Communication, Media and the Law

Having worked in developing countries that were recipients of UNESCO funded projects, I really admire their open access policy and genuine desire for culturally appropriate capacity building. So please excuse me if I occasionally promote them.

Here are two important, relatively new, UNESCO publications for download:

"Media as partners in education for sustainable development: a training and resource kit" is a training kit to provide media professionals with basic information about some priority issues for sustainable development. It also provides practical exercises to inspire investigative reporting, and draws links to existing experience that may enrich the information resources of media professionals. You are invited to post your comments and discussion points on this publication at the UNESCO web site.

The publication is available for download at this link (PDF 2.3 Mb)

"Freedom of information: a comparative legal survey"

The importance of the right to information or the right to know is an increasingly constant refrain in the mouths of development practitioners, civil society, academics, the media and governments. What is this right, is it really a right and how have governments sought to give effect to it? These are some of the questions this book seeks to address, providing an accessible account of the law and practice regarding freedom of information, and an analysis of what is working and why.

The publication is available for download at the UNESCO web site.