After three years of political transitions, media across the Middle East and North Africa are still left with the immense challenge of reforming past institutions, laws, and minds. But what does it take to build the solid foundations that professional, independent media sectors depend on? In a series of three essays, three leading media experts...

This report summarises the presentations and recommendations made at the 2012 Conference on Media Development in Myanmar organised by the Myanmar Ministry of Information and Culture and UNESCO in cooperation with International Media Support (IMS) and Canal France International.

Over the past 10 years, disappearances and killings of journalists in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia have been met with an inadequate response from these governments. The result in all three states has been the emergence of a climate of impunity, violations of journalists‟ human rights, and a chilling effect on freedom of expression.

The overall objective of the IMM visit in February 2012 was to advocate in- ternational best practices on press freedom, Freedom of Expression (FoE) and Right to Information (RTI) among key policy makers working on the constitution and to assess the capacity and situation of the media.

When it was first introduced in 2008, the new Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar was deemed to be a great improvement over the previous constitution. An important part of this was the more robust guarantees it included for human rights. And an important part of the latter was its relatively strong guarantees for freedom of expression.

This report presents the findings of a media environment assessment in Myanmar within the context of the present socio-political and economic developments in the country and its emerging media landscape.

In the light of intense concern and speculation over the future of press freedom in Hungary and deep uncertainties within the country’s media professional community over the impact of media laws adopted in 2010 an international partnership mission of leading press freedom and media development organisations visited Budapest on November 14-16th 2011.

The Media Development Assessment 2010 is an evaluation of the rapidly changing media climate in Bhutan. The study, based on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) media development indicators (MDIs), is the first of its kind to be conducted in the country.

A report on the media situation in north-eastern Libya, compiled on the basis of two IMS visits to Libya in May and June 2011. After the revolution the now unrestriced media in this part of the country is booming, and media experts from IMS visited Libya to examine a selection of the approximately 120 media, currently making up the media landscape in the north-eastern part of the country.

In response to the deteriorating press freedom and freedom of expression situation in Nepal, twelve international organisations, including UN agencies, global media associations, freedom of expression advocates and media development organisations, undertook a mission to the country from 10 to 17 July 2005. This mission reflected the serious concern with which the international community views...