BBC Media Action

BBC Media Action
Founded 1999
Registration no. England & Wales (1076235)
Location
  • BBC Broadcasting House, London, W1A 1AA UK
Origins London, England (UK)
Area served
Worldwide
Mission To inform, connect and empower people around the world
Website www.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction/
Formerly called
 BBC World Service Trust

BBC Media Action, formerly known as the BBC World Service Trust, is the BBC's international development charity, funded independently by external grants and voluntary contributions. The purpose of the organisation is to use media and communication to reduce poverty, improve health and support people in understanding their rights. It works in partnership with the BBC World Service and other local media and development partners in over 35 developing and transitional countries around the world.

History

The charity was founded in 1999[1] and grew out of earlier BBC initiatives, including a charity called 'Marshall Plan of the Mind'. This was set up to encourage high standards of journalism in the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the 1990s.

The charity is funded by external grants and voluntary contributions and works with many media, non-governmental, academic and donor organisations around the world. In November 2011, the UK government's Department for International Development (DFID) announced a five-year grant of £90m to the charity.[2]

In December 2011 the name was changed to BBC Media Action.

In 2011 there was controversy in America over the American government's discussion of funding the BBC World Service Trust to combat censorship in China and censorship in Iran.[3]

Recognition

In 2010 the charity won a Tech Award for developing a mobile phone service for teaching English to people in Bangladesh.[4] The same project, BBC Janala, also received a GSMA Award for education technology at the Mobile World Congress in February 2011[5] and a World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) award in November 2011 in recognition of their innovative approach and positive impact on education.[6]

In 2013, the charity's mHealth product in Bihar, India - Mobile Academy and Mobile Kunji - won an mBillionth award in the Woman & Children category[7] and a Vodafone Mobile for Good Award.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "BBC Media Action - History and links with the BBC". bbc.co.uk. 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Government grant for BBC World Service Trust". BBC News. 13 November 2011.
  3. ↑ Ben Dowell (22 March 2011). "American anger at BBC World Service Trust's bid for US funding". The Guardian. London: GMG. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "The Tech Museum Awards - Technology Benefiting Humanity Stories". techawards.org. 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  5. ↑ "BBC Janala receives GSMA Award for education technology".
  6. ↑ http://www.wise-qatar.org/node/8098
  7. ↑ http://mbillionth.in/event-2013/winners-2013/

Official website

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