The South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) completes 10 years of its existence on July 2, 2010. The delegates attending the First South Asia Free Media Conference (SAFMC) in Islamabad decided to form a mainstream media body of the region on 2nd July 2000. The founding conference evolved a programme, “Media Development, Freedom and Peace in South Asia”, that focused on two-fold objectives to pursue in the subsequent years: a) media development, free flow of and access to information and a free, professionally competent, unbiased and independent media in the region and (b) promote a culture of dialogue and an environment for understanding, tolerance, peace, conflict resolution and cross-border cooperation leading towards a South Asian Union and help bring an end to the menace of extremism and terrorism.
Since then SAFMA has been established in all the eight member countries of SAARC, with elected National Chapters and offices in most countries of the region. The South Asia Media Centre was also established in Lahore from where SAFMA Central Secretariat operates. SAFMA has eight elected National Chapters and a Regional Executive Body. It is recognisd by SAARC as an Associated Body but has yet to be given the status of an Apex Body, which it must be given at the earliest.
The Action Plan approved by the Information Ministers of SAARC has been implemented by SAFMA, by establishing South Asian Media Centre, South Asian Media Net, South Asian Journal, South Asia Media School and journalists exchanges and editors conferences.
So far SAFMA has held seven regional South Asian Free Media Conferences, five SAARC Journalists Summits, two Indo-Pak, two South Asian, one Pak-Afghan parliamentary conferences and various sub-regional exchanges to promote free media, peace and regional cooperation such as Dhaka-Kolkata, Mumbai-Karachi, Punjab-Punjab and Kashmir-Kashmir.
SAMC: SAFMA has helped establish South Asia Media Commission (SAMC) in all the eight countries and at the regional level to monitor the attacks on the press and to audit media content. It has held its two regional conferences that have elected its successive Regional Executive Bodies. Eight National Chapters have also been established with representation from major media bodies and the civil society. South Asia Media Monitor, which covers attacks on journalists and audits media content, has completed five years of publication.
SAWM: SAFMA has also backed leading women journalists in establishing South Asia Women in Media (SAWM) to mainstream gender issues and ensure greater participation of women journalists. SAWM now has a Regional Executive Body with eight National Chapters in the region.
SAPANA: South Asian Policy Analysis (SAPANA) network -- a virtual think-tank and network of experts, academics and researchers -- has produced the high quality research-based South Asian Media series consisting of 13 books on major policy issues facing South Asia. Another research-based series consisting of seven books on important regional issues is under preparation and is expected to be published by the end of this year and the start of next year.
South Asian Journal: SAFMA’s joint media productions have had a positive impact on South Asia. South Asian Journal has completed seven years of publication while keeping its high quality and cross-cutting themes. Top experts, academicians, researchers and editors contribute to the Journal which has a vast subscription across the region. The Journal has focused on major regional and national policy issues to overcome information deficit and create broader understanding on inter and intra state issues.
South Asian Media Net: South Asian Media Net has been online for eight years. The news and views website is updated daily to provide one window to all South Asian countries. It has been renovated with audio-video facilities and can be accessed at www.southasianmedia.net. Any South Asian can file a story or views on the site and join various discussion forums on it. SAFMA/SAWM/SAMC members can have their conferences on this site.
South Asian Media School (SAMS): South Asia Media School, established to train and educate young journalists from the region, has successfully undertaken five eight-week and two five-week certificate courses so far under the supervision of a superb faculty and international instructors and will be expanding its training program to six-month and one-year Diploma Courses in collaboration with Goldsmiths College, London.
Free Media Foundation (FMF): FMF, registered under the Societies Act, has been the implementing agency for SAFMA, SAWM and SAMC. The Foundation has entered contribution agreements with UNDP, Norway and the Netherlands and raised more than US$ 8 million to run SAFMA activities in the past eight years. The Foundation accepts the work-plans and the budgets proposed by the Regional Executive Bodies of SAFMA, SAWM and SAMC and their Secretary Generals are represented on the Board of Governors of the Foundation.
South Asian Free Media Endowment (Fund): To become self-sustaining, FMF/SAFMA has proposed the creation of a South Asia Free Media Endowment (Fund) worth US$ 20.34 million with a possible contribution from SAARC Development Fund and members/observers of SAARC at the SAARC Journalists Summit-V in Bhutan in April 2010. SAFMA has also proposed the creation of scholarships worth US$ 336,000 annually from the respective SAARC countries for their young journalists to be trained at the South Asian Media School.
SAFMA’s Impact:
SAFMA has been instrumental in promoting free and responsible media to promote tolerance, peace and cooperation in South Asia. Pursuing a two-pronged strategy to achieve its twin objectives of developing a conscientious media community with a South Asian perspective and engaging media for conflict resolution, peace, tolerance and regional cooperation, SAFMA has made a remarkable contribution.
Media Related Achievements:
SAFMA, SAMC and SAWM have achieved the following media objectives: a) An active media network across borders with regularly elected national chapters, Media Resource Centres in eight countries and Regional Executive Bodies elected every two year by South Asian Free Media Conference and SAWM and SAMC Regional Conferences, a Central Secretariat in Lahore, Pakistan; b) Strengthening the right to know and freedom of expression by bringing changes into media and other laws of those countries that prohibit freedom of expression and right to know; c) Promoting free flow of information and movement of media-persons and media products across borders; d) Raising media professional standards through training and reorientation (SAMS); e) Helping media persons rise above their national/ethnic/religious divides in conflict situations; f) Overcoming information deficit through joint media productions, such as South Asian Media Net, a news and views portal and South Asian Journal, a high quality quarterly magazine; g) Monitoring attacks on media-persons and media organisations and auditing media content; publication of annual and periodical reports on media (South Asia Media Monitor); solidarity movements for media freedom and peace, such as in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka; h) Gender sensitization and mainstreaming through workshops and guidelines, now under the auspices of SAWM; i) Joint media platforms for action and reform at the national and regional levels; j) Redefining media's role in conflicts, women rights, good governance, peace, fighting terrorism etc.; k) Promoting regional cooperation, conflict resolution and isolating religious extremism and fighting terrorism through media campaigns and sub-regional, bilateral and regional fora, interactions, exchanges and networking (South Asian Parliamentary conferences, Indo-Pak parliamentary conferences, Pak-Afghan Parliamentary conferences, Kashmir-Kashmir, Punjab-Punjab, Mumbai-Karachi, Dhaka-Kolkota sub-regional exchanges); l) Strengthening democracy, democratic culture, promoting tolerance and curbing terrorism and religious extremism through various activities.
SAFMA’s Achievements for Peace:
SAFMA has expanded its appeal and influence beyond the media community that increasingly joined its ranks. SAFMA is playing an active role in conflict resolution, peacemaking, confidence building, and eradication of terrorism and extremism. In its ten-year existence, SAFMA has been at the centre-stage of creating understanding, reconciliation processes and confidence between Pakistan and India and Afghanistan and Pakistan: a) It brought together not only journalists from all divides, but also parliamentarians, politicians and experts from these countries, besides building bridges between Bangladesh and India and Nepal and Bhutan. Its initiatives have led to ceasefire between India and Pakistan, after it brought together the members of the two parliaments in Islamabad who called for a ceasefire and initiated confidence-building measures between the two countries. Encouraged by SAFMA's initiative, India and Pakistan initiated a series of confidence-building measures and a composite dialogue process. b) By exchanging two groups of journalists across the Line of Control (LoC), dividing Kashmir, SAFMA facilitated an understanding on opening the LoC to divided families and a bus service between the two capitals of divided Kashmir. SAFMA organized two South Asian Parliamentary conferences in Pakistan and India that attracted official delegations of all parties from all the legislatures of the region and set the agenda of South Asian Economic and Parliamentary Union. It achieved yet another landmark by bringing together the parliamentarians from Afghanistan and Pakistan in Islamabad. d) Quite refreshing and motivating was a visit by the captains of industry, agriculture, culture and media from the Pakistan side of Punjab to the Indian side and between Mumbai and Karachi, Dhaka and Kolkata and journalists’ exchange across the divided Kashmir.
Institutional Development:
The Free Media Foundation, SAFMA, SAWM and SAMC have taken far reaching measures for its institutional development. The Central Secretariat has evolved a well thought-out institutional Development Plan and has implemented it. Free Media Foundation’s Memorandum has been revised, on the advice of a leading corporate lawyers firm, to create a strong and clear institutional and structural relationship between the FMF and SAFMA/SAWM/SAMC. Similarly, SAFMA’s, SAWM’s and SAMC’s memorandums have also been amended to strengthen this institutional and structural relationship. Ernst and Young Chartered Accountants have undertaken a comprehensive Gap Analysis of FMF’s Central Secretariat’s financial, managerial and HR procedures. The Report was approved and Ernst and Young were asked to propose Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). They proposed two manuals on finance and HR as well as a manual for National Chapters, to bring our working and governance in accordance with best practices and international corporate standards to strengthen good governance, accountability, transparency, necessary checks and balances and discipline. FMF, Central Secretariat and National Chapters must ensure that these manuals are fully followed in letter and spirit. A system of result-based Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting has been established and it must be implemented. South Asian Free Media Endowment Fund is being created for self-sustainability.
MEDIA, SAARC, SAFMA
The 14th SAARC Summit in April 2007 stressed “the need for closer regional cooperation in the field of information and communication technology”. It also directed to take steps on other ICT-enabled fields. The 15th SAARC Summit in August 2008 recognized “the importance of connectivity for realizing the objectives of SAARC …it further stressed the necessity for fast-tracking projects to improving intra-regional connectivity and facilitating economic, social and people-to-people contacts”.
Things have not moved along these tracks and the SAARC visa exemption scheme has not worked. Media and information remain the most neglected area despite South Asian Free Media Association’s (SAFMA) persistent efforts and successive SAARC Summits and the commitments made by the foreign ministers at SAARC Journalists Summits since 2004. The SAARC visa quota for journalists remains unimplemented in India and Pakistan.
Generally, the issues of connectivity, communication, routes, cross border linkages, free movement of people, goods and information still remain unaddressed despite various declarations and recommendations by the relevant forums of SAARC.
The SAARC information ministers had agreed to implement the following measures through a Plan of Action and set the following objectives:
1. To actively encourage greater flow of information in the SAARC region. (SAARC region remains prohibitive of the free flow of information and movement of journalists across borders, despite SAFMA’s lobbying for the last ten years and its Protocol on Free Movement of Journalists and Media Products repeatedly presented to successive SAARC Summits since 2003.)
2. To generate, disseminate and exchange information material. (Nothing has moved on this account. However, SAFMA has established and maintained since 2003 a daily news and views portal, southasianmedia.net, on the countries of South Asia with two million hits every month.)
3. To strengthen cooperation in the field of media and information and upgrade the professionalism of media persons through human resource development programs and regional exchanges. (Nothing was done for the professional development of journalists. A few exchanges of journalists did take place. SAFMA has, in the meantime, held and organized over 50 regional conferences and exchanges, including journalists/editors, experts, academicians, parliamentarians and politicians. For the professional uplifting of young journalists SAFMA has developed a South Asian Curricula on Media, South Asian Faculty and a South Asian Media School (SAMS), which has held seven 2-month media courses for young journalists from the eight countries.
South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) proposes the following steps and measures SAFMA is ready to facilitate and SAARC and its member states must help implement:
1. To allow Access to Information. SAFMA has proposed a model Protocol on Information to the member countries and the SAARC for adoption.
2. Ensure an easy and unrestricted visa regime for journalist and for the people at large, for free movement of media persons across South Asia. SAFMA proposes once again our Protocol on Free Movement of Media Persons and Media Products to the 16th SAARC Summit for adoption.
3. Lift all barriers on free flow of information, newspapers, magazines, books, radio and TV channels and other electronic productions, remove all bottlenecks in postal and telecommunication services and allow a South Asian information highway.
4. Help create a South Asian News Agency, which SAFMA is capable of running.
5. Recognize SAFMA as SAARC’s Regional Media Forum and grant SAFMA the status of SAARC’s Apex Body. SAFMA is ready to organize the conferences of editors and working journalist from the platform of SAARC with the backing of SAARC secretariat.
6. SAFMA has created South Asian Media Net which covers all about South Asia and member countries of SAARC. SAARC must support southasianmedia.net and we are ready to help develop and update the SAARC website.
7. SAFMA has organized documentary festivals in most countries of the region, besides a South Asian Documentary Festival. SAFMA is ready to organize South Asian Documentary Festivals for SAARC with the support of member countries.
8. SAFMA is also ready to help SAARC Audio Visual Exchange (SAVE) Program by making them more attractive and popular. SAFMA is prepared to help develop Model Guidelines for trans-national broadcasting in the region with the participation of major stakeholders.
9. SAFMA proposes to SAARC and its member countries that the South Asian Media Centre it has established in Lahore be considered as SAARC’s Media Centre.
10. Discourage negative projection of member countries by the media in South Asia. SAFMA is ready to propose professional ethical standards for voluntary adoption by the media outlets and professional media bodies.
SAFMA’s Proposal to SAARC and its Member Countries for Support:
11. Recognize South Asian Media School as an affiliate of SAARC in media training. We appeal to the member countries of SAARC to approve scholarships for young journalists and fresh graduates for media training from their countries through SAFMA National Chapters for training at South Asia Media School.
Appeal to SAARC and its Member/Observer to help create
South Asian Media Endowment Fund
12. Allocate funds for the creation of a South Asian Media Endowment Fund either out of SAARC Development Fund and/or with the contribution from Member Countries of SAARC.
The Endowment Fund can be created with the amount of USD 20.340 million which will be maintained by a regional trust dedicated to the objectives and activities of SAFMA/SAWM/SAMC and their implementing Agency, Free Media Foundation. Two options through which SAFMA is seeking support are:
Alternative-I: The funds for South Asian Free Media Endowment Fund be provided by the SAARC Development Fund;
And/Or Alternative-II: The Member Countries of SAARC share the funds among themselves.
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