The UNESCO Media Project:
'Strengthening Democracy and Governance through Development of the Media in Mozambique’             www.mediamoz.com

The Media Project started in 1998, designed to strengthen the human, technical and organizational capacity of the communication media in Mozambique, especially independent and community media as well as the public service radio, to enable them to effectively contribute to the process of national development, good governance and democracy.

The project has during its first two phases aimed at achieving this through improving the quality of communication training, increasing access to the media through decentralization and creating media facilities at the provincial and community levels.  The present final exit phase focus on consolidation and ensuring the existence of national sustainability network upon closure in September 2006.

Major activities and achievements include:
- Establishment of eight community radio stations
- Support to the creation of independent media associations outside Maputo
- Establishment of three Communication Centres, owned by independent media associations, equipped with powerful computers, printers, Internet connections as well as newsgathering and editing facilities
- Capacity building of the provincial delegations of the national public broadcaster – Radio Mozambique
- Training of about 570 men and women in political and economic journalism, investigative journalism, gender sensitive reporting HIV/AIDS reporting and media management
- Training of about 300 people in community radio management, programming and programme production, audience research and preventive maintenance. 
- Production of 15 community radio manuals, studies of the “Media Pluralism Landscape”, and studies of the journalism and -communication education in Mozambique

During its seven years of implementation the Media Project has strongly contributed to the consolidation of the democratic process in the country through capacity building of the emerging pluralistic media and thus expanding access to information - indispensable for people’s participation in the process of governance.

The immediate objectives of the present final exit phase:
1.        To increase the impact and sustainability of community radio stations in Mozambique.
2.        To increase impact and sustainability of independent print media in Mozambique
3.        To increase the management capacity of the Provincial Delegations of the Radio Mozambique to fulfil their increased editorial responsibility and financial autonomy.

One of the Media Project’s most important outcomes, in order to ensure long-term sustainability, has been facilitating the creation of FORCOM, the National Forum of Community Radios, in April 2004. FORCOM has become the most relevant national community media coordination network whose main objective is to ensure the long-term sustainability of community media that contributes for national development, especially at local level.

Another important step to ensure sustainability is the establishment of a Training and Repair Laboratory in association with GESOM Community Radio, in Chimoio. This laboratory is designed to respond to the challenge of technical sustainability of the newly established community radios. The small lab is supposed to be a focal point for training activities and light equipment repair facility, and it is already helping the eight UNESCO partner community radios and others throughout the country

Donors, coordination, budget
The Media Development Project in Mozambique is one of the biggest projects ever implemented by UNESCO’s with a total budget of more than 12 million USD channelled through UNDP which co-ordinates the donors. The UNDP, the bilateral donors (Norway, Finland, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Portugal), and the Government of Mozambique (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), make up the Tripartite Group, with responsibility of carrying out periodical reviews whenever necessary and approve annual work plans.

Read more about the project on the Media Project's own Website: www.mediamoz.com/