"The two objectives that this compilation set for itself were documenting community radio best practices and creating a robust sector through knowledge sharing and collaborative learning. The 96 stories [from Bangladesh, India and Nepal] included in the compilation capture the various ways in which
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the diverse sector is identifying, prioritizing, and addressing concerns in the community’s vis-a-vis the SDGs. These stories describe the creative ways in which content has been developed by using the folk format, engaging the community through discussions, games, and cultural events, and innovative outreach activities. Further, they also highlight collaborations with local institutions and civic administrations and the way in which CRS’ core strengths like youth power especially in educational institutions are harnessed to provide inclusive community programming that truly provides a voice to the voiceless. Finally, the stories also highlight how social media and internet have been co-opted for a wider and on-demand access. The stories embody within them elements worthy of replication and emulation. Several community radio stations are already networking and sharing content and ideas. If these stories are also shared across content aggregation platforms and through the community radio networks, they could reach much wider audiences and initiate new conversations and exchange of ideas building a robust community of practice." (Way forward, page 34)
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"Chapter 1, by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), presents an overview of indicators from the Global State of Democracy Indices, which provide complementary indicators to measure progress on SDG Targets 16.3; 16.5, on reducing corruption and brib
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ery in all their forms; 16.6, on developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels; and 16.7, on ensuring responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels. Chapter 2, by the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), covers SDG 16.1, highlighting research on governmentproduced disinformation and censorship, and honouring the important work done by journalists worldwide, while also analysing challenges to data collection during the Covid-19 pandemic. The chapter also analyses trends in violent conflict in past years and ends by highlighting potential innovations in data collection that could enhance independent monitoring of SDG 16. Chapters 3 and 4, by the Centre for Law and Democracy and the Global Forum for Media Development analyse data collection methods and assess progress on SDG 16.10, the challenge of disinformation during the pandemic (Chapter 3), and on access to information (Chapter 4). Chapter 5, by the World Justice Project (WJP), uses data from the recently launched World Justice Project Rule of Law Index® 2021 to analyse progress on SDG 16.3, on promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensuring equal access to justice for all. The chapter also points to new types of data collection methods that can help improve independent reporting on this target." (Introduction)
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"The collection of stories presented here aims to highlight the impact of the MDP's (Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists) MDP’s actions over the course of this challenging year. Through testimonies from beneficiaries and partners who aspire to improve freedom o
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f expression and access to information locally, you will learn about the MDP’s multifaceted emergency response to the COVID-19 crisis. Through capacity building, the MDP supported journalists in several countries to learn how to protect their physical and mental health while reporting on the pandemic. This emergency response also involved ensuring local communities’ access to reliable information through support to community media, bolstering citizens’ resilience to the disinfodemic through Media and Information Literacy programmes, as well as journalism education through a global MOOC on debunking disinformation and reporting on the health crisis in a factual, scientific manner." (Editorial, page 2)
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"This article highlights the potential for increased and more standardised monitoring of a range of aspects of the safety of journalists. This is in the light of a specific indicator that has been agreed by the UN as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The indicator concerned treats th
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e safety of journalists as a benchmark for tracking progress on SDG target 16.10, which specifies "public access to information and fundamental freedoms" (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, n.d.), as a development aspiration. Inclusion of this indicator in the SDGs provides a universally legitimated framework with strong catalytic potential. All this holds a promise of improved, more comparative, and increased research output, as compared to the previous situation. The results of new research stimulated by this development, particularly at country level, could have real impact on the safety of journalists." (Abstract)
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"European Parliament resolution of 25 November 2020 on strengthening media freedom: the protection of journalists in Europe, hate speech, disinformation and the role of platforms (2020/2009(INI))." (Introduction)
"This toolkit aims to assist community radio stations to understand each of the 17 Goals, engage with different actors and stakeholders, map policies and initiatives at the level of both, central and state governments in India, and provide ideas for design of content and outreach campaigns. After re
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ading this manual and completing the exercises listed we are confident that the community radio station representatives will be able to: 1. Understand and appreciate the SDGs; 2. Identify stakeholders within the geographical area of the station’s broadcast; 3. Create discussion points with the community members and actively engage with other key stakeholders to produce relevant content and outreach activities." (Introduction, page 23)
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"The present paper identifies five key roles of media in contributing to the SDGs delivery. These include: channeling information flow, ensuring proper monitoring and accountability, acting as an enabler of a ‘culture of peace’, upholding marginalised voices and facilitating the localisation of
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SDGs. Based on a mapping exercise on selected national and sub-national Bangla, English and online newspapers, this paper finds that among the five identified roles, the media in Bangladesh at present is primarily playing the role of channeling information flow. Media is also playing a watchdog role in a limited scale, while their participation in the SDGs accountability process is almost non-existent." (Abstract)
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"This Handbook, which provides non-compulsory technical guidance to EU Delegations, aims to provide tools and hands-on examples to support them in implementing the the 2014 'EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline' and in taking actions to support the safety and securi
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ty of journalists in their context. First, the Handbook presents a brief on the European and international policy framework regarding safety of journalists and clarifies relevant concepts. The second section focuses on the actions EU Delegations can carry out in their own local context – working in an emergency situation, or as tools for mid- and long-term policy and programming." (Purpose of this handbook, page 7)
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"The EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline (the Guidelines) were approved by the Council of the European Union (EU) in 2014. The Guidelines provide a policy and operational foundation for EU Delegations, EU institutions and Member States working to support freedom of
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expression and media pluralism. The Guidelines also present good practice approaches to responding in strategic and systematic ways to the challenges of promoting and protecting freedom of expression in diverse contexts [...] This Quick Guide provides a summary of the Guidelines alongside information designed to support EU Delegation staff working in third countries, focusing first on: What EU Delegations Need to Know; then on: What EU Delegations Can Do." (Introduction, page 5)
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"This report highlights publishers’ activities and progress that relate to each of the 17 SDG goals. In some cases, these activities are core to what publishers do best, for example ensuring quality education. For other goals, such as clean water, the activities may be more indirect, and this repo
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rt has been instrumental in expanding our perception of the broad range of ways in which publishers contribute to the SDG agenda. In each goal, there are reoccurring themes that are required as a basis in order to achieve the set targets. For example, there are clear links between improving literacy and ending extreme poverty. This executive summary will help make articulate these themes and also highlight areas where the industry can drive progress. The key findings are summarised below: 1. Content is king: What we publish remains core to progress the SDG agenda [...]; 2. Equal opportunities for all: the power of diversity and inclusion [...]; 3. Building smarter generations: Education remains a key focus [...]; 4. Stopping climate change: Publishers are getting serious about their footprints [...]; 5. Let’s work together: Partnership and collaboration remain important." (Executive summary)
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"At UNICEF, the Technology for Development (T4D) function within the Information and Communication Technology Division (ICTD) provides advisory, implementation and quality assurance services to programmes on technology and digital innovation in UNICEF, and leadership on digital innovation. It helps
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to identify the most promising technologies and digital innovations for application in different contexts, supporting UNICEF programmes to adopt, adapt and scale up the approaches that are most useful, and to quickly identify those that are not. It also helps to institutionalize those technologies and digital innovations that show promise and are ready to be mainstreamed, in close collaboration with national partners, and in support of national goals and sectoral priorities, the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018–2021 and the SDGs.
In the first three years of the Strategic Plan, ICTD has had a powerful impact on scaling digital innovation and accelerating results for children across the organization. To date, more than 1,400 T4D and innovation initiatives have been catalogued through INVENT – the global Technology for Development and Innovations Inventory – which provides a view of the universe of T4D initiatives by Strategic Plan Goal Area, Stage and Scale. These initiatives span UNICEF programmes across the world and address children’s health, nutrition, education, protection, access to water, sanitation and hygiene, and inclusion.
In health, nutrition and early childhood development, UNICEF has harnessed the power of ICT to support countries to ensure that every child survives and thrives. That means bringing together a multi-sectoral team to use technology, digital innovation and human-centred design to strengthen health systems and the health system enabling environment. For example, in Pakistan, UNICEF has supported the government to use real-time monitoring to strengthen immunization services. The use of the opensource technology, RapidPro, enabled service delivery that helped providers vaccinate more than 37 million children against measles in 2018, according to government reports." (Executive summary)
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"This contribution singles out and seeks to analyse the most essential elements of the OSCE Ministerial Council Decision on Safety of Journalists, adopted in Milan on 7 December 2018. Those elements aim to create an enabling environment for the media, in particular, through the compliance with speci
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fic international obligations, recognition of certain functions of journalists, enumeration of the modern threats to their safety, including digital safety. Authors provide a background on the road to the decision within the OSCE, highlighting the main contradictions among its participating States, and put it in the context of other international commitments on media freedom and freedom of expression. As the first holistic OSCE document on freedom of the media, the decision significantly extends the current set of commitments by the participating States and may pave the way to a global instrument on the subject." (Abstract)
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"This document reports on the implementation of projects approved by the 62nd meeting of the IPDC Bureau (May 2018) and implemented in 2018-2019. It is meant for the information of the IPDC Bureau Members and donors." (Page 1)
"2019 has seen major achievements resulting from needs-based, and specifically-tailored support through the Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists (MDP). Actions building on ongoing work and others opening new avenues, have initiated substantial changes in favour of
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freedom of expression and media development. The stories presented here are some examples of how the MDP works to provide countries and their populations with the necessary tools to nurture a free and independent media. This includes promoting the adoption of policies and standards on freedom of expression and safety of journalists, and fostering diversity, gender equality and media and information literacy through and with the media. Hence the name given to this series of articles: Let Free Media Thrive." (Editorial, page 2)
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"A prevailing culture of impunity for threats to the safety of journalists fuels their repetition. A failure of justice emboldens perpetrators and undermines journalists’ trust in the political will to guarantee their effective protection. Since 2012, the international community has increasingly s
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ought to shine a spotlight on this issue, setting out an ambitious global agenda for States to act on the safety of journalists through a series of resolutions adopted at the UN Human Rights Council, UN General Assembly, and UN Security Council. UN Resolutions on the Safety of Journalists call on all States to effectively enhance the safety of journalists and break the cycle of impunity through targeted action on three interconnected fronts: prevention, protection, and remedy." (Abstract)
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"This article takes UNESCO’s Academic Research Agenda on Safety of Journalists as its point of departure. We present an overview of contributions to a selection of research conferences and academic publications focusing on safety of journalists and categorize them according to the research agenda.
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The overall aim of the contributions is to discuss research on ideas andpractices that create unsafe conditions, as well as possible strategies and solutions from practical, theoretical, national orinternational perspectives. Through this exercise, we find where the focus areas are and what is lacking in current research on safety of journalists, and the discussion serves as an introduction to the chapters of this special issue." (Abstract)
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