<nettime> Re: Community Radio in East Timor

[marn*i <marni@thepaper.org.au>]

Hi Jason and all,
In response to your comments...

> First of all, it is not some World Bank plan, but a component of a
> Timorese 
> government project, and is being implemented by them.  Yet the radio 
> stations are not strongly linked either to the World Bank or the
> government. 
> Their design, and implementation of the project component, revolves
> around 
> community meetings at district level. 

As far as I understand it, the project was put forward two years ago by
the World Bank, before there was any kind of East Timorese Government, and
has still not got off the ground because the people managing it lack
experience and knowledge about the philosophy behind, and working
practices of, community radio.

Loty Salazar of the World Bank even posted to MC-Net (a Media Channel
e-list)  recently asking for more help and advice on this very project.  
(http://archive.mail-list.com/mc-net/msg00047.html) She is supposed to be
the manager of it, and getting on for two years in, she is still posting
to the internet in the search for advice. To me, this defines “spurious”.

I know from experience that there has been a number of meetings with and
interrogations into the staff and volunteers of the existing radio
stations in Timor about how a community radio station should be set up and
run, who, for the most part I found to be in strong opposition to the
plan; saying it was ill planned and being instigated by people without the
experience or knowledge to be able to undertake such a project.

Another person I spoke to that has worked extensively with Radio in East
Timor commented that, at meetings where the Community Radio Centre had
been discussed (always by people who have never worked in radio), they had
found some of the ideas that were circulated "frankly farcical". Yet these
are the very people who will decide how this large sum of money will be
spent, not the Timorese.


> Indeed, we doubt that any of the
> other community radio stations in East Timor have tried so hard to
> involve 
> so many factions of the community at all stages.  This is why this
> project 
> is moving at a measured pace and is not being hurried along.


I find this comment a little insulting to the exisiting community stations
in Timor, which i found to be working in extremely close contact with
their respective communities, as well as remaining amazingly accountable
to them in terms of the news and information that they provide.


> Secondly - this is TFET (Trust Fund for East Timor) money. It is not 
> "spurious" funding. It is East Timorese money, contributed from all over
> the 
> world. It is not the World Bank's money.

The Community Empowerment Program may be financed through the TFET, but it
is still managed by the World Bank. If the World Bank is now managing the
money, then frankly, what is the difference?

(For more information on the World Bank's involvement in East Timor see:  
www.aidwatch.org.au/timor/wb_et.html)


> My experience in these more remote areas speaks to me of the importance
> of 
> their representation and partcipation in locally relevant independent
> media, 
> created through intensive consultation from the ground up.

Of course I agree with this comment; who wouldn't? I think the slant of my
article pretty clearly demonstrated this.

My comments were not meant to be an attack on individuals working within
the project, but just to state my belief that the World Bank is not the
right organisation to be involved with implementing a non-profit community
radio station.

Thanks,
Marni.





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