member countries. It therefore lays down certain principles to guide member States in adopting such policies, such as: • • • • striving for the development and implementation of policies and programmes in the areas of culture, information and sport consistent with the principles contained in Article 4 of the SADC Treaty; pooling of resources, such as expertise and infrastructural facilities, by State Parties, and the utilization of those resources in the interest of regional integration and cooperation; commitment to the enhancement of a regional identity in diversity in the areas of culture, information and sport; and commitment to the right of access to information and participation in cultural and sporting activities by all citizens. The Protocol also defines certain concepts that are sometimes loosely used and interpreted in member States. Important amongst these definitions are: “Accreditation” - Adoption by member States of regionally and commonly accepted standards of registering or accrediting practitioners in the fields of culture, information and sport; “Broadcasting” - Disseminating information through electronic media such as radio, television, film and any new information technologies (ICTs) “Communication” - The process of relaying or imparting information; “Community media” - Non-profit and community-based media which serve a geographically founded community or any group of people or sector of the public having an ascertainable common interest; “Culture” - As the totality of a people’s way of life, the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterise a society or social group, and includes not only arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs; “Gender” - The socially and culturally constructed roles, privileges, responsibilities, power and influence, social relations, expectations and values of men and women, girls and boys; “Independent media” - Media which are editorially independent of their owners, be they private, public or community based; “Information” - Knowledge, statistics, reports, dance and song recorded in various forms such as books, audio, video tapes and electronic digitisation; “Information infrastructure” - Facilities, including equipment, used in the process of information dissemination; “Journalist” - A person involved in the collection and dissemination of news and information; “Media” - All forms of communications such as the print media, broadcast media, film, video and new information technologies; “Media freedom” - An environment in which the media operate without restraint and in accordance with the law; “Media independence” - Editorial independence, whereby editorial policy and decisions are made by the media without interference; Namibia Media Law Audit – report final draft 9