AMMAN -- Jordan will host the 9th conference of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) this month to explore the challenges facing community radio, particularly in the Arab world.
The Internet Jordanian FM broadcaster AmmanNet (www.ammannet.net) will host the conference in cooperation with local, regional and international media groups.
"AMARC meetings bring together over 500 community broadcasters and stakeholders from over 110 countries," Daoud Kuttab, founder of AmmanNet, told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday.
The six-day international gathering will start on November 11 and includes around 30 Jordanian representatives and up to 100 Arab participants, who will take part in discussions on developing community radio in the Middle East and North Africa.
Among other topics to be discussed are ways to build a strong new global communication development sector, ensuring women's rights to communicate through and within the community radio movement and civil society in general, and increasing the impact of community radio in achieving human development.
"Choosing Jordan as the first Arab country to host the AMARC conference is a result of the country's progress in opening up the airwaves to include community radios," Kuttab said, stressing that there is still room for improvement.
He expressed hope that the conference would encourage the Kingdom to take further measures to liberalise the audiovisual media and called on parliamentarians to reduce licence fees for community radios and to differentiate between them and commercial broadcasting enterprises.
"Community radio serves the interests of local people and helps promote the country's human development process," he said.
Kuttab said Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine are currently the only Arab countries which grant licences for privately owned radio stations.
The fee for establishing a private radio station in Amman is currently JD25,000, in Irbid JD15,000 and JD10,000 for the rest of the country, an official from the Jordanian Audiovisual Committee said.
Kuttab urged Arab officials to create a legal environment that allows and encourages the establishment of community radio free from administrative interference and expensive fees.
"Introducing the concept of community media to Arab societies is extremely vital. The Arab world has yet to realise the role community radio plays in promoting human development, reinforcing civil society and improving the level of press freedom," Kuttab said.
AmmanNet was the first independent radio station to be granted a licence from the Audiovisual Commission, and also the first Arab media outlet to become a member of AMARC.
The commission was set up in 2002 following the introduction of the Audiovisual Media Law, which eliminated public sector domination of the radio and TV industry, paving the way for privately owned radio stations.
Previously, the only stations licensed to broadcast in the country, besides Radio Jordan -- a government-owned institution -- were BBC World Service, MBC, Radio Monte Carlo and Radio Sawa, which began broadcasting in March 2002.
In May 2004, music station MOOD FM was launched and in October another radio station, Play 99.6 FM started operations.
AMARC, a nongovernmental organisation, was founded in 1983 with the aim of promoting community-based radio globally.
Community radio is aimed at serving the interests of a local audience by broadcasting material that is popular but ignored by powerful broadcasters, according to the Wikipedia encyclopedia.
It is often financed by donations from listeners, international development agencies, or by advertising and governments.
By Hana Namroqa
© Jordan Times 2006
