UNESCO's National Media Development Indicators (MDIs) Assessment Reports

Begun with the first National Media Development Indicators (MDIs) Assessment in 2009, this ongoing series of country reports assesses media development based upon a wider United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) initiative to assess the strengths and weaknesses of national media sectors across the globe using a common analytical framework endorsed by a UNESCO intergovernmental Council - the UNESCO/International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) Media Development Indicators (MDIs).

The MDIs cover "aspects of media development, define a framework within which the media can best contribute to, and benefit from, good governance and democratic development. They are being applied in various countries worldwide to identify their specific needs in view of guiding the formulation of media-related policies and improving the targeting of media development efforts."

Typically, reports are developed by a group of international and country-specific media researchers. Key features of the assessment process are that it is nationally-driven, participatory, inclusive, and gender-sensitive. The reports are intended to provide local stakeholders, including civil society, state institutions, and relevant professional communities, with a detailed mapping of key media development needs in each country, based on the "internationally accepted and tested [MDI] methodology." Each contains key recommendations, for example, for Egypt: "...for the government to commit to engaging in widespread consultations with interested stakeholders before adopting or amending any laws which relate to freedom of expression or of the media. Moreover, that the guarantee of freedom of expression in the new Egyptian constitution be substantially stronger than in the past and that it should place strict limits on the power of the government to restrict this fundamental right. There is also a need for a right to information law that would give individuals a right to access information held by public authorities. "

As of January 30 2020, there are 23 titles available. Assessments are ongoing in Brazil, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Haiti, Malawi, and Uruguay.