Community media networks discuss social impact and sustainability in Latin America

The Latin American Association of Radio Education (ALER) recently held an assembly to elect new leadership and discuss the role of community radio across the continent. Walter Cuc, a Maya community leader from Guatemala, was elected as the new president of the organization. The network, which includes community stations from Mexico to Argentina, focuses on social issues such as migration, indigenous rights, water access, and land and housing rights.

In Chile, academics from the University of Chile addressed the sustainability and social function of community media during the Fourth National Meeting of the Migrant Journalists Network. Experts Juan Ortega and Patricia Matus de la Parra emphasized that community media aims to democratize speech and articulate communities by covering stories often ignored by major media outlets, rather than competing for mass audiences.