1) The document describes the Simbani Project, an initiative of AMARC-Africa aimed at strengthening the role of community radio in development. 2) The project will build the capacity of radio correspondents, facilitate content exchange through an ICT platform, and produce content on issues like health, food security, and gender. 3) The goals of the project are to amplify marginalized voices and bring civil society perspectives to information flows, with outcomes like increasing the use of ICTs and production of local content in community radio.

1. AMARC-AFRICA: SIMBANI
INFORMATION AGENCY, TAKE TWO
Presentation for Workshop The Role of Radio in
Development: Learning form each other
Organised by AMARC -FAO AMISNET Rome
16-18 April 2008
Marcelo Solervicens, Secretary General, AMARC

2. Presentation
• What is AMARC
• Challenges to Community Radio Development
• Goal, Purpose and objectives of AMARC
• AMARC Africa
• Simbani Project Approach
• Simbani Project. Objectives
• Simbani Project. Means
• Simbani project Outputs
• Simbani project Outcomes and Social impact assessment
• What is needed

3. What is AMARC
The main global impact of AMARC has been to accompany and
support the establishment of a world wide community radio
sector that has democratized the media sector giving voice to
the voiceless
Through service to members, networking and project
implementation, the world Association of Community Radio
Broadcasters, AMARC is an association of community radios
that brings together a network of more than 4,000 community
radios and community media stakeholders in more than 115
countries.
AMARC has political structures and operational structures at the
Global level, in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe.

4. Challenges to Community Radio Development
• Absence of proper enabling legal environment
• Uneven recognition as a Global sector of communications
• Sustainability social, technical and financial
• Content and relevance of programming
• Inclusion guaranteeing inclusion of the poor and
marginalised
• Access: Amplifying the voices of the poor and excluded
• Social Impact in development: increasing effectiveness of
community radio social impact in achieving development
• Greater harmonisation of AMARC network

5. Goal and Purpose of AMARC
Goal
• AMARC’s goal is to combat poverty, exclusion and
voicelessness and to promote social justice and
sustainable, democratic and participatory development
Purpose
• In pursuit of this goal AMARC’s Purpose is to amplify the
voices of the excluded and marginalised through
community media and ICTs, to support popular access to
communications and to to defend and promote the
development of community radio world-wide

6. Objectives of AMARC for 2007-2010
• Advocacy and Policy Research. To achieve improvement in the
policy, legal and regulatory environment for community media and for
the right to communicate
• Knowledge sharing and capacity building. To strengthen the
sustainability, effectiveness and relevance of community Media and to
increase the appropriation of community media by excluded and
marginalized communities;
• Content exchange and social action Campaigns. To amplify the
voices of the excluded and marginalized on key issues in sustainable
development and to strengthen south-centred perspectives
• Gender Equality and Womens’ Rights. To promote women ’s
rights, to combat gender-based discrimination and to strengthen
women ’s participation in community media levels
• Network Development and Communications.

7. AMARC Africa
• Autonomous Political and operational entity defined by
AMARC members in1995 World Conference
• Present difficulties in the operational structure have not
affected the membership association work and the network
development objectives. Rebuild of Africa CR etwork is
being implemented through membership decisions.
• Existing Board of Directors (8 members) 1 coordinator,
and related to harmonisation process
• 450 member community radios and Federations. Sepefic
workplan for 2007-2010 in implementation

8. Simbani Project Approach
• Learn from errors and sucesses of Pulsar, Simbani and
information agencies and activities of AMARC
• Learn from ICTs appropriate uses for rural, marginalised
urban areas
• Complete and reinforce efforts already being done by
radios and federations in terms of information
• Facilitate exchanges and add value through editing ,
capacity building and learning by doing CR contents
• Not compete or replace efforts to build existing content
exchange projects and mecanisms by ONG (Panos, IPS,
etc.) and multilaterals (FAO, UN bodies)
• CR oriented and not journalist oriented

9. Simbani Project Objectives
• Give voice to the voiceless making effective the right to
communicate;
• Amplify voices and perspectives of the excluded;
• Reinforce use of ICTs and Radio techniques;
• Bring distinct civil society perspectives on information
flows;
• Reinforce local content, south-south perspectives for
development, cultural diversity and good governance;
• Develop specific areas content development (HIV-AIDS,
Food Security, MDGs, Gender, etc.);
• Social campaigns in secific country regional, global issues;

10. Simbani Project Means/ Activities
• Capacity building for correspondents (federations, radios)
– Radio Infrastructure and use of ICTs
– Radio production habilities (Formats, approaches, etc.)
– Content development on specific subjects
• Content exchange
– ICT Platform
– Radio correspondents
– Coordination and editing unit
• Content of Coverage
– news and Radio programmes
– Social action campaigns
– Bulletins

11. Simbani Project Outputs
• ICT Platform for consultation and archives, tools and
earning by doing
• Radio programmes : news, interviews, etc.
• News from the communities edited written and radio notes
wekkly
• Specific content social campaigns
• Coverage of special events
• Learning visit to radios within the International AMARC
network
• Correspondents training for trainers meeting reports

12. Simbani Project Outcomes
• African voices and issues are increasingly pertinent in
local CR;
• African voices are heard through world networks of CR
and CM stakeholders;
• Appropriate use of ICTs and radio techniques by CR and
journalists is increased;
• Specific issues on local content, south-south perspectives
for development, cultural diversity and good governance
are reinforced;
• CRs and R audiences can increase their awareness in
specific areas content development (HIV-AIDS, Food
Security, MDGs, Gender, etc.);

13. Simbani Project Impact Evaluation
• Specific project reporting by outputs and outcomes:
– capacity building (correspondents, CR training, etc.)
– content exchange platform
– content relevance and quality (social campaigns, reports, etc.)
• Develop quantitative results assessment monitoring &
reporting on audiences, and CR network;
• Develop qualty results assessment monitoring & reporting
on audiences and CR network;
• Develop process monitoring and reporting tools for social
impact, not the aggregation of project results

14. What is Needed?
• Financial Support;
• Coordination to avoid duplication and facilitate
synergy
• Priority setting of local/ regional / global issues
interaction and synergy
• Monitoring and evaluation processes