Analysis: Jordan Meeting Told Media Essential for Global Development

October 13, 2005

Text of editorial analysis by Amani Soliman of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 13 October

Over 400 media experts from more than 100 countries gathered in Amman, Jordan, on 1-3 October, to explore the relationship between independent media and economic and political development. Participants at the conference discussed the role of communications and media in conflict prevention, reconstruction, and national and international emergencies.

The main topics covered at the Global Forum for Media Development conference were making the case for media development by demonstrating the links between it and the economic, political and overall development of countries; what does and doesn't work in media development; establishing standards and professionalism in the field; and making recommendations and methods of cooperation in the future.

Discussions within the workshops at the conference also analyzed how media development has made a difference in fostering political reform, with a focus on countries that have recently been through those kinds of transitions, in Eastern Europe, Latin America, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East. Other sessions focused on conflict prevention, reconstruction and emergencies, with lessons learned from places such as Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, Nepal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There was time devoted to the perspectives of the donors, on the process for continued cooperation among organizations and the donor experience in media development work around the world. The donors included the US State Department, USAID, and the Open Society Institute. A donors-only conference will follow up in London to consider the recommendations coming from the Amman gathering.

Deputizing for King Abdallah of Jordan, Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Mu'ashir opened the conference, outlining Jordan's efforts to develop the media sector in a bid to reach a true independent state media. He said what has been done in Jordan is not enough and there is still much to be done to develop the local media. "Our gathering shows the significant role of the media in development," he said. "There is no longer one state with one culture and one source that controls all information."

Jordan has made big strides to enhance transparency and good and open governance, Mu'ashir said, noting the National Agenda which is about to finish a draft document of principles and recommendations for a 10-year reform plan covering political, economic and social areas.

Mu'ashir said that a number of draft laws were being debated in parliament with the aim of enhancing freedom of the press and establishing a free and independent media sector. Jordan is on its way to establish a legal and legislative frame that would enable this sector to flourish. "Diversity is a source of power and not weakness and criticizing the state by the citizen is acceptable," he said.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Shashi Tharoor was one of the keynote speakers. Tharoor, the United Nations' most senior information official, underlined the key role independent media play in democratic and economic development. Tharoor said: "In the modern globalizing world, information sows the seeds of prosperity, and those who are without access to information are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to building a better future for themselves and for their children."

Among the key speakers at the opening session was president of the US Internews Network David Hoffman, who said Jordan, as a country that is growing economically, has a big opportunity to take a lead in media reform programmes in the region. Another speaker was Daniel Kaufmann, director of Global Programmes at the World Bank Institute, who spoke on the lessons from a decade's work developing and measuring governance worldwide. He also assisted the conference's workshops to quantitatively measure the role of the independent media sector in economic development.

"The GFMD is the first attempt of its kind to combine the synergies of national, regional and international media development and support groups in strengthening the role of a free and independent media," said Jeanette Minnie, a GFMD Steering Committee member. Minnie is an international freedom of expression consultant and heads Zambezi FoX, based in South Africa.

The GFMD 2005 conference was organized by 18 organizations from around the world dedicated to media development issues, including Arab Press Freedom Watch, BBC World Service Trust, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, International Center for Journalists, International Federation of Journalists, Internews Europe, Internews International, Internews Network, Internews Russia, Media Development Loan Fund, Media Rights Agenda.

GFMD is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, the Ford Foundation, the Government of Jordan, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Lodestar Foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Open Society Institute, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the United Kingdom Department for International Development, UNESCO and the United Nations Foundation. The government of Jordan, Al-Ghad newspaper (Jordan's first private daily) and Jordanian TV were amongst the conference sponsors.