The CMFE supports the claims of the Spanish community media network, Red de Medios Comunitarios (ReMC) in favor of the adoption of two decrees regulating the sector.

In one project, the Spanish Administration is asked to regulate the general service of CM and the other project refers to the technical conditions:

Decree on service regulation
- The transitional arrangement should include both radio and TV.
- Must include a section devoted to funding these services.
- The scope of providing these services must consider various areas of coverage (local, regional and national).
- The media authority may allow participation of social organizations in the procurement process (public hearings, establishing criteria for the award).

Decree on technical regulations
- The power and coverage restrictions are contrary to the provisions of all the recommendations and statements on community media. As we eliminate such limitations.

CMFE will be one of the partner organisations for the upcoming MARS project (European Media against Racism in Sport), a joint EU/CoE programme for a european media network for mutual understanding, fight against discrimination and intercultural dialogue.

The project will start in the beginning of 2011 and last two years. CMFE will contribute to build a new european media network against racism, to set up a electronic resource database, encourage people to take part at international media encounters and organizing media cross visits. The project focussing on media coverage about sport. It's the follow up of the CoE "Speak out against discrimination" campaign which is completed by the end of the year and where CMFE was involved.

If you are interested in taking part to the project, please e-mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


Summary of the project

The Media, both mainstream and minority, are among the main actors of social cohesion. By allowing a real representation and inclusion of the
diversity of our today’s societies, media can contribute to fostering mutual understanding, countering stereotypes and thus to reducing discriminatory practices and racist attitudes. To do so, the media have to succeed to implement a really inclusive and intercultural approach through the contents they produce and disseminate. On the other hand, having a high position in the media agenda, sport media coverage has a potential impact on exacerbating tensions between groups and communities and or, on the contrary, on pacifying such tensions.

The global objective of the project is to contribute to the fight against racism and to foster mutual understanding in Europe by building an open platform for dialogue and action at local, national and European level focusing on exchanges of professional practices in the field of sport coverage between mainstream media and minority media. The main innovative aspect of the project is to make the media and other professional groups work together to combat racism by focusing on one of the sensitive issues covered by the media: sport.

The main output of the project is the creation of a European media network against racism and for mutual understanding and its deliverables
(tangible results) are:
1/ an electronic database of contacts and resources, in particular of concrete collaborations (internships, hosting period, seconded media trainers and professionals…) offered by network members,
2/ regular media encounters in the field of training, media cross-production and media content management organised at local and European levels (3 European and 15 national meetings) and
3/ cross-media “visits” at national and European levels in order to allow groups of actors to discover other European realities and ways of training, producing and managing media contents.

The project aims at being developed in 15 EU member states with a minimum of 14 participants per country [2 training centres, 4 mainstream
media and 4 minority media representing various supports (TV, radio, press, multimedia), antidiscrimination and intercultural bodies]. These members will be CoE media network representatives in their own media families. The project will be based on a partnership with the major European networks of media, sport and antidiscrimination organizations. At the end, the network could be made of at least 210 members acting like a European network of media professionals for fight against discrimination and intercultural dialogue, with a potential of indirect beneficiaries of more than 10 million people.

The role of the European partners and associate partners will be to select and follow, with their national members, local participants (media, sport organizations, antidiscrimination bodies); to contribute to the global content and methodology of action in their respective field of activity and then to "europeanise" the results of the project by participating to their dissemination all over their members.

By linking several media actors, CoE media network against racism wants to be catalyst of a genuinely inclusive and intercultural approach of media production of information. To do so, the project will support exchanges of practices in the field of media training and production while focusing on a specific issue (Sport), at the local level (15 cities in Europe) and ensuring the dissemination of its results through partnerships with the main European media, sport and antidiscrimination networks.

Applicant: Council of Europe
Partner 1 - International Federation of Journalists
Partner 2 - Community Media Forum Europe
Partner 3 - Media Animation – ASBL (Association sans but lucratif)
Partner 4 - VIDC - Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation

Associate Partner: UEFA - Union des associations européennes de football

CMFE has responded to “A questionnaire for the online consultation of cultural stakeholders on the future Culture Programme”. The objective of the consultation was to gather input on the next round of the culture programme after 2013, especially its objectives, activities and types of support. It was part of the wider public consultation, responses to which will be taken into account in the Commission's proposal for a new culture programme (to be adopted by the European Parliament and Council), following an assessment of possible social, economic and environmental impacts.

Among other things CMFE commented: “Support for this (CM-)sector facilitates access for other cultural groups to media. And under the practitioners in community media, members of all kind of disadvantaged groups are provided with tools to participate in media activities. It builds bridges between social and cultural groups within (local) societies.”

“Community media foster already cultural diversity as they give voice to different cultural groups within their communities. CMFE participates in different projects within e.g. the Council of Europe's "Speak out against discrimination" campaign. Funding representative cultural organizations can strengthen these kind of activities.”

“Support for festivals within this sector also benefits the broader 'cultural' sector by exploring new formats, educating citizens and facilitating broader media platforms for cultural projects. An example is the yearly organized International Festival of Local Televisions' in Košice, Slovakia, where hundreds of practitioners all over Europe exchange programmes, formats, ideas and learn from each others achievements.”


> Read the full response of CMFE

> Further information on the Consultation

The European branch of AMARC will held its second conference, titled 'Communicating Diversity. Community media in Europe communicating diversity' in Dublin, Ireland, on 24-26 February 2010.

In the words of AMARC the sector is a "mirror of a changing Europe": under the unifying concept of community, there is an ever increasing number of communication experiences intensely deep-rooted in their transcultural social environments. This diversity has to be preserved and promoted. On the one hand, it represents the forefront against the global trends towards a “infotainment system”. On the other hand, this variety of experiences needs to be enhanced by reinforcing connections and exchanges between media outlets, thus reinforcing the strength of the community media movement and its networks.

Community media provide diversity within the broadcasting landscape but it also provides plurality within society. It is recognised that, though national policies are not necessarily consistent on the regulation of Community Media, community media’s role in fostering diversity and plurality has been widely acknowledged in Europe.

The European community media sector is growing. Therefore, free community broadcasters’ voices call for a unified action towards deficient or inexistent regulation; the forthcoming switch over digital terrestrial broadcasting; a gender unbalanced information system; and the establishment of financial mechanisms to sustain the not-for-profit media sector.

AMARC-Europe intends to act as an organisation, as well as a network and a unifying movement, for pluralism and diversity in the media.

Further information on the event website

The Bundesverband Freier Radios (BFR), the German Free Radio Federation, has become an Organisational Member of CMFE.

Founded in 1994, BFR is a decentralized grass roots democratic organization, and is associated directly with the federations of free radios in German-speaking countries (VFRÖ in Austria, and UNIKOM in Switzerland) and works indirectly with AMARC (the world federation of free radios), Indymedia, and others through individual members.

The work of BFR includes: lobbying for the free radio sector, raise the public awareness of free radios, offering support for free radios and alternative media projects and also support social movements in Germany.

To its member stations it provides: with information on policies and regulations effecting media, general information on radio broadcasting and the technical aspects of radio, education and training, as well as ideas for radio programs. This information is made available at BFR meetings and over mailing lists.

The BFR offers also  opportunities for networking to help and support each other in both theory and practice. One example is program exchanges, whether they be analog (by exchanging recordings) or digital (via the internet through www.freie-radios.net). Networks provide valuable support for campaigns for social movements (such as to combat fascism, racism, nuclear power, etc.) and raise the opportunity for joint reporting on important events. It can also provide a basis for forming a common platform, for defining free radios and for their public presentation.

The BFR organizes a congress and an audio festival each year, as well as conferences and other events.

IN CMFE, BFR will provide an important contribution in the work for the further recognition of community media in Europe. This includes requirements for maintaining or establishing a clear legal framework and financial support for these media. Germany urgently need to catch up in many federal states. Indeed, BFR has been asking for improvements especially in the federal states of Saxony, Berlin, Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland.

Following BFR's membership, CMFE has now 29 Organisational Members, of which 15 National Federations, 23 Individual Members, and 18 countries are represented.

> Bundersverband Freier Radios