WACC annual report highlights challenges and changes

General Secretary the Rev. Dr. Karin Achtelstetter, in an introductory message, pointed to several major developments:

• ACT Alliance accepted WACC as a member in May and was represented at its General Assembly in the Dominican Republic in October.
• The UNESCO-initiated Global Alliance on Media & Gender (GAMAG) named WACC to its International Steering Committee.
• The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) invited WACC to join an advisory group preparing for the International Forum on Communication for Development and Community Media for Family Farming (IFCCM), which took place in October 2014.
• WACC gained consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

“These are all signs that WACC’s long-standing work promoting communication rights as crucial to tackling the leading political and social issues of our day is gradually gaining a voice and presence where it matters. These achievements will be further replicated at the regional and local levels by WACC members and partners working in areas as diverse as community media, gender equality, poverty reporting, and digital frontiers,” wrote Achtelstetter. She added that there is already “considerable evidence that … the WACC movement is having an impact on policy-making and grassroots activism.”

WACC is the only international, ecumenical, non-governmental organization specializing in the field of communication and development. Taking a rights-based approach to policies and projects, WACC emphasizes the role played by communication in strengthening the capabilities of people and communities in need so that they can express and address their concerns.

In particular, WACC seeks to bring about gender equality and gender justice in and through communication.

The year also saw a new structure for WACC Canada and a streamlining of programme and financial procedures aimed at full cost recovery and good governance.

At an Extraordinary General Meeting on 18 March 2014, WACC corporate and personal members voted unanimously to approve new documents for submission to Canada’s regulatory body, adhering to a new set of rules. The documents were submitted and approved in April 2014.

The Annual Report highlights some of WACC’s activities during the year. More complete reporting can be found on this website, together with stories about events and projects, as well as WACC’s sister site, Who Makes The News?.