Media

The Constitution of Botswana enshrines freedom of expression. The implementation, however, does not always reflect the statements of interest provided for in the Constitution. FES in Botswana will therefore always support, promote, and defend freedom of expression and freedom of the media. A longstanding partner of FES Botswana in this effort has been the Botswana Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), one of the most active media associations in the country.

In 1998, the Broadcasting Act of Botswana came into force. In August 2000, the National Broadcasting Board (NBB) was appointed. NBB - with the support from the Regional Media Project of FES - drafted a National Broadcasting Policy. After some adjustments, this policy was adopted by Cabinet in May 2006, but was later withdrawn after heavy criticism from Members of Parliament. Another revision is being worked on.

In 2004, FES supported the creation of the Botswana Press Council as an independent self-regulatory body of media in Botswana. Committees are being set up to internally regulate complaints on abuses of media coverage as well as disputes. A code of Ethics for Media in Botswana has been developed and printed with the support of FES. In 2008, several activities were supported to influence the heavily disputed "Media Bill," which tries to put more control over the media.

All activities in the field of media are coordinated by the FES Regional Media Project, www.fesmedia.org based in Namibia.