<nettime> Community Radio in East Timor

["Jason Benedek" <jasonbenedek@hotmail.com>]

Hi all,

I recently received a copy of the article on Independent Media in East
Timor, and while I found it for the most part useful, there are some grave
factual errors, especially in the last paragraph. My name is Jason Benedek
- I work with the CEP (Community Empowerment and Local Governance
Program). CEP is under the Minister for Internal Administration in the new
Timorese government, and my job is to advise CEP about media and,
particularly, Community Radio. I have lived in East Timor for over two
years, speak Tetum, and have spent time in all areas of the country,
assisting in the evolution of media structures.

The article says, in its conclusion:

"One can only hope, as is so often the case in development situations that
the media sector in East Timor does not succumb to the many spurious
funding and support sources that it is vulnerable to. Sadly, with the
World Bank's recent plans to initiate and fund a number of new community
radio stations in the country, this does remain a possibility."

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.  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. The aim of creating a hub at national level (CRC) is to empower
each of the radio stations providing resources that would not otherwise be
available. The CRC (Community Radio Centre) will, in fact, serve all
Community Radio stations in East Timor, not just those established by
communities using CEP funds. 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.

CEP has been the only project in East Timor to reach all areas of the
country. I am one of only three malae (foreigners) in the entire CEP (and
one of those is a technician here only periodically). The consultation for
Community Radio is comprehensive - there will not be stations built in
areas where they already exist, and no station will be built unless a
community proposes and supports it. Currently, large areas of the country
are not reached by the (somewhat currently imperilled) national radio
broadcaster.  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.


Thanks and kind regards,
Jason Benedek
East Timor







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