New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO)

The New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) is the result of a political proposal concerning media and communication issues emerging from inter-national debates in the late 1970s. The term originated within the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), expressing the aspirations of Southern countries to democratize the international communication system and rebalance information flows worldwide. UNESCO played a major role in fostering the debate until the early 1980s, especially through the work of a commission chaired by Irish diplomat Sean MacBride (→ UNESCO). The commission’s report, Many voices, one world (MacBride Commission 2004), outlined the main international problems in communication and summarized the NWICO’s basic philosophical thrust. It was adopted at the twenty-first general conference of UNESCO in 1980, and remains a milestone in the history of global debates around communication issues.