Last week, the Secretariat of the International Program for the Development of Communication (IPDC) organized an induction meeting for members of its new Bureau.
This practice has become a common feature of the functioning of the IPDC, following the recommendations of UNESCO’s global governance review.

During the session, the Bureau got an overview of the IPDC’s mission, working modalities and challenges for the coming months.

Opening the meeting, Anna Brandt, IPDC President and Swedish Ambassador to UNESCO, highlighted the difficult global context for media development and the safety of journalists, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

She noted that this context reinforces the relevance of the IPDC’s mission to promote free, independent and pluralistic media and the safety of journalists. “It reminds us of the importance of providing continued support for the program,” she said.

She stressed that the priority should be to support the multi-donor special account which gives the Office the flexibility to decide on emerging priorities and areas most needed.

UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Tawfik Jelassi, described the adoption of the Windhoek +30 Declaration on Information as a Public Good, and the subsequent endorsement of its principles by the General Conference of UNESCO, an important milestone of the past year. . The Declaration is a valuable point of synergy for the IPDC and others to advance the quest for free, independent, pluralistic and safe media.

He concluded by saying that “thanks to the continued commitment of the Bureau, the IPDC will continue to provide a vital multilateral platform for reflection and action on the future development of communication”.

The ADG reported that UNESCO was beginning to support the UN Secretary-General’s Common Agenda and Global Digital Impact, and that the IPDC would be kept abreast of areas within its mandate and interests.

Guy Berger, IPDC Secretary, and Saorla McCabe, IPDC Deputy Secretary, briefed the Bureau on recent IPDC activities, project cycles and financial mechanisms. The IPDC Secretary underlined the importance of the Program and its role within the wider ecosystem of UNESCO and the United Nations.

“The IPDC is a laboratory of ideas; it is a place where experts from different countries offer ideas on what is happening in the world in the context of the role of journalism and what to do in the face of new challenges, including sustainable development, disinformation and hate speech,” he said.

This year, three important events related to IPDC activities are the Annual Bureau of the IPDC Bureau in June 2022, the 10th anniversary of the UN Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists in November 2022 and the biennial session of the IPDC, also scheduled to take place in November.

Established in 1980, the IPDC is the only multilateral forum in the United Nations system designed to mobilize the international community to discuss and promote media development in developing countries.