The International Programme for the Development of Communication is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) programme aimed at strengthening the development of mass media in developing countries.
Background On December 10, 1948, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as Resolution 217 A (III). It stated that "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
In 1977, UNESCO initiated the International Commission for the Study of Communications Problems, known as the MacBride Commission and named after the commission's Chairman Seán MacBride. The commission was given a three-year time frame to conduct investigations and report back to UNESCO. In October 1980, the report Many Voices, One World was presented at the Belgrade Assembly.
As a result of the report, UNESCO launched the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). The programme web site states that it "exists to strengthen the means of mass communication in developing countries, by increasing technical and human resources for the media, by developing community media and by modernising news agencies and broadcasting organizations."
At the November 1987 General Conference at Paris, UNESCO called for the continuation of its major plan called Communication in the Service of Man in which it re-affirmed that "it is essential gradually to eliminate existing imbalances in the field of communication, in particular by fostering the development of infrastructures, the training of people and the strengthening of production and dissemination capacities in the developing countries, and to encourage a free flow and a wider and better balanced dissemination of information, with a view to the establishment of a new world information and communication order seen as an evolving and continuous process."
At the June 2004 session of the UN General Assembly, it was "decided to maintain the Committee to Review United Nations Public Information Policies and Activities" with a mandate including "To promote the establishment of a new, more just and more effective world information and communication order intended to strengthen peace and international understanding and based on the free circulation and wider and better-balanced dissemination of information and to make recommendations thereon to the General Assembly."
It has been said that the "results of UNESCO's McBride Report regarding media diversity alerted UNESCO, and other international bodies to the necessity for a New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO)."
However, "Despite UNESCO's attempt to protect independent and national news agencies from being dominated by western news agencies and networks, the NWICO policy was boycotted by America and Britain, who withdrew their membership from UNESCO and funding of the organisation's initiatives. Although Britain rejoined UNESCO in 1997, the global media owners' opposition towards the NWICO policy (which collapsed thereafter) highlights their commercial stronghold in the international news market." (The USA also rejoined UNESCO, in 2003.)
In order to achieve its mission the IPDC elaborates several development projects worldwide and develops special initiatives related to its mandate.
Mandate The International Programme for Development Communication (IPDC) was created by the UNESCO General Conference in 1980 as an intergovernmental body. It has an elected Council of 39 Member State delegates which elects the eight members of the Bureau, and a Secretariat. Its mandate since 2003 is “... to contribute to sustainable development, democracy and good governance by fostering universal access to and distribution of information and knowledge by strengthening the capacities of the developing countries and countries in transition in the field of electronic media and the printed press.”Amendments to the Statutes of the International Programme for The Development of Communication (IPDC) Resolution 43/32, adopted on the Report of Commission V at the 18th Plenary Meeting, on 15 October 2003.
Sustainable Development Goal 16
The IPDC is responsible for targets 10.1 and 10.2 of the Sustainable Development Goal 16 (or SDG 16). SDG 16 called “peace, justice and strong institutions” aims to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions”. More specifically, SDG 16.10 aims to: “Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements”.
The two indicators related to the target are:
SDG 16.10.1: “Number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates in the previous 12 months”; SDG 16.10.2: “Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information”.
Composition The IPDC is mainly composed of the Intergovernmental Council and of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council. The Council normally meets in plenary session in November every two years, and the Bureau annually in March. The Bureau discharges duties decided by the council and has full responsibility for Project selection, approval and allocation of funds.
The Intergovernmental Council of the IPDC The IPDC Council comprises 39 Member State delegates elected every two years from the UNESCO General Conference, and submits to it a report on its activities. The Council elects a chair, who is also Chair of the Bureau. The council, according to the Statutes as amended in 2003, is responsible for:
Policy-making, guiding the planning and the implementation of the Programme; Approving priorities; Reviewing and assessing achievements on the basis of implementation and evaluation reports on projects and defining basic areas requiring increased international cooperation; Reviewing ways and means whereby Member States might participate more effectively; Approving an appropriate system of IPDC financing to secure the resources needed.
The Bureau of the Intergovernemental Council of the IPDC The Bureau members comprise the Chair of the Bureau, three vice-chairpersons, a Rapporteur and three other members, giving a total of eight who remain in office until a new Bureau is elected. The Bureau with Secretariat support is the appropriate body to submit proposals for a strategic framework to the council for consideration.
Journalism
Safety of journalists
Safety of journalists is a special initiative of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). Safety of journalists is the ability for journalists and media professionals to receive, produce and share information without facing physical or moral threats. It includes a mix of international, regional and local prevention mechanisms intended to protect journalist, raise awareness on the violence they might face and promote freedom of expression. The International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) develops projects to address issues of safety of journalism and impunity in the field. Since 2008, the IPDC has encouraged Member States to submit information, on a voluntary basis, on the status of the judicial inquiries conducted on each of the killings condemned by UNESCO, for inclusion in a public report submitted every two years to the IPDC Council by the Director-General. The IPDC's 2016 Report is summarized in the "Time to break the cycle of violence against journalists" publication which highlights key findings, provides analysis of the killings, and of Member States responses.
UNESCO’s Director-General Report on killing of journalists Data on killings is gathered and verified for the Director-General's report and World Trends from multiple sources, including NGOs, UNESCO Field Offices and UNESCO Permanent Delegations. The Director-General further requests a report from States on the status of investigations into these killings. State responses are categorized as: i) no information received from the relevant State on the judicial enquiry's status; ii) the case, subject to specific official information being provided, is ongoing or unresolved; or iii) the case is resolved through conviction, the death of a suspect, or a judicial decision that the death was not related to journalistic practice. The response rate of states has risen from 30% in 2013 to 74.5% in 2017.
In addition to feeding into the Director Generals’ Report biennially, the data gathered is used in several ways. It is formally submitted to the IPDC Council, contributes to the World Trends report; it feeds into UNESCO's contribution to the global monitoring of SDG indicator 16.10.1; it is used as an input for UNESCO's submissions to the Universal Periodic Report of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Strengthening national mechanisms to promote the safety of journalists The IPDC's strategy since 2017 to enhance safety of journalists at national levels is to strengthen national mechanisms that promote safety and combat impunity for crimes against journalists. This was further highlighted during the November 2017 Eastern African Conference on National Mechanisms for Safety of journalists with the Nairobi Declaration during which Eastern African countries called for the establishment of national mechanisms. Toby Mendel considers that “making sure that relevant stakeholders are effectively integrated into a safety mechanism can dramatically increase its chances of succeeding by harnessing the skills, resources, and support of different stakeholders, and by promoting coordination as opposed to duplication or even competition”.Toby Mendel, Supporting Freedom of expression: A practical guide to developing specialized safety mechanisms, UNESCO, April 2016. These mechanisms include capacity building, legislative reforms, monitoring, training, and the provision by media companies of protective equipment.
Global Initiative for Excellence in Journalism Education (GIEJE) The Global Initiative for Excellence in Journalism Education (GIEJE) is an IPDC special initiative since 2007 supporting journalism education as “essential to bring out the potential of media systems to foster democracy, dialogue and development”. This special initiative is built on work relating to the publication “Model Curriculum for Journalism Education” and established Criteria and Indicators for Quality Journalism Training Institutions. The Model Curricula is an IPDC publication launched in 2007 at the request of Member States at the first World Journalism Education Congress (WJEC-1) convened in Singapore. It provides frameworks for specialized syllabi in order to set standards based on good practice internationally, as a resource on which stakeholders around the world can draw to improve the quality of journalism education in their countries. By the end of 2012, they had been adapted by at least seventy journalism schools in sixty countries in diverse linguistic, social and cultural contexts. Work towards this special initiative also include the UNESCO Series on Journalism Education, Centres of excellence in journalism education, staff training, learning materials and resources, enhancing institutional governance and management systems, media monitoring, creating networks between journalism education institutions and media.
Journalism Curriculum Development in Nairobi