[eccr] Closing of Media Action International

To end the old year with a sad story.
Best wishes to you all,
Nico Carpentier

>-----------------------------------
>
>TO:     Donors, friends and colleagues of Media Action International
>FR:     Edward Girardet, Director, Geneva
>RE:     Closing of Media Action International
>DT:     15 December, 2003
>
>Dear Friends and Colleagues:
>
>As director of the Swiss foundation Media Action International (MAI), it
>is with considerable regret that I have to announce our decision to close
>down our operations. At this point, we lack the means to continue on a
>professional and responsible basis, particularly given the growing
>insecurity in Afghanistan and West Africa where MAI has projects. I am
>addressing a similar letter to the Swiss authorities in Berne and am
>informing all our past and present donors, partners and supporters. I do
>apologise for the length of this letter but feel it is worth reminding
>those who have worked with us of some of MAI's achievements in recent
>years.
>
>The principal reason for this decision has been the failure to convince
>donors, including the Swiss government, to provide the necessary support
>for our core management. This is unfortunate given that MAI has proven to
>be - according to our partners and beneficiaries - one of the most
>innovative and ground-breaking media organizations dealing with
>humanitarian crisis, peace-building and long-term recovery. However, core
>funding is a serious problem also faced by numerous other NGOs.
>
>Most critically, MAI has acted as a crucial communications bridge between
>the international community and affected populations. Its publications,
>notably the Afghanistan Monitor and the Essential Field Guide to
>Afghanistan but also Lifeline Media and the HIV/AIDS Radio Handbook have
>served as vital monitoring and background information organs for those
>involved in humanitarian action and recovery. A new and fully revised
>edition of the highly successful Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan is
>in fact being launched by Crosslines on 9 February, 2004.
>
>Regrettably, too, our closing comes at a time when MAI was in the process
>of mounting new programmes that clearly meet the needs of local
>populations. In November, 2002, for example, we launched the first of
>several media workshops in Ivory Coast aimed at avoiding a Rwanda-style
>debacle by bringing together editors and journalists from both sides. Our
>initiative quickly aroused the attention of the UN agencies and donors. In
>mid-2003, the UN Security Council cited MAI's efforts as decisive.
>
>Since the late 1990s, MAI programmes in Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo,
>Mozambique, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Central and West Africa generally have
>received sufficient project funding from donors such as DFID, DANIDA,
>World Bank, CIDA, UNICEF, UNHCR, USAID, the Dutch, Germans and others. Our
>efforts have been regarded widely as professional, low-cost and
>invaluable. Both OSCE and KFOR unequivocally described MAI initiatives in
>Kosovo as the "most effective" public information programming
>(humanitarian and youth radio shows on 23 Albanian and 11 Serb language
>stations) providing recovery, health, educational, democracy-building, and
>security information to returnees and local populations. MAI has developed
>imaginative projects ranging from Electoral Road Shows in Kosovo to the
>Travelling Theatre (reaching over 200,000 people with health, landmine and
>other information in rural Afghanistan in 2003) and the recent Clean Up
>Kabul campaign funded by the City of Geneva.
>
>Equally to the point, MAI has been in the forefront for catalyzing donor,
>aid and media organizations by holding conferences and brain-stormings at
>its own initiative in Geneva, Morges, London, Cape Town, Nairobi and
>Boston. MAI's Weapons of War, Tools of Peace Symposia were the first to
>bring together humanitarian, media, military and private sector
>organizations. Our smaller, but targeted information workshops - in
>conjunction with organizations such as UNDP, the World Bank or the ICRC -
>have explored more effective ways of coping with aid, conflict resolution
>and HIV/AIDS as well as longer-term but largely ignored predicaments, such
>as the ongoing war in the Congo. Often cited as a benchmark, MAI's
>'Lifeline Media' approaches have become the norm among numerous
>forward-thinking organizations.
>
>Paradoxically, our success in the field has been not at all reflected by
>donor willingness to provide the necessary core support for MAI. We have
>relied heavily on excellent but short-term teams of volunteers to operate.
>We have never had more than two full-time paid staff leaving us completely
>overstretched. My own time has been largely voluntary. No organization can
>manage professionally over a long duration in this manner.
>
>Core funding from the Swiss Development Corporation and ABB (a principal
>corporate sponsor) has been highly welcome but insufficient. Many of our
>donors, disturbingly, have insisted on only covering operational budget
>lines and not management support. The reality is that governments are
>increasingly only providing core support for NGOs at home. They expect
>host donors to do the same for their own NGOs. In fact, several
>governments - the Swedes, Norwegians, Germans - have specifically asked
>why the Swiss - given that MAI is a Swiss organization - have not been
>more forthcoming with core backing.
>
>To operate properly (minimum 4 staff plus volunteers), we would need at
>least $400,000 per annum. At best, we were lucky to attain a third of this
>from varying sources, including the SDC's own 2003 contribution of 100,000
>CHF. As a result, MAI has been obliged to "limp along" with most of its
>efforts channeled into playing "catch up" rather than focusing on
>institutional development. The result is that MAI is now over 150,000 CHF
>in debt and unable to continue.
>
>Clearly, media and public information are still extremely difficult to
>'sell'. Nevertheless, they remain critical components of any serious
>humanitarian, peace-building or peace keeping operation. With the Swiss
>government, I feel that we have been shunted back and forth - often with
>praise but with little practical recognition. We have been constantly
>informed that no one knows where to place MAI. Are we humanitarian?
>Development-oriented? Part of conflict resolution? Another response is
>that our initiatives do not fit into the areas of responsibility supported
>by Berne. To my mind, MAI's responds precisely to all these areas.
>
>My only conclusion, sadly, is that the Swiss government has not considered
>MAI worthy of support beyond its current contribution which barely covers
>the salary and social costs of an administrator let alone office rent and
>other expenses. Over the past years, we have done much to develop a highly
>effective organization that responds to the needs of local populations as
>well as the international community. We have promoted the humanitarian
>ideals that are so clearly identified with Geneva and Switzerland. In
>addition, we have created an astonishing network of groups and individuals
>interested in the need - and right - to information for all concerned.
>These are all achievements for which MAI can feel extremely proud and
>which we believe have indeed made a difference not only to countless
>people in the southern Balkans, Afghanistan and elsewhere, but also the
>organizations seeking to assist them.
>
>It will take several months to close MAI. We need to deal with our debts
>and the handover of MAI's remaining projects in Afghanistan and West
>Africa to other organizations. We are still seeking to keep some of the
>projects, notably the publications, operational but through other
>entities. We have already shut our Geneva office, released our only
>remaining full-time employee and informed the Federal Office for
>Foundation Oversight in Berne.
>
>At the same time, we have received numerous requests by aid organizations
>and concerned individuals not to close down. While we would be more than
>willing to re-assess MAI's options, we would only do so if the Swiss
>government - or any other major donor(s) - was prepared to commit to
>serious core investment over several years. We simply cannot continue as
>before in a manner that prevents us from properly managing our projects.
>This would be unfair to our partners, constituents and, above all, our
>teams. I myself am returning to my normal work as a journalist, writer and
>editor, but have no intention of giving up on the goals and objectives
>that MAI has worked so hard to achieve.
>
>With my best wishes for Christmas and a Happy New Year.
>
>Edward Girardet
>Director, Media Action International
>
>Personal correspondence address:
>64, Rue Joseph Leger
>01170 Cessy (Ain), France
>Email: (edgirardet /at/ cswebmail.com)
>
>

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Carpentier Nico (Phd)
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Katholieke Universiteit Brussel - Catholic University of Brussels
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T: ++ 32 (0)2-412.42.78
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Office: 4/0/18
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of Brussels
Centre for Media Sociology (CeMeSO)
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T: ++ 32 (0)2-629.18.30
F: ++ 32 (0)2-629.28.61
Office: C0.05
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E-mail: (Nico.Carpentier /at/ kubrussel.ac.be)
Web: http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/
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