Among its activities to mark World Radio Day 2012, UNESCO has launched a new good practice handbook with case studies of community media from around the world.

"Community Media: A Good Practice Handbook" is compiled and edited by Steve Buckley former president of AMARC and is published by UNESCO. It is available free online at:
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002150/215097E.pdf

The publication draws on a diversity of experiences to provide inspiration and support for those engaged in community media practice and advocacy and to raise awareness and understanding of community media among policy makers and other stakeholders.

13 February has been proclaimed by UNESCO as a date to celebrate radio broadcast, improve international cooperation among radio broadcasters and encourage decision-makers to create and provide access to information through radio. "Community Media: A Good Practice Handbook" is a compilation of 30 community radio and other community media examples demonstrating successful approaches to strengthening public voice.

"The value of this publication lies in the fact that it highlights problems while at the same time offering possible solutions. It presents a useful empirical basis for replicating time-tested decisions about how community media can become an even more effective element of a free, independent and pluralistic media system of any democratic society. This book will be a useful reference to community media practitioners, policy-makers, researchers, community organizers, and other media development stakeholders."
From the Foreword by Wijayananda Jayaweera, former Director, Communication Development Division/IPDC, UNESCO, Paris