Seychelles Media Commission

14/02/2025

13/02/2025

World Radio Day celebrates radio as the mass media reaching the widest audience in the world. It is also recognized as a powerful communication tool and a low-cost medium. Radio is specifically suited to reach remote communities and vulnerable people, while offering a platform to intervene in the pu...

13/02/2025

Message from Ms. Audrey Azoulay, Director - General of UNESCO, on the occasion of World Radio Day 13 February 2025

World Radio Day is an opportunity to celebrate this enduring, versatile and widely accessible means of communication. This year, we are paying tribute to the different ways in which radio serves as a tool for adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate disruption in our rapidly changing world. Last year, we witnessed rare flooding in the Sahara Desert and the deadly Typhoon Yagi which struck South-East Asia.

At a time when such extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common, we must recognize the critical and often life-saving role of radio. With frequencies that can travel across continents and receivers that use very little energy, radio can reach even the most remote locations and function even when electricity fails. This makes radio a unique medium in crisis situations; by acting as an early warning system, it can reduce disaster risk and save countless lives. Outside of crisis situations, radio is also a prime source of information for people all around the world. Traditional forms of media are all the more important at a time when artificial intelligence is impacting the reliability and trustworthiness of information online.

Misinformation and disinformation continue to be some of the greatest barriers to climate action, making the work of radio journalists pivotal in tackling the climate crisis. Yet, we know that this is no easy task. A UNESCO report published last year found that there had been 749 attacks – including 44 killings – against journalists and news media outlets reporting on environmental issues between 2009 and 2023, across all regions of the world.
This is why last year’s World Press Freedom Day, co-hosted by UNESCO and Chile, focused on the importance of freedom of information in overcoming the climate crisis. Everyone has the right to access reliable and accurate information on climate and environmental issues – but to enable this, journalists must be able to report freely and safely. This is also why UNESCO recently launched its Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change, together with the United Nations and the Federative Republic of Brazil. This initiative will help promote and defend the integrity of information on climate change, though not only research funding, but also advocacy, diplomacy and strategic action.

Communication and information shape the world we live in – and we must ensure that the information we share and receive is reliable. On this World, let us celebrate and protect this powerful form of media and its unique role as we work to address the climate crisis.

10/02/2025

The Office of the President has today announced the appointment of the new Members of the Seychelles Media Commission.

Ms. Kate Carolus is the new Chairperson.

The other Members are:

Mr. Rassin Varnier

Mr. Travis Boniface

Mr. Olivier Chang-Leng

Mrs. Murline Lebon

Ms. Francoise Larue

Ms. Joëlle Perreau

Mr. Patrick Hoareau

Mr. Romano Laurence

The Members have been appointed for 5 years effective from 1st January 2025.

The President has also thanked the outgoing Members for their period of tenure.

24/01/2025

COMESA Media Awards 2025

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) announces the call for entries for the 2025 COMESA Media Awards.

The Award scheme is conducted every year to recognize and reward journalists who have contributed to regional integration by publishing and producing broadcast stories on the subject.

Objective of the Awards The objective of the Awards is to promote reporting of COMESA regional integration projects hence raising public awareness, understanding and participation and ownership. The parameters for eligible entries include the following:

Relevance: The entry should address economic developmental issues relevant to regional integration such as trade, transport, aviation, energy, transport, ICT, investments, gender, agriculture among etc.
Regional dimension: The entry should have a regional dimension i.e. applying to or applicable to more than one regional State.
Knowing COMESA: The entry should demonstrate awareness about COMESA regional integration programmes. Information on COMESA programmes can be obtained from;
Website: http://www.comesa.int/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ X: https://twitter.com/comesa_HQ

In Member States, information can be obtained from Ministries that coordinate COMESA activities nationally. These are mainly ministries responsible for trade/commerce, foreign affairs and/or regional integration. (https://www.comesa.int/members/)

Eligibility The awards are open for published and broadcasted works in the fields of print, radio, television, and online media. Only journalists who are from COMESA Member States are eligible for the competition. The competition is open to individual journalists and not media institutions or organisations;

Submission of entries The entries shall be works published/broadcast by a recognised media institution between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024 in any of the 21 COMESA Member States.

Languages All works entered for the competition shall be in one of the COMESA official languages, namely English, French and Arabic.

Categories Entries shall consist of the following:

Print Journalism: Features/articles should consist of a minimum 700 words and maximum 1,500 words published in mainstream newspapers, magazines/ journals and newsletters.
Radio Journalism: Documentary or discussion programmes of minimum 5 (five) minutes and maximum 10 (ten) minutes duration and not exceeding 15MB;

Television Journalism: Documentary or discussion programme of minimum 5 (five) minutes and maximum 10 (ten) minutes duration and not exceeding 15MB.
Online/new media: Features/articles of a minimum 700 (seven hundred words) and maximum 1,500 (One thousand five hundred) words published in mainstream newspapers (including online editions), magazines and reputable journals.
Adjudication and Awards Selection of the best works will be done by an adjudication panel identified by COMESA Secretariat from Member States.

Respects for Copyrights All works submitted must be original and in conformity with copyright requirements.

Deadline : Entries submitted are those published or broadcasted between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024 • All submissions should reach the COMESA Secretariat by 31 January 2025.

22/11/2024

The SMC and the Red Cross Society of Seychelles (RCSS) collaborated to conduct an "Access & Safety" training that addressed International Humanitarian Laws (IHL) and human rights in light of the risks that journalists and media personnel’s confront on a daily basis.
The program, which spanned over the course of two weeks, from Monday 9th – Tuesday 10th September and from Monday 16th – Tuesday 17th September had the participation of nineteen (19) participants from a broad spectrum of media personnel, such as health and safety officers, journalists and presenters, operators of cameras, lights, and sound, and photographers offering which participants the flexibility to attend the sessions according to their availability.

Facilitators for the first day of the session included Sarah Mabeza, an expert in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) with sixteen years of experience as a regional legal advisor who spoke about the IHL and the protection it provides to Journalists. Mrs. Nichole Tirant-Gherardi, Ex Ombudsman and member of the Human Rights Commission followed up on the first presentation by elaborating upon the Third Chapter of the Seychelles Constitution which lays out the rights of citizens, rights from which journalists benefit from and the functions of the various institutions.
Journalism Safety Trainer, Ms. Tessa Henderson led the afternoon session and discussed the significance of journalism safety whilst highlighting various experiences and scenarios which have occurred in the past that test journalism safety.

On the second day, participants were led into a talk by psychologist Mr. Dereck Meriton who spoke about psychological support and how media professionals can better look after their mental health as well as provided a range of scenarios media practitioners encounter on a daily basis and how to best tackle them.

To end the session, the Secretary General of the RCSS explored the benefits and importance of having SOPs in place as well as how they can guide practitioners in the event of an emergency or disaster followed by group work with the participants looking at their own media houses’ SOPs, and answering questions based on dealing with disasters and emergencies.

The program also sought out partners from the Seychelles Police Force, the Disaster Risk Management Division (DRMD) and potentially representatives from the Electoral Commission for small presentations on their role in Elections pertaining to Access and Safety.

Moving forward, media houses now have to work on their Safety and Emergency plans. The submission of the draft documents have been scheduled for February 2025. The SMC and the Red Cross are planning further training next year, based on recommendations from participants.

06/11/2024

The SMC in partnership with the Judiciary has this morning organised a case review session at the Seychelles Judiciary Ile du Port. The new initiative allows for the media to have a platform to discuss coverage of cases to have been gone before the supreme court this past six months. Amongst all the cases that have gone before the courts, the State vs Carlos Cafrine has been the most prominent.

The meeting brought together editors and journalists from the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation, Today in Seychelles and Seychelles Nation. The session also welcomed representatives from the BAR Association, namely Ms. Alexandra Benoiton and Mr. Audrick Govinden. Representative from the Judiciary, were Ms. Danielle Coetzer, Legal Research Counsel and Mrs. Sasha Lee-Marivel, Public Relations Officer.

Discussions evolved around issues of accessibility and support given by the Judiciary. Concerns were raised on the amount of 'in camera' sessions held during the case and how this greatly affected coverage and access to information relating to the murder case.

The review session, an initiative of the SMC follows the Editors Forum held in November 2023, the Lecture on Court Reporting held in May of this year. The media recognises the efforts put in by the judiciary to improve on its engagement with the media practitioners designated for court reporting.

The next review session will be held next year.

04/10/2024

THE CONSTITUTIONAL APPOINTMENTS AUTHORITY

APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRPERSON OF THE SEYCHELLES MEDIA COMMISSION

A vacancy exists for the position of Chairperson of the Seychelles Media Commission (SMC).

Applications are invited from Seychellois citizens, residing in Seychelles who are suitably qualified under the Seychelles Media Commission Act 2010 and Seychelles Media Commission Act (Amendment) October 2017.

A person is qualified for appointment as Chairperson of the SMC if:
(a) the person has been a person with wide experience as a media practitioner or
(b) has a strong legal or administrative background.

Applicants for this position, should not:
(i) be a working journalist who owns, or carries on the business or management of any newspaper or other media;
(ii) hold any judicial or legislative functions pursuant to Articles 78 and 119 of the Constitution of Seychelles.

Besides presiding over meetings and ensuring that the business of the SMC is conducted in an orderly fashion, the Chairperson of the SMC should ensure that the objects and functions of the Media Commission as stipulated in Section 13 of the SMC Act, are duly carried out.

The position is for a term of five years.
The allowance of the Chairperson shall be such as may be prescribed.
A signed cover letter together with detailed CV, relevant educational and professional certificates, two recent references (Year 2024) and a passport-size photograph, should be submitted by e-mail on [email protected] addressed to the Office of the Chairman, the Constitutional Appointments Authority by or before Thursday 31st October 2024 by 5pm.
It is recommended that applicants visit the CAA’s website: www.caaseychelles.com in particular the CAA Rules and Guidelines on the Selection and Appointment of Constitutional Appointees (Other than Judicial Officers) made under the Laws of Seychelles(Acts).
For any enquiries, please telephone: +248 4322504/4323991.

The CAA is a Constitutional body established under Articles 139 and 140 of the Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles whose mandate is to propose senior judicial officers, other constitutional appointees for appointment by the President as prescribed in the Constitution or an Act and to regulate...