USAID, AusAID Sign Agreement to Continue
Supporting Independent Media

In February 2007, USAID and AusAID signed an agreement co-funding the “Strengthening Independent Media Program in Timor-Leste” implemented by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). The agreement significantly pointed the way to greater partnerships between donors in Timor-Leste, ensuring efforts are not duplicated and resources are optimized. The program and the host country, therefore, stand to benefit the most from this innovative arrangement.

A year later, on March 25, 2008, USAID and AusAID signed their second agreement bolstering the media program. US Ambassador Hans Klemm led the signing ceremony at the ICFJ office in Dili. Through this agreement, AusAID is providing Aus $500,000 to the “Strengthening Independent Media Program in Timor-Leste” on top of last year’s contribution amounting to Aus$250,000. This complements USAID’s assistance of US $1.8 Million to support the development of a strong, professional and sustainable media sector in the country.

The “Strengthening Independent Media Program” is helping the independent media sector deliver the information that the Timorese public needs. ICFJ offers specialized trainings for journalists from local media outlets and organizations, and other support to help the media produce and distribute high-quality news to as many people as possible. Participants have included print journalists from Diario Nacional and Timor Post as well as members of Timor-Leste Journalists’ Association, Timor-Leste Journalists’ Syndicate and Timor-Leste Center for Investigative Journalism. For the 2007 elections, ICFJ facilitated the journalists’ “pool coverage,” combining the resources of participating national media outlets in order to provide good media coverage of the crucial national events. As a result, community radio stations in the districts received timely news dispatches from Dili, and Dili’s news outlets received more news stories from the districts.

Special focus is given to this day on the training of media practitioners with a view to improving quality of reporting, ethics and professionalism. And, to ensure sustainability, ICFJ is also providing the media organizations training in business development to help them become commercially viable in the long run.

With the young nation’s media laws and regulations still under development at this stage, ICFJ, in cooperation with International Research Exchanges Board (IREX), is also working to ensure that the media legislation will be supportive of Timor-Leste’s independent media. The program has so far helped the media community provide feedback on a media law package submitted to Parliament in 2005 and assert the need for thorough consultation to ensure that the country will have a fair and acceptable media law.