Government of Timor-Leste

The Secretary of State for the Council of Ministers, Avelino Maria Coelho da Silva, and the Secretary of State for the Media, Nélio Isaac, met on 7 March 2013 at the Government Palace in Dili with representatives of Portugal and the European Union – “The Camões Institute for Cooperation & Language”, “the Office for the Media”, the European Union and the Embassy of Portugal – in order to present the results of the European Union Media Program in Timor-Leste.

“Supporting the implementation of the Media National Policy” established in 2010 is the objective of the European Union Media Program in Timor-Leste which, since 2012, has the mission of strengthening the pillars for the development of the media sector.

The Program is based on five essential areas as follows: establishment of the Media Basic Law, establishment of self-regulation mechanisms, technical-professional training for journalists, investment in Public Information, and preservation and promotion of the Collective Memory and National Identity.

To that effect, activities are already being conducted with a view to promoting and preserving the digital archives of RTTL, training journalists in Portuguese language, supporting UNTL (6 trainees have been sent to Universidade Católica in Portugal where they were 100% successful, and establishment of a news agency.

The meeting was also an opportunity to discuss projects envisaged for 2013, such as: initiating the process of approval of the Media Basic Law; establishment of the Press National Council; and capacity building of media professionals and institutions.

The European Union Media Program has a 24-month duration (from January 2012 to December 2013) and the possibility of its extension is already being considered. The European Union confirmed the relevance of the project and is considering the possibility of extending the support being provided up to 2014, i.e., one more year. The representative of the Portuguese Embassy, which took the floor to stress the merit of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste insofar as freedom of press in the country is concerned, a fact already recognized at the international level, has strengthened the intention to support Timor-Leste at least until to 2015.

In accordance with Pedro Braham da Costa from the Office for the Media, Timor-Leste is the first country to benefit from the technical support of this Office, which is the institution of reference within the public administration in Portugal in the area of the media.

The Secretary of State of the Council of Ministers called upon those in attendance to support the national media by providing on-going training in terms of Portuguese language. In reply, Francisco Almeida Leite, a member of the Governing Body of the “Camões Institute of Cooperation and Language”, stated that he is very pleased to see the request made by the Secretary of State which is in line with the Portuguese Language and Culture Programme.