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Today journalists and media around the world face severe challenges, which in many contexts nears an extinction-level event, while access to information and freedom of expression that empower people to address shared needs is in jeopardy. 

GFMD’s tireless work and advocacy resulted in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) adopting the Development Cooperation Principles on Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment. The Principles are the culmination of over two years of advocacy led by GFMD and the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) in cooperation with the DAC secretariat and representatives from the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, France, and others. This was made possible by GFMD’s community – implementing organisations, civil society representatives, and media development experts – actively engaging in numerous consultations with bilateral donor agencies, intergovernmental organisations and other policymakers and funders.

The adopted Principles aim to respond to the urgency facing the information environment, where a confluence of financial, social, political, and technological forces increasingly undermines media as a democratic institution, journalism as a profession, and information as a public good. They seek to reinvigorate international support for media and the information environment in the face of this crisis, uniting the vital role of media and journalism in development and democracy, emerging initiatives to improve innovation and coordination, and growing understanding of aid and development effectiveness and the impact of assistance. The Principles will be presented by the DAC Chair at the UNESCO International Program for the Development of Communication (IDPC) while GovNet will review implementation based on voluntary member reporting every two years. Finally, GFMD and CIMA will continue to work with the DAC and other stakeholders to advance the implementation of the Principles at the international, national, and local levels.


https://gfmd.info/briefings/gfmd-welcomes-oecd-adoption-of-principles-on-media-support/