03 Jul 2013 “Democratizing the Word” is published in Ecuador

Agencia Latinoamericana de Información (ALAI) has published “Democratizar la palabra: Movimientos convergentes en comunicación” (“Democratizing the word: Converging movements in communication”), a book supported by WACC that examines how social movements are contributing to the search for communication rights. ALAI notes, in the description of the book, that “the struggle for the democratization of communication is no longer an issue confined to those who are directly or indirectly linked to communication.” In tune with the political changes in Latin America over the past decade, stakeholders are taking up the fight since it affects the future of democracy, ALAI said. “This is a fight that goes through the updating of legal regulations, so that freedom of expression is no longer the privilege of a few,” said ALAI. In addition, public policies should guarantee pluralism and diversity, preserving the collective interest over individual appetites.

“Given this basic democratic aspiration, the furious reaction of the large media groups is itself a demonstration of the extent of the power they hold,” ALAI commented.

According to its website, ALAI works for the democratisation of communication through training and advising social movements in Latin America and the Caribbean to develop their communication strategies, and through carrying out participatory research and studies, and has generated and participated in several initiatives for the advancement of communication rights.

One of the lessons of the Latin American and Caribbean process calling for change in communication has been the need to recognise that its potential can only be fully realized when communication rights become a broadly based aspiration, ALAI believes.

The agency, in its project description for WACC, noted that “the proposals and initiatives in this topic by social organisations that do not have communication as their central activity are not widely known. Given that their broad participation in the search for communication rights is essential, this project will help to collect and disseminate their contributions as an element in the construction and consolidation of a movement for communication rights.”

ALAI also said the book would “compile and publish a panorama of initiatives in several social sectors related to the affirmation, claiming and exercise of communication rights from the perspective of social movements. This may help other social movements, communication networks and leaders to formulate their own proposals and initiatives related to communication rights.”

The book is available here.