Finding and Funding Voices: the inner city experience.

17-09-2007 , Events, Pictures by Salvatore Scifo,

A one-day international colloquium on community media
The Graduate Centre, London Metropolitan University
166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB.
Monday 17 September 2007

Programme
The Programme of the event

The report of the Colloquium can now be downloaded by clicking here.

Extract from the Report's Executive Summary

The event
The colloquium, attended by over ninety delegates, launched the Community Media Research Group based in the Department of Applied Social Sciences (DASS).

The event brought together community media practitioners, regulators and industry representatives (Ofcom, the Community Media Association (CMA) and AMARC, the World Association of Community Broadcasters); government departments (DCMS and DCLG, London Mayor's Office), and academics from fourteen UK Universities.

The Programme
Invited speakers from Austria, France, Ireland and The Netherlands provided an international context with their experience of regulation, funding and production. Workshops discussed case studies from London and Wales, and what action is needed in the areas of policy monitoring, training, research, programme sharing, and funding for both individual stations and projects and the sector as a whole.

The action required
Delegates strongly urged central and local government to recognise the contribution community media are making to social inclusion, community development and regeneration. The Community Radio sector in particular, now expanding rapidly, needs more support than the DCMS's Community Radio Fund can provide. Ways must be found, through a range of programmes and through inter-departmental co-operation, to find funding that enables the delivery of the social gain community radio so manifestly provides.

London was seen as particularly problematic: its large size and the relatively few analogue frequencies available mean that many communities lack an on-air voice. The London Mayor's Office does not at present recognise community media as relevant to its responsibilities and it was recognised that giving 'a voice to the voiceless' requires supportive policies and funding from a range of departments in central and local government, not just ministries of media or culture.

Delegates agreed that support should be given to CMA to raise awareness of community media in London through lobbying and strengthening links with Government ministers and departments including the Prime Minister and London Mayor's Office.

Future tasks for the University's Community Media Research Group were seen as:
- the collation and publication of research into community media and examples of best practice in the field;
- the provision and/or co-ordination of training for workers in the sector;
- the provision of introductory courses in community media for those in the field of community development who were potential partners with this form of media.

For further details about the event please contact Peter Lewis at
P.Lewis [at] londonmet.ac.uk


Presentations

Opening Plenary
Patrice Berger on FSER, French Community Radio Fund
Pieter de Wit, OLON, on Community Media in The Netherlands
Phil Korbel, Radio Regen, on UK Community Radio

Phil Korbel, also available as mp3 audio file (3.55 MB)

Case Studies
David Barlow, University of Glamorgan, on Community Radio in Wales
Steve Johnson on GTFM, Pontypridd, Wales
Ciaran Murray on NearFM, Dublin, Ireland
Eva Kuntschner and Judith Purkarthofer on Radio Orange 94.0, Vienna, Austria

Opening Plenary	Opening Plenary Peter Lewis	Opening Plenary Panel
Opening Plenary Patrice Berger	Opening Plenary Phil Korbel	Opening Plenary Phil Korbel 2
Opening Plenary Donald McTernan	Case Study GTFM 1	Case Study GTFM 2
Case Study DesiRadio SoundRadio	Case Study Sound Radio	Case Study DesiRadio
Case Study Orange	Case Study NEARfm	Plenary Reporting Back Panel
Plenary Reporting back Henry Loeser	Workshop Research	Workshop Training Magz Hall
Workshop Production and Distribution	Workshop Distribution Bill Best	Workshop Funding
Workshop Funding Phil Shepherd	Workshop Policy	Workshop Policy Jan Runge
Plenary Future Caroline Mitchell	Plenary Future Panel	Plenary Future Andrew Davis
Final Plenary Panel	Final Plenary Soo Williams	Final Plenary John Mottram
Final Plenary Patrick Atagana	Final Plenary Jaqui Devereux	Final Plenary Peter Lewis