Our global network | Paris

Channels for communication are as important as information itself, particularly in the challenging media environments of West and Central Africa
Françoise Havelange

I have had the privilege of working with Panos Paris since 1990, during which time the institute has evolved significantly, in a world that has itself changed dramatically. Then as now, Panos had a mandate to support the production and circulation of relevant and plural information which could contribute to debate and decision-making around sustainable development and the equitable sharing of natural resources.

This was all very well. But how could it be done given the atrophied media that characterised West Africa, where we were working at the time? It quickly became apparent that however necessary it was to work on the content of information, it made no sense if the channels for that information were themselves lacking in credibility and professionalism, and were subject to tight control by governments. 

So Panos Paris focused on supporting media pluralism, promoting the diversity and quality of media content, and encouraging synergies between the media and civil society. We were successful in establishing strategies that made a major contribution towards building freedom of speech – particularly in radio – in an era when the wind of liberalisation was starting to blow in Africa.

As our offices in West Africa gained strength – and in 2000 became an autonomous Institute – it was natural for us to turn to neighbouring Central Africa, from where we had for several years received urgent requests to support a socially-engaged media. 

With a growing team of staff in Paris, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi and Rwanda, we steadily developed a programme to support an independent press against a challenging backdrop, notably: the end of decades of dictatorship in DRC; the desire for a return to lasting peace in the Great Lakes; strong aspirations towards democracy, equity and greater stability across the region; and, in several countries, an unprecedented explosion of audiovisual media, especially radio.

In 2002 we also began to engage with the Arab world – initially focusing on Algeria, and increasingly developing projects across the region. Our activities have included comparative studies of media content, supporting women journalists, surveys on the constraints to media pluralism, promoting the adoption of information communication technologies, and facilitating the development of independent radio broadcasting.

As in sub-Saharan Africa, our niche has been to combine the quality of journalism – for example on human rights, democratisation, and conflict prevention - with legal, regulatory and institutional aspects of media development.

The independence of our West African offices also led us to look at the situation closer to home. Although Europe is often regarded as a region where freedom of expression can be taken for granted, much remains to be done to guarantee diversity within the mainstream media.

Our ‘Media and International Migration’ project started by assessing the contribution of migrant communities to their countries of origin, and now supports media produced by - and for - migrant communities in Europe. Through research, lobbying and networking, we seek to build bridges between this so-called ’ethnic’ press (a hotly debated term!) and mainstream media.

Combining efforts to increase media viability, diversity and plurality, we are proud to be part of the international Panos Network, which is now recognised as having tackled, in four different continents, some of the most heated challenges facing a fast-evolving media in an era of globalisation. 

Françoise Havelange is director of Panos Paris.

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