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The media’s contribution to the creation and sustaining of functioning democracies and their potential to serve as a catalyst for human development provide the justification for UNESCO’s media development efforts. The Assessment of Media Development in South Sudan accompanies South Sudan in the process of democratic transition and contributes to the development of free, independent, and pluralistic media. It is based on UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators (MDIs), an instrument approved in 2008 by the Intergovernmental Council of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). Through a detailed analysis of all aspects of the media landscape, the MDIs guide the efforts of different actors working for media development, as well as the formulation of policies in this field. 

While the analysis is based on international standards and good practices, the recommendations are adapted to the particularities of South Sudan following a National Conference on the Preliminary Findings of the Assessment of Media Development in South Sudan organized on 29 October 2013. The assessment was undertaken between 2012 and 2014 and provides the first detailed analysis of the media landscape in South Sudan since its independence. It looks at the legal, regulatory, and economic frameworks in which the media in South Sudan operates, their democratic potential, education and training initiatives, and the infrastructure that impacts media development in the country. 

The assessment was carried out in a volatile and fast-changing environment but will serve as a baseline for media development initiatives in the country by the Media Sector Working Group (MSWG). The MSWG, of which UNESCO serves as the Secretariat, coordinates the efforts of all media partners, both nationally and internationally, towards the planning and monitoring of media development activities in South Sudan in line with development goals. The working group advocates for the necessary human and financial resources to address the most pressing priorities facing the public, community, and private media sectors.