by producers and community radio journalists to recognise the International Year of Soils. The twice-weekly series was aimed at sparking discussions and education about the environment, climate change, food security, agriculture, sustainable development, resilience, and the importance of soils. Lobbying Radio industry lobbying At the 2003 ITU World Summit on the Information Society, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters criticised the lack of representation of community-based media. It made a submission to the summit to have community radio recognised as important, and submitted that community-based radio stations should be allocated "suitable frequencies, equitable access to licenses, and public financial and technological support and training". The submission went on to argue community media are key to creating a "strong, socially responsible civil society'", provided they have sufficient financial resources and can respect and preserve their independence from government and commercial media. The association said governments should reinvest their revenues from the sale of spectrum, cable and telecommunications licenses into social communication objectives, and provide tax incentives, production funds and legislative support for community radio stations. Political lobbying In 2011, the association wrote a letter in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. In it, the association said it boycott was in line with the front-line community access broadcasting model of its member stations. The letter said the International Middle East Media Center, a member station in Palestinian territory, was reporting on the daily life for Palestinians for many of its member stations around the world. However, the association did not claim to speak on behalf of any member stations. In 2012, the association held the Tunisia Community-Associative Media Conference, a gathering of 60 freedom of expression activists from Tunisia, and community radio leaders from around the world. The conference focused on advocacy, content development and radio production, and ways community broadcasting to cause change in Tunisia. Its focus was on the freedom of expression of both men and women in Tunisia, as it fitted into the wider political and social context. See also Alternative media Community radio References External links AMARC's website AMARC's Wiki IFEX Publicly funded broadcasters International journalism organizations Organizations established in 1983 Community radio organizations Boycotts of Israel