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The event aims to improve the representation of Indigenous Peoples, the production of relevant content for Indigenous audiences, and the professional development of Indigenous media professionals in the media industry. Further to channelling Indigenous Peoples rights, UNESCO seeks to promote freedom of expression and the development of free and independent media that facilitate civic engagement and pluralistic debate. 

The "Expert Meeting on Indigenous Peoples and the Media" will take place on 26-27 November 2024 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. Experts will discuss the status and challenges of Indigenous issues in the media, identify new opportunities for collaborative journalism, content production and dissemination, learn about new ways to monitor the impact of media coverage using advanced technology and AI-based solutions, and promote the professional development of and partnerships between Indigenous media professionals and media organizations.  

The meeting will serve as a platform to develop consensus-based recommendations to promote pluralism and diversity in the media for the benefit of Indigenous Peoples and society. The outcomes of the meeting will feed into the study on "Indigenous Peoples and the Media" being conducted by UNESCO in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and UN agencies, at the request of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII, ). This meeting will gather leading Indigenous-led media, public broadcasters, media regulators, and academics, as well as representatives from UN Indigenous Mechanisms, UN system entities, and civil society organizations from all regions. 

The main objective of the UNESCO initiative is to foster the development of free, independent, and pluralistic media, both Indigenous-led and non-Indigenous. Specific objectives are to:  

• Examine policies and programs that empower Indigenous-led media to thrive in a pluralistic media landscape. 
• Encourage open dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous media on fair and balanced coverage, culturally relevant content, and accessible media services for Indigenous audiences. 
• Promote inclusive media workplace policies and partnerships between Indigenous-led and non-Indigenous media and media professionals. 
• Formulate recommendations for implementing Article 16 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). 

The views and opinions of Indigenous Peoples are expected to be better represented and included in public debate in society through increased capacity of Indigenous and non-Indigenous media to provide balanced and fair coverage and to produce culturally relevant, accurate and reliable media content and services for all audiences. Enhanced diversity, equity and inclusion in the media is expected to promote employment and career development for Indigenous media professionals, leading to greater innovation, viability, beneficial collaboration and pluralism in the media sector.  

In addition, it is expected that the recommendations developed during the expert meeting will stimulate action for the adoption of media policies, practices and processes in the media industry, Indigenous tribes, nations and communities, and at the State level. In the long term, this will contribute to the realization of the Article 16 about media of the UNDRIP. 

In the preparation of a study on "Indigenous Peoples and the Media", 91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ adopted the following methodology and has taken concrete steps to implement it: 

Throughout 2023 and 2024, UNESCO organized a series of consultations with Indigenous Peoples, UN system entities, the media sector, public actors and civil society. This includes the multistakeholder consultative meetings held on the margins of the UNPFII in April 2023 and July 2024, and in July 2023 during the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) meeting. A fourth consultation meeting, in partnership with the Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA), was organized during the Indigenous Media Conference, which took place from 25 to 27 July 2024 in Oklahoma City, USA. 

• Parallelly, UNESCO conducted desk research with Griffith University from Australia that analysed nearly 400 bibliographic sources, which revealed a critical lack of data, hindering the development of evidence-based media policies that benefit Indigenous Peoples on a global scale.  
• UNESCO launched in July 2024 a global survey to gather evidence-based data targeting media established and managed by Indigenous Peoples and mainstream media organizations, especially public service and community media. These organizations have a mandate to provide the public with accurate, reliable, and diverse information and media services that reflect the full diversity of society.  
• UNESCO is also conducting a media monitoring analysis of the coverage of Indigenous issues over the past few years to track global media coverage, identification of trends, including geographical, thematic and linguistic coverage and programming, and areas for improvement, as well as to test the developed monitoring tools.  
• The inputs from UN-system entities will be presented to the participants of the meeting on the work carried out in the subject area.  
• Participants at the expert meeting will also learn about the case studies that are being developed based on insights gathered from individual interviews conducted by UNESCO.