Presentation

Motivation

The human being is a social animal, who requires interaction with other individuals to attain its full personal development. Dialogue with other people allows us to exchange information, enriching, not only the participants in the conversation, but also the society as a whole.

Besides these direct interpersonal contacts, modern societies have a powerful tool for information transmission and exchange: the media. They are considered by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as "key instruments to promote dialogue, mutual understanding, auto-expression, peace and reconciliation". Furthermore, they allow us to attend specific aspects of human relations, such as promotion and conservation of the local cultural and language diversity, integration of disadvantaged social and ethnic groups, incorporation of youngsters to the labour market, recognition of gender equality, etc.

To be able to perform their functions correctly, the freedom of expression of the media must be meticulously respected, because only like this it will be possible to reach the levels of objectivity and representation that the treated information needs to be accepted as valid by all the population. And this requirement is specially important in conflict and post-conflict situations, due to the necessity of understanding in a context of distortion and manipulation of information.

Unfortunately, freedom of expression is not always a reality, due to a wide range of problems. Sometimes, for example, some social or ethnic groups are banned from accessing to the media. Other times, it's the lack of resources and an insufficient or inadequate educative offer in the community what limits the capacity of the citizens to express their ideas and opinions as they would like to.

Goals

In order to try to surpass these obstacles, a group of engaged people decided to constitute reCOMciliation, that will adopt the form of Non-Gouvernamental Development Organization (NGDO), with the purpose of promoting community development and post-conflict reconciliation through the creation and support to participatory and inclusive local media.


Always in relation with the previous general goal, we will also work on other secondary and complementary goals, such as fomenting real gender equality, facilitating the incorporation of youngsters to the labour market, etc.

Localization

The headquarters of reCOMciliation will be located in Spain, but its vocation is to constitute national committees in as many nations as possible.


Social intervention projects will take place:

• In developing countries and countries where there was a recent conflict (generally an armed one). In this case, the organization will focus its projects mainly in Africa and Latin America, due to the special incidence on those territories of the aforementioned situations, and also to the existence of common historical and cultural characteristics.

• In developed countries. More specifically, on those countries where a national committee of the NGDO had been created. We will plan campaigns to raise public awareness, with adults, kids and teenagers, about the importance of the media in community development.