AMARC 9 announcement

July 4, 2005. The International Board of AMARC is pleased to confirm that Jordan will be the host country for the Ninth World Assembly of Community Radio Broadcasters to be held 2006.

The decision follows an open selection procedure in which proposals were also considered from Ghana and Argentina. The decision took particular account of the geopolitical relevance of the location to the development of community radio; the potential contribution to the development of AMARC; accessibility to the widest possible range of participants; costs and prospects for raising funds; the competence and strength of the local partners; and the recommendations of previous AMARC conferences in Milan and Kathmandu on the need to further support community radio development in north Africa and the middle east.

The International Board also expressed appreciation to the Ghana Community Radio Network and to AMARC's Latin American and Caribbean section (AMARC-ALC), which presented the candidacy of Argentina. Members of the International Board recognised that there were merits in all of the proposals received. The International Board particularly noted the work that has been achieved by AMARC-ALC in strengthening the community radio sector in Latin America.

AMARC 9 is to be hosted by the pioneering Internet and FM broadcaster AmmanNet in partnership with media and journalism groups in both Jordan and Palestine and with the support of the local authority in Aqaba and the Jordanian Audio-Visual Commission which has recently commenced licensing local and community radio services in Jordan.

AMARC 9 will be a weeklong event in the second half of 2006. It is expected to bring together 300-400 community broadcasters from over 100 countries and all regions of the world.