CMFE contact

CMFE c/o Pieter de Wit, Heliodoorstraat 3, 6534 SH Nijmegen, The Netherlands

E-mail: president[at]cmfe.eu

For any general enquiries, please write to info[at]cmfe.eu

Board of Directors (2011-2014)

Pieter de Wit, President

president[at]cmfe.eu

Pieter de Wit is President of CMFE since December 2007, re-elected for a second term in 2011. Until the end of 2008 he was director of OLON, the Dutch federation of local public broadcasters. For more then 26 years he contributed to the development of this sector, which now covers more then 90% of the Dutch households. He is active on an international level since around 1990, contributing on topics like media legislation, digitalization and media pluralism.

CV in brief
- 1981: Communication Science (until end thesis) at Radboud University Nijmegen
- 1982-2008: Director at OLON, Dutch Federation of Community Broadcasters
- 1997-2001: member of the Amarc-Europe board
- Post-academic courses on broadcasting and telecommunication policy at University of Amsterdam
- Several publications and conference contributions on community media
- Observer, representing CMFE, at the Council of Europe Media Commission
- Expert for the Council of Europe on several occasions concerning e.g. digitalization of broadcasting
- Member of CMFE since 2004 as director of OLON, individual member since 2008

Nadia Bellardi, Vice President

nadia.bellardi[at]cmfe.eu

Nadia Bellardi is a public relations and intercultural communication specialist with experience in both the corporate and NGO sector. Her project work and research focuses on intercultural, migration and gender issues.

Nadia is currently Vice President of CMFE (Community Media Forum Europe) and following the work of the Steering Committee on the Media and New Communication Services (CDMC) of the Council of Europe as observer.

Until 2010 Nadia was in charge of public relations and fundraising at Radio LoRa, a community radio station in Zurich, Switzerland and a member of its collective management team. There she has been involved in several intercultural radio projects.

Nadia was awarded a BA Degree in Political Science from Università Cattolica, Milan with a dissertation on the history of the women's emancipation movement in Turkey and a MA Degree in Intercultural Mediation from Venice University with a research on intercultural training for journalists and diversity in the media.

CV in brief
- 2005-2010: Public relations and fundraising for community radio station LoRa in Zurich, Switzerland (www.lora.ch), member of the management team (collective). Coordination of project activities for LoRa’s 25th anniversary. Supported the project coordination of the intercultural radio project „incontri in diretta“. Contributions to radio programmes focusing on women and migration.
- Since 2007: Board member and co-Vice President of Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE), regularly representing the organization as observer at the Steering Committee on the Media and New Communication Services (CDMC) of the Council of Europe.
- 2006-2008: Board member of AMARC Europe (World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters).
- 2004: Project work at the International Federation of Journalists (Brussels) with participation to the Regional Gender Equality Workshop in Algeria for the launch of the IFJ Gender Equality Campaign in Maghreb
- 1999-2002: European public relations manager at Adaptec Inc. (Brussels). Development and implementation of pan-European communication strategies and campaigns.

Henry Loeser, Vice President

Convenor of the Czech Media Policy Group

henry.loeser[at]cmfe.eu

Henry is a teaching member of the Faculty of Social Studies - Department of Media Studies and Journalism in Brno, Czech Republic. In 2008, he founded the Media Innovation Center at Masaryk University, establishing the new university broadcast operations. He is also a PhD candidate, conducting current research into Community Media, and has presented my work on the societal attributes of Community Media.

As an independent media advocate, he currently serves also on the European board of directors of the World Association of Community Radios (AMARC Europe). In the field of ICT4D, since 2003, he is a founder and director of Radioexpert, an NGO that is active in Community Media projects worldwide, including current projects in Czech Republic, Bosnia, and South Africa.

CV in brief

1985-2001 Manager for several commercial radio firms in USA
1993-1996 Volunteer US Peace Corps Czech Republic
2003-present Director RadioExpert.org
2006-present Instructor Media Studies Masaryk University

Salvatore Scifo, Vice-President

Convenor for Communications and the Conference Working Groups

info[at]cmfe.eu

Involved in community radio practice in 1992, as volunteer for the Radio Popolare Raffadali in Sicily (Italy), he has been part of the first Italian university radio station Facolta’ di Frequenza, based at the University of Siena, where he started as a volunteer in 1999 and worked as Deputy Station Manager from 2001 to 2004.

In September 2004 he moved to London to start a PhD research project on 'The development of Community Raiod in Britain under New Labour (1997-2007) that wa submitted in December 2011. A member of the Community Media Association (UK) since 2004, he joined CMFE in 2006 and was elected Secretary in 2007. The mandate was also extended to Communications and he worked to the organizational development of the association and the improvement of administrative processes together with the colleagues on the previous Board (2008-2011).

He has been a Visiting Lecturer in Media Studies at the School of Media, Arts and Design, University of Westminster (2005-2007), a Lecturer in Community Media at the Department of Applied Social Sciences, London Metropolitan University (2007–2008) and a Lecturer in Media Policy at the European Union Institute, Marmara University, Istanbul (2008–10). Currently, he is TUBITAK visiting research fellow (until June 2012) in Istanbul, Turkey.

Ciaran Murray, Secretary

secretary[at]cmfe.eu

Ciarán Murray is the coordinator of the near media co-op in Dublin. He has been involved in community media, both radio and television, as a volunteer, producer, radio station manager and committee member for almost 20 years. He is currently chairperson of Dublin Community Television and secretary of the Craol, the Community Radio Forum of Ireland.
Ciarán also sits on the board of the Community Media Forum of Europe (CMFE).

He initiated and worked on many pieces of research including the 2003 Craol research, “Community Radio & Community Development” and the recently published, ‘Cross National comparative analysis of Community Radio funding schemes’. He is also an Irish and German speaker and married with two children.

CV in brief
1994-96 Researcher, producer, Raidio na Life, Dublin
1996- 00 Station manager, NEARfm
2001- Present Co-op coordinator, Near media co-op

Other relevant experience and skills
Former secretary and vice-chairperson of board of Croal, Community Radio Forum
Chairperson of Dublin Community Television since 2009;
Member of the board if the Community Television Association CTA
Former member of Broadcasting Commission of Ireland’s Irish language development Committee
Vicechair Comhluadar, organisation Irish-speaking families outside the Gaeltacht.
Former secretary, of Bord of Gaelscoil Insé Chór, 2005-2010.

Initiated and worked on many pieces of research including the 2003 Craol research carried out by Unique Perspectives, “Community Radio & Community Development”. The 2011 published BAI funded research, ‘Cross National comparative analysis of Community Radio funding schemes’ by Dr Ken Murphy. Acted on advisory group to the Critical Media Literacy In Ireland, Radharc Research Report - Nov 2007 with Prof. Farrel Corcoran and Dr. Brian O’Neill

Worked with Jack Byrne on the Aspirant manual for community radio, 2008

Jaqui Devereux, Treasurer

treasurer[at]cmfe.eu

Jaqui has worked in the voluntary sector for more than 30 years, the last six as the Director of the Community Media Association, the UK representative body for community media in all its forms. Prior to that she was the CEO of the major local charity working with homeless young people in Sheffield – homelessness is much like community media – housing and media are the hooks by which we engage people. She believes that it is the quality of that engagement that helps people to find their true voice and to change their lives. Prior to that, she qualified as an accountant with a major practice in the UK working almost entirely with NGOs, and a community printer.

Francesco Diasio

francesco.diasio[at]cmfe.eu

Francesco Diasio was born in Treviso in 1967. After obtaining a degree in Political Science in 1992 he started working as a journalist for Radio Città Futura - Popolare Network, a community FM radio station based in Rome. During the years 1994 and 1995 he worked as editor in the daily news program Immi-news, focused on migrant's issues. After a short experience in Spectrum Radio, London, he became chief editor in Radio Città Futura.

In 1998 he established AMISnet Multimedia Agency for Social Information, a web based radio agency providing content and journalistic productions in 'ready to broadcast' audio formats to a network of around 25 Italian community radios. From 1998 to 2000, he was elected in the Board of Directors of the European branch of AMARC, World Association of Community Radios, where he has been responsible for projects and campaigns. From 2000 to 2006 he worked in several projects for media and civil society reinforcement in Middle East (mainly in Jordan and Palestine). In 2004 he was one of the founder members of the Community Media Forum Europe, a platform involved in national and European political lobbying for the complete acknowledgement and promotion of the community media sector, as a basic element of a democratic and pluralistic environment.

Since 2005, as a follow up of the WSIS summit, he is involved in the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group for the defense of freedom of speech and freedom of expression in Tunisia and in the MENA Region. From 2006 to 2009 he was consultant for the French Institut Panos Paris and the Swiss Fondation Hirondelle for the assessment and reinforcement of 34 community radios in Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2006 he has been appointed and he is currently covering the position of Secretary General of Amarc – Europe. In 2010 he led the emergency team of AMARC after the earthquake in Haiti. In 2010 and 2011 consultant for IMS – International Media Support for the development of the independent radio sector in Pakistan, and for the technical set up of the Somali refugee radio station in the Daabab camp, Kenya. With AMARC, he is currently responsible for the technical reinforcement of Tunisian community radios and implementation of Community Media Centres in the country.

Larry Fergeson

larry.fergeson[at]cmfe.eu

Larry Fergeson is currently the Executive Director of CCMC and has worked in the media field for over 20 years. His experience encompasses print journalism, radio/ television news reporting, magazine editing, and radio station and community media centre management. He holds a bachelors degree from Texas State University in broadcast journalism with graduate work in conflict resolution from Portland State University. Since 2006, Larry has been a driving force in Cyprus for the establishment and practice of community media with a special focus on community media research and citizen inspired web-based platforms.

He has worked with international donors like the United Nations and the European Union to secure over 3 Million Euros in funding for various media related projects in Cyprus (and Europe) leading to the development of the first structured dialogue between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot media actors, the establishment of an Independent Media Centre in the Turkish Cypriot community as well as a broader serving island-wide community media centre dedicated to communications development and empowering a media literate society. Moreover, Larry has served as a media consultant in several European Commission funded projects aimed at improving communications across Europe and increasing citizen use of media related technologies.

Christer Hederström

Friederike Maier

friederike.maier[at]cmfe.eu

Friederike is currently working as a research assistant at the university of Hannover, Germany in the technical field of digital radio (DRM+). She has been conducting a lot of field trials in different countries and participated in the ITU DRM+ standardization.

Rui Monteiro

Gabriella Velics

Membership Officer
membership[at]cmfe.eu (for membership enquiries)

gabriella.velics[at]cmfe.eu

Gabriella Velics Ph.D. in Language Sciences, is an assistant professor in Department of Communication and Media Sciences, University of West Hungary, Faculty of Arts (Savaria Campus, Szombathely), the leader of the University’s community radio station: Berzsenyi Radio, and member of CMFE board since 2010.

She teaches sociology, theories of publicity, PR and media relations, radio broadcasting. She wrote her dissertation and several publications about the Hungarian community radio system and its function in social communication.

She is the president of Mercurius Foundation’s advisory board since 2006, and organizing the Open Studios Day yearly, when all the radio and TV studios operating in Szombathely can be visited by the curious audience.

She has a background as a journalist and radio presenter; started her career as journalist with specialization of Formula-1 car racing in different newspapers in the late ’80-s, and as editor of news in Szó-Köz Rádió, the first community radio of Szombathely in 1994.

Now, she is the editor in chief of Berzsenyi Radio, but also enjoys a voluntary role in the radio play “Nándor-family” and gives voice to Felicia.

CMFE Experts Group

The work of CMFE is also advised by members with in-depth expertise on European community media with the input of the CMFE Experts Group that consists of the Board of Directors plus the following members: