Timor-Leste Media Development Center (TLMDC)

TLMDC is a local media development NGO which is beginning an "incubator" process under the guidance and support of Internews Network. The group draws on interpersonal interactions - face-to-face training - as well as the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as email and radio to bolster the skills of reporters in a nation that is struggling to develop a new democratic culture. The media is thought to have an increasingly important role to play in rebuilding the nation by sharing information and stimulating public debate.

TLMDC began with the launch of Timor-Leste Subscriber News, a daily local and international media monitoring service that is provided through email and website access. Subscribers are given login name and password to access this website - click here. The core purpose of the service is to share key information with an NGO audience who want to know what is going on in Timor-Leste but don't have the resources or linguistic skills to translate the daily newspapers. (Newspapers in Timor-Leste print in four different languages, but primarily in Tetum and Indonesian.) The service also helps make local news, in summary form, accessible to English speakers around the world by including the main stories from local print media and stories about Timor or Timor-related issues from the international media. NGOs or businesses can also request "sector-specific" media monitoring, which includes more detailed information about any story in local or international media. The service also hopes to be able to monitor campaigns by local or international NGOs, as well as to monitor radio and TV (along with analysis of local or international media coverage including balance, scope and accuracy). Income from this service is used to subsidise training and technical advice for the journalists of Timor-Leste.

A key focus of TLMDC is on providing face-to-face journalism training, specifically to strengthen reporting on critical issues in politics relating to government, parliament, and political institutions. Led by Firmansyah MS, the project called A Question of Balance is designed to build the capacity of journalists in time to report on the 2006/2007 elections. Working with TLMDC trainers, the project will provide services in public accountability, primarily. TLMDC is also embarking on a 10-month project, funded through UNESCO's International Program for the Development of Communication (IPDC), to train radio journalists and volunteers in how to report on debates surrounding national development issues through producing a programme on the Timor Gap Treaty and associated issues. Volunteers from Timor-Leste's radio stations will be trained in investigative reporting, hopefully in the process contributing to greater community understanding and informed debate on these issues, especially in areas outside of the capital, Dili, where there is limited access to media.

Radio is a key medium for raising journalists' awareness about gender and other development issues. For example, working with the Office for the Promotion of Equality (OPE) and Radio Television Timor-Leste (RTTL), TLMDC is producing 3 series of gender documentaries to be broadcast on RTTL and on community radio stations all around the country. The project is being supervised by an international trainer experienced in radio documentary production and gender issues, and a Timorese coordinator. Two additional staff members have been hired by RTTL for the project, who will be trained in gender-sensitive reporting, and will continue working at RTTL to specialise in gender broadcasting. To ensure that this kind of work can continue, TLMDC is engaged in a Community Radio Business Development Project that aims to help community radio stations become financially sustainable through training in fundraising and financial management.

Democracy and Governance, Local Media Development.

An assessment of media development needs conducted by Internews in January 2005 revealed that Timor-Leste's move to greater autonomy and self-governance depends on additional facilitation by the media sector to foster public debate, increase public accountability, and provide watchdog services for general public welfare. A 2-day review and planning workshop with 70 representatives of the media and civil society identified the lack of a local provider of journalism and media training in Timor-Leste as one of the major threats to and weaknesses in the media sector. To ensure the continued development of media in Timor-Leste, and in light of the fact that universities have not yet developed accredited training, Internews facilitated the establishment of TLMDC.