"All human and social activity depends on communication. No matter the issue — poverty, conflict resolution, self-determination, migration, health, land, housing, the climate crisis — little can be done without effective communication. A framework is needed that enables, empowers, and transforms ... ; that challenges power structures and sociocultural traditions to guarantee the public voices and genuine participation of everyone — especially poor, marginalized, excluded and dispossessed people and communities. Such a framework is offered by the concept and practice of communication rights. Since communication clearly underpins genuinely sustainable development and requires equitable access to information and knowledge, to information and communication technologies, as well as plurality and diversity in the media, this book identifies the missing UN Sustainable Development Goal 18: Communication for All, whose purpose is to expand and strengthen public civic spaces through equitable and affordable access to communication technologies and platforms, media pluralism, and media diversity." (Back cover) more

"This MA thesis explores the emergence of new citizenship practices among youth participating in two school-based media collectives in areas of Colombia marked by violence and conflict. I draw from Rodriguez’s (2001, 2011) citizens’ media theory, which highlights the role of performance in commu ... nication processes as a mechanism for social change, to study media products created by youth participating in two school-based communication groups, one in the city of Tumaco and one in the city of Pasto. These two groups are part of the Paco project, an initiative of Aprendiendo Crecemos, a Canadian-funded education program operated by Save the Children International and the Norwegian Refugee Council in the Nariño department of Colombia, an area facing high levels of violence and internal displacement. These media collectives are spaces where youth produce different forms of media, such as television, radio, and press, on topics related to children’s rights and local issues. In this context, this MA thesis explores the ways in which youth use these media production opportunities to negotiate, perform, and learn their roles as citizens whose voices matter and whose political actions can lead to social change. I argue that youth participation in these media collectives contributes to the internalization of understandings of citizenship based on pluralism, dialogue, and relationships with public institutions based on accountability and transparency." (Abstract) more