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Thought this might be of interest to Peace Corps
Volunteers:


                                  Converging Responsibility

            Broadcasting and the Internet in Developing
Countries
                    September 4-6, 1999 - Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
                               http://www.comunica.org/kl/


"Converging Responsibility: Broadcasting and the Internet
in
Developing Countries" was a conference held in Kuala
Lumpur,
Malaysia from September 4-6, 1999. It was attended by
people
from 35 institutions in 19 countries.

The meeting was hosted by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and
supported by UNESCO and IDRC.

The report of the meeting was taken to the full annual
meeting of
the International Institute of Communications, also in
Kuala Lumpur,
on September 8.

In their report, conference participants expressed concern
about
the disparities between levels of access in various parts
of the
world and stressed the importance of addressing the issue
with
innovative responses. "As we enter the era of the knowledge

society and the knowledge economy, access to the
infrastructure
to share knowledge is essential for social and economic
progress..."

"The seriousness of the challenge requires creative
responses
from government agencies responsible for communication
policy
and regulation, from the telecommunication industry and
from
international governance bodies."

The report also emphasised the importance of transparency
and
public involvement in communications policy and regulatory
processes. Noting the efforts by various bodies to educate
and
support new telecommunication and broadcast regulators, the

report underlines the "need to expand these efforts to
include the
education of citizens and NGOs to ensure they are aware of
their
rights and responsibilities in the new regulatory
environments."

Transparency and participation are also important on the
international level. Global governance bodies are playing
an
increasingly important role in setting communication
standards,
allocating radio spectrum, and defining broad policies that
are
shaping how people communicate. Thus, the report says,
"global
governance bodies such as the ITU, WTO, WIPO and the World
Bank must also be transparent, accountable and allow
broader
participation from civil society."

The report also offers a creative solutions for extending
the reach
of the knowledge infrastructure by making use of existing
radio
broadcast networks. "While in some parts of the world a
radio is
most often seen as an accessory for an automobile, in large
parts
of the South, it is the only communication device that most
people
have access to." In Sri Lanka, for example, only one person
in 500
has access to the Internet, but virtually everyone listens
to the
radio.

Conference participants examined a number of pilot projects

combining the radio and the Internet to mutually enhance
their
development impact. Some of these, such as Latin America's
Agencia Informativa Pulsar and Indonesia's Kantor Berita
Radio
68H, use the Internet to link radio stations. Others, such
as Kotmale
Community Radio in Sri Lanka, are experimenting with using
radio as a
"gateway" to the Internet. These projects seek to make the
Internet's
information resources available to rural and under- served
communities.

Information about the conference, including the text of the
report
and of the keynote address by Dr. Rohan Samarajiva, is
available
at http://www.comunica.org/kl/

For further information, contact either of the conference's
co-
chairs:
             Bruce Girard <bgirard@comunica.org>
             Sucharita Eashwar
<suchrita_eashwar@hotmail.com>


-
Bruce Girard
bgirard@comunica.org or bruceg@sepa.tudelft.nl
TU Delft: +31 - 15 278.8548   Fax: +31 - 15 278.7925
Home office: +31 - 15 213.3830  Mobile +31 - 6 2039.6958
Kloksteeg 17b, 2611 BL Delft, The Netherlands


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