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4th
Convention of the German Open Channels 1997
Open
Channels for Europe!
Berlin
Nov.
13 - 16, 1997
Berlin
Declaration
We,
the participants of the congress „Open Channels for Europe!“
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SUPPORT
the principles stated in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and the UN Declaration on the right to development, and
welcome the Amsterdam Protocol to the Treaty of the European
Union
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AFFIRM
that, in the spirit of Article 10 of the European Convention on
Human Rights, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, and the MacBride Commission, the right to communicate -
including the right to expression - must be recognised and
defended as inalienable for individuals and peoples and as
indispensable to the democratisation of societies.
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AFFIRM
that, in the sense of The People’s Communication Charter,
communication should contribute to the empowerment of people to
defend human dignity, equality and liberty against pervasive
forms of censorship, distorted and misleading information,
stereotyped images of gender and race, restricted access to
knowledge, and insufficient channels to communicate their ideas
and opinions.
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AFFIRM
that guaranteed and non-discriminatory access for the public to
all means of communication are essential to the creation and
preservation of a democratic process leading to a cohesive
Europe built and sustained by its inhabitants
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VIEW
the ongoing pursuit of deregulation and liberalisation policies
in media and communication; the continued growth of poverty,
unemployment and exclusion as increasing risk for reinforcing
nontransparent, elitest and undemocratic trends in Europe.
Based
on the above, we
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COMMIT ourselves to building a European coalition for citizen’s media
as part of a global movement for media equity and democratic
communication structures. This
coalition will encourage and strengthen the effort among groups
working at national level, as well as develop and consolidate
their cooperation. The coalition will also advocate on a European level the
non-discriminatory access for the public to all means of
communication as an essential part of the civil right to free
expression.
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CALL UPON the European Parliament and the European Commission, as well as
national parliaments and governments in Europe, to recognise
that people’s direct access to information and participation
in community television and radio and open channels are
indispensable to democratic societies.
They are essential for the development, preservation and
integration of cultural identity and national, regional and
community identities. Thus they are an important part of the
foundation for a Europe for all people.
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DEMAND that in Europe, as well as on a local and regional level, an
adequate legal and economic framework be created which will
guarantee for the public non discriminatory access to all means
of communication, all relevant public information and
institutions, media policy decision making processes, and
appropriate forms of expression.
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BERLIN DECLARATION AMENDMENT
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STATUTES
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