is worked to develop the manifesto and prepare for its implementation. Each of the national organisations constituted or facilitated a national platform that brings these (local) media initiatives together. OL/MCM hoped this strategy will enable them to join efforts in calling for steps to improve their national situation. The national coordinators put the manifesto on the agenda of meetings and conferences to gather input on its content. They worked to obtain signatures of as many organisations and initiatives as possible.

Part of this network's strategy is seeking public participation in not only reviewing of the manifesto draft but in strengthening the campaign's case. Supporters were asked to offer citations to related documents (in any language), to supply examples of good practice on the part of minority community media initiatives (at local, regional, or national levels), to spread the word to colleagues and national coordinators, to translate the manifesto into other languages, and to petition for the signing of the manifesto.

Minority Media Development, Rights.

Organisers point out that throughout Europe there are thousands of media initiatives run by people from migrant or refugee communities and media initiatives that are multicultural or multilingual. While some of these initiatives have their own (local) radio or TV station, Internet media, magazine, or newspaper, other initiatives have managed to get some broadcasting time for their programmes in mainstream stations or are part of community media centres. Although every country in Europe provides a different context in which these media try to operate, organisers say, the problems they face are very similar. They all often struggle to get recognition for role they play in creating platforms for dialogue amongst and between different groups and towards mainstream society. Organisers also claim that these initiatives are aware that many conventions, treaties, charters, declarations, and acts have been signed by European countries that give them certain rights, but observe that these rights are not yet acknowledged in practice.

OL/MCM is a European non-profit network of broadcasters, training institutes, and multicultural organisations set up to improve the representation of ethnic minorities in broadcasting, and has initiated projects in the fields of empowerment, employment, training, production, and research.