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The transnational network of national
platforms of minority community media is currently focusing on the "European Manifesto for Minority Community
Media". The Manifesto calls for
recognition of the role minority community media play in Europe and will
be presented to the President of the European Parliament during the 2004
European election campaign. Platforms in fifteen European Union member states
and Norway are now starting a campaign to call on organisations and
initiatives to sign the Manifesto.
The aims of the network and the Manifesto it
is launching are:
- to encourage the co-operation among
minority community media and the establishment of national
platforms;
- to establish co-operation with
researchers, ngo's and politicians and policymakers;
- to ask for political recognition and
measures to support minority community media in dealing with the
challenges they face;
- to improve the position of ethnic
and multicultural media throughout Europe and on a national
level
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Why a European Manifesto for
Minority Community Media?
The member states of the European Union
include a great number of citizens belonging to immigrant groups and
other ethnic minorities, of which an increasing number originate from
countries outside the European Union. These citizens have contributed for many
years to both the cultural diversity
and the economy of the European Union. They have made great efforts to
engage themselves in community life and other social, cultural and
political activities that added
to the
further development of their country of residence.
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Likewise,
there are thousands of minority community media initiatives in the European Union, involving
tens of thousands of people. These encompass magazines,
newspapers, web-media, radio and television stations as
well as programmes produced by, for and about immigrants and ethnic
minorities. Minority community media are often local, sometimes regional
or national initiatives. They provide their
audiences with essential information, in their own language where appropriate, helping them to participate as
equal citizens
of their country of residence. They provide a platform for
discussion and exchange within the minority
communities as well as between the minority and the majority
communities.
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The minority community media groups reach
out to a potential audience of millions of citizens in the EU member
states, an outlook underlined by the success of radio stations in France and the
UK. Although working under different
national, regional and local conditions, minority community media groups
throughout Europe, however, encounter similar obstacles in executing their activities. |
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Therefore, a range of minority community media groups
decided to work together and to join their efforts on the European level.
A European Manifesto was drafted to ask for attention and support to
improve their situation. A draft of the Manifesto was discussed
nationally, regionally and locally across Europe. Based on these
discussions the Manifesto was amended and approved by all involved
groups.
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 | Online/More Colour in the Media and its
projects are financially supported by the European Commission Community Action Program to Combat Discrimination. |
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