5. to enhance Media Accountability and Professionalism, Community Broadcasting and The MISA News Exchange. The first programme area of media accountability and professionalism seeks to assist the media in ensuring that media products are professionally provided and the media is accountable to the general citizenry and consumers of media products. It is the aim of this programme area to ensure that code of ethics and a self-regulatory system are established for each of the eleven countries in which MISA operates. The Community Broadcasting programme is an initiative to assist in the establishment of community broadcasting stations in the region. The News Exchange which started in 1994, will continue and be extended to include a Portuguese language exchange and a ‘rip and read’ service for broadcasting stations most of which do not have resources to gather news. Over the years, MISA has assisted media practitioners and houses with legal fees to enable them to engage lawyers for their defence in courts of law, mostly brought against them by the State. The majority of cases concern criminal defamation, which is still quite prevalent in the region. The Legal Support programme area is the subject of assistance MISA plans to continue to give to media houses and practitioners who may find themselves under such situations. The major element of this programme area is the plan to establish a Legal Defence Fund in each of the countries where MISA operates. Two strategies will assist MISA in reaching its objectives outlined in its five programme areas. These are respectively the strategies for Communication, Dissemination and Publications and the Implementation and Monitoring. The first strategy recognises that an effective communication and information dissemination system is essential to an advocacy organisation. Furthermore, the fact that the organisation is spread across eleven countries requires an efficient exchange of information to allow for frequent interaction. The second strategy is concerned with the management of the Strategic Partnership Programme for 2002 to 2005. This includes systematic planning and monitoring, a transparent and accountable financial system, new criteria for budget allocations, a dynamic and cohesive organisation and strong governance structures. It also underlines that gender sensitivity and networking efforts permeate all five of MISA’s programme areas. )LQDQFHV MISA has received funding from many donors over the years with its major source being Danida, Sida, Norad, Hivos, EU, Open Society Institute for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. 6R7KLVLV'HPRFUDF\"