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On Monday, 4 November 2019, the UNESCO Khartoum office, in partnership with the Sudanese Ministry of Culture and Information (MoCI), National Commission for UNESCO (NatCom), Journalists Network (SJN), Journalist Union (SJU), and the British Embassy in Khartoum, organized the Launching workshop on the Review of Policies and Laws in the Media Sector in Sudan. The event was funded by (*). It took place in the Grand Holiday Villa Hotel, and attracted participation of more than 200 journalists, media experts, and other media professionals, including H. E. Mr. Faisal Mohammed Saleh, the Minister of Culture and Information, H.E. Mr. Rasheed Saeed Yagoub, the Undersecretary in MoCI, H.E. Mr. Irfan Siddiq, the British Ambassador to Sudan, Dr. Abdulgadir Noureddin, the Secretary General of the NatCom, and other distinguished persons.

© UNESCO: Launching Media Reform in Sudan: the stage of opening session. Khartoum, 04/10/2019.

The workshop is the launching event in the framework of the programme “Media Reform in Sudan”, starting activities for making an assessment of the Sudanese media industry using UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators (MDI), and producing the reform’s roadmap. The programme continues the efforts of UNESCO to keep discussions in Sudan around the themes of Freedom of Expression and Universal Access to Information, and was included in the UN Action Plan for supporting Sudan during the Transition Period.

The workshop was lead by the expert in media development Mr. Stephen Buckley (UK) aiming to:

1. Announcing the start of the Media Reform in Sudan, framing a needed work methodically designing in on a basis of the UNESCO MDI Methodology.
2. Conducting a meaningful dialogue of relevant stakeholders on establishing a common vision among the different bodies comprising the media sector, including radio and television, news agencies, journalists, etc.
3. Holding a brainstorming sessions among participants to develop an action plan for a short-term perspective.
4. Providing a platform for exchanging views between Sudanese experts in the media sector.

During the opening session, Mr. Faisal Mohammed Saleh, the Minister of Culture and Information, Mr. Irfan Siddiq, the British Ambassador to Sudan, Dr. Abdulgadir Noureddin, the Secretary General of the NatCom, and Dr. Aiman Badri, the UNESCO Khartoum office, welcomed participants encouraging them to be open and contributive to the discussions. Then, in the beginning of the technical sessions, Mr. Stephen Buckley presented an overview of the UNESCO’s methodology, using his experience in developing Tunisian media sector as an example. Five national experts presented their investigations on grounding five groups of MDI / chapters of the assessment. Mr. Nabil Adeeb spoke about the regulatory frameworks for media to promote freedom of expression and support pluralism and diversity of expressions (Chapter 1). Mr. Khaled Sayed Ahmed presented materials on pluralism and diversity of media, and an economic context that ensures equal opportunities and transparency of media ownership (Chapter 2). Mr. Hussein Sa’ad elaborated about using media as a platform for democratic discourse (Chapter 3). Mr. Mohamed Abdel-Sayed spoke about building professional capacity and supporting institutions to ensure Freedom of Expression and guarantee the pluralism and diversity of media (Chapter 4). Ms. Sabah Mohammed Adam delivered a view on the required infrastructure to support pluralism and independence of the media (Chapter 5).

© UNESCO: Launching Media Reform in Sudan: a presentation of the media landscape assessing methodology. Khartoum, 04/10/2019.

Afterwards, the participants organized 5 working groups in accordance with the chapters above, and produce the following recommendations:

• For the area of the regulatory frameworks for media to promote freedom of expression and support pluralism and diversity of expressions (Chapter 1):
  • Granting the private sector the right to work in the media sector.
  • Abolition of administrative suspension of newspapers and violations of the law in the courts.
  • Abolishing any prior censorship of newspapers at the level of legislation as well as laws restricting press freedom and abide by the constitutional document.
  • Developing an action plan for improving media legislation being complient with the agenda of the transitional government.

• For the area of the pluralism and diversity of media, and an economic context that ensures equal opportunities and transparency of media ownership (Chapter 2):
  • Promoting diversity and transforming an economic context to that one, which ensures equal opportunities and transparency of the media ownership.
  • Developing a national media, which accommodates diversity.
  • Ensuring creating a code of ethics for media professionals based on wide consensus.
  • Encouraging the state to adopt a legislation protecting journalists and other media workers against a tyranny of media owners and other types of non-relevant to quality control.
  • Stimulating media to reflect issues of regions beyond the capital metropolis.
  • Establishing specialized media focused on issues of vulnerable groups of people living in Sudan (women, children, etc.)
  • Allocating broadcasting slots in a national radio broadcast for other states’ radios.
  • Producing programs in the diverse local languages ​​of Sudan – being disseminated by national media.
  • Establishing a national advertising agency to organize and distribute advertisements fairly based on fair studies.
  • Cancelling all licensing and renewal fees for media organizations.
  • Establishing a national councils for media professionals working in press printing, radio and television broadcasting.
  • Tax exempting for press, radio and television, and for industries producing media equipment.
  • Fair incoming media professionals to guarantee their impartiality and integrity.
  • Establishing state funds for supporting media sector.
  • Allocating a fair quota in the revenues of newspapers and other media institutions toward training journalists and media professionals.
• For the area of using media as a platform for democratic discourse (Chapter 3):
  
  • Paying and attracting attention to youths’ and women’s issues.
  • Managing / governing the cultural diversity including introduction of appropriate laws.
  • Sensitizing media to citizens’ concerns.
  • Accommodating freelance journalism.
  • Sensitizing media to issues of peace.
  • Sensitizing media to attracting investments, promoting tourism and agriculture sector.
  • Evaluating an impact of different media.
  • Reviewing the status of government-owned media.
  • Enriching reliable information centers.
  • Revising bureaucratic procedures.
  • Preventing interference of the country’s security forces.
  • Separating national media from the government.
  • Countering elitism.
• For the area of professional capacity building and institutional support to ensure freedom of expression and diversity of media (Chapter 4):
  
  • Establishing specialized media training centers according to international standards.
  • Building partnerships and broader networking opportunities for sharing experiences and knowledge.
  • Providing opportunities to participate in seminars and workshops locally, regionally and internationally.
  • Conducting studies and researches to identify training needs.
  • Reviewing university curricula and their compatibility with the public orientation, cultural, racial, religious and democratic pluralism.
  • Allocating adequate budgets for training.
  • Establishing trade unions that preserve rights of media-workers to receive training and acquire marketable skills.
• For the area of ensuring adequate infrastructure to support pluralism and independence of the media (Chapter 5):
  
  • Returning of international offices of Sudan News Agency (SUNA) to London, Abu Dhabi, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, and Cairo.
  • Rehabilitating the MENOS multimedia exchange network in SUNA, particularly for radio and television.
  • Training correspondents from the states on media platforms.
  • Encouraging SUNA to employ youths, who were engaged in the Sudan’s revolution, in order to restore the national balance in the institution.
  • Returning all unfairly dismissed media-workers.
  • Reviewing the legal relationship and statuses between the national and states’ media, to prevent intersections.
  • Promoting a concept of a social responsibility in the media discourse.
  • Establishing independent government media institutions.
  • Permitting journalists to exercise a right of access to information.
  • Lifting restrictions on the Internet service.
  • Giving room for an autonomy of the states in their media coverage.
  • Encouraging the government to promote the community radio services for rural broadcasting.
  • Revising laws for governing the press institutions establishment.
  • Modernize existing archives.
  • Separating national radio from national television, and allow each to focus on its own area.
  • Permitting foreign funding of media institutions, which was suspended in the past, especially in radio and television.

Additional recommendations from all groups:

• Encouraging cooperation with international media institutions, for example the BBC.
• Enhancing college of information; Making it capable to provide practical trainings in addition to pure theory.
• Enhancing the communication with international media organizations and human rights organizations.
• Availing training opportunities for media professionals and adherence to standards of efficiency in recruitment.
• Encouraging, supporting and protecting women in the media sector, and combatting harassment.

The Multi-Donor programme on freedom of expression and Safety of Journalists (MDP) serves to further strengthen UNESCO’s work at a global, regional, and national levels, by channeling funds towards emerging priorities and the most pressing needs to achieve its mandate on freedom of expression. It enables UNESCO’s communication and information Sector to address complex issues through the design and implementation of holistic medium and long-term interventions at national, regional and global levels. The clear advantage of this mechanism is that it allows UNESCO and its partners to achieve greater impact and sustainability, whilst reducing fragmentation of activities in the same field.

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