What are the aims and objectives of the McBride Commission of the UNESCO? What is India’s position on these? (Not more than 200 words)

The MacBride Commission, formally the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, was established by UNESCO to examine global communication inequalities. Its 1980 report, Many Voices, One World, connected communication with development, sovereignty and participation.

Aims and objectives

• It studied imbalances in the international flow of news, information and communication technology.
• It examined concentration of media ownership, the dominance of powerful transnational agencies and the unequal ability of countries to produce and disseminate information.
• Its recommendations supported a more just communication order: pluralism, democratization, cultural identity, professional ethics, access to information and development of national communication capacities.
• These ideas became associated with the proposed New World Information and Communication Order, or NWICO.

India's position

• India broadly supported NWICO because it sought equitable information flows, communication sovereignty, cultural diversity and greater voice for developing countries.
• India argued that communication should serve development and not reproduce colonial or commercial dominance.
• It also supported freedom of expression, professional responsibility and international cooperation, rather than state monopolisation of all media.
• The debate remains relevant amid digital divides, platform concentration, misinformation and demands for a fairer global information order.

Keywords: MacBride Commission; Many Voices, One World; NWICO; UNESCO; communication inequality; media pluralism.