MUMBAI: Stakeholders of South Asia’s community radio community met at Kathmandu to discuss ways to strengthen community radio in the region.

The first-of-its-kind multi-national meet consultation meet organised jointly by the SAARC Information Centre (SIC) and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC Asia Pacific) was attended by 38 policy makers, community radio broadcasters and advocates from the eight SAARC countries with an aim to develop a mechanism that could strengthen community radio in South Asia.

Speaking with Radioandmusic.com, AMARC Asia Pacific President, Ashish Sen said, “The Kathmandu consultation is an important step towards building an enabling community radio environment in the region. It is not a one stop shop, but, as articulated in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SIC and AMARC, provides a basis for deliberations on an annual basis and thus provides a useful opportunity for stock taking, review and development.”

The recommendations unanimously endorsed and adopted by the delegates include:

·Strengthening regulation in countries where Community Radio (CR) already exists, and explicitly recognise Community Radio as a distinct tier of broadcasting in countries where it remains outside the law of the land.

·Facilitate emergence of enabling CR legislation through equal access to spectrum and transparent, liberal license procedures;

·Protect and promote freedom of expression, especially to marginalised groups like women, rural and urban poor, sexual minorities, differently abled, indigenous and migrant communities;

·Recognise the need to provide safe and secure environment for community media journalists and reporters.

·Establishing a Regional Community Radio Development Fund, within the SAARC Development Fund and ensure appropriate participation from the sector for its distribution and dissemination.

·Promote more systematic research on the regulation, technology and functioning of operational community radio stations in the region.

“After the unanimous adoption of the recommendations by the participants, they will be presented for consideration and ratification by SAARC,” he said.

He also expressed his concern on the safety of community radio journalists and said that the increasing attacks journalists in the region were a matter of urgent concern and that the attacks were direct attacks on Universal declaration of Human Rights.