Technical co-operation between the Non-Aligned Nations

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) as an idea was developed by three world-leaders: Nehru of India, Tito of Yugoslavia and Naseer of Egypt. In the year 1945 the idea was formulated into a mutual co-operation system which was based on the concept of Non-Alignment, all of this was happening during the Cold-War era and the two major power blocks of the world: Soviet Union and United States were forming alliances and consolidating their power through other smaller nations in any case of confrontation and war.

Many nations around the world had already been part of the two World Wars and were aware of the consequences it entailed. The Non-Aligned Movement was therefore born out of a desire not to become involved in the East-West ideological confrontation and instead focused on important matters that lay in hand, national independence struggles, the alleviation of poverty and economic development of under-developed and developing nations. These principles were adopted at the founding Non-Aligned Summit in Belgrade in 1961.

In the beginning NAM consisted of 25 members in the year 1961, it has now expanded to include 115 developing countries which constitute nearly two thirds of the United Nations. The 10th summit in Jakarta in 1992 adopted the Jakrata Declaration which laid out the future direction and priorities for the Movement. In the past, NAM was purely a political Movement, today economic co-operation is also given priority. A call was made to further enhance South-South Cooperation.

Common problems like the increasing population, unemployment, foreign dept and poverty are identified as the priorities. A crucial question in today’s age of mass-media and real-time communication is that are the Non-Aligned nations technically connected? From 1975 to mid-1990’s the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP) existed, its model was based on mutual co-operation among news agencies of Non-Aligned countries.

The NANAP was initially led, funded and supported by Yugoslavia’s Tanjug and gathered many state-owned news organization ,especially in Africa and Southern Asia. The NANAP was founded in late 1974 and started operation in ,January 1975. Initially with a series of wires with statements and congratulations by their supporting heads of state. The idea responded to many calls for a new balance in world-news made since the early 1970’s by the Non-Aligned Movement during debates for a New World Information and Communication order (NWICO). Later, these discussions would be hosted by UNESCO and would culminate in the approval of the MacBridge Report in its 20th conference in Belgrade, 1980. NANAP operated as an international, collaborative, charges-free and institutional cooperation between news agencies of the Third World.

Its main goal was to provide their own mass media channels with news which would be unbiased-or, at most, biased with their own worldviews-and offer a counter-hegemonic report on world news concerning developing nations. India has played a vital role in the creation and expansion of the pool. So far 12 satellite links and four terrestrial links have been established with news agencies of Indonesia, Yugoslavia, Cuba, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Malaysia, London and Zimbabwe.

NANAP began a slow decline after the 1980’s, when NWICO talks were moved to the UN framework, under the UNESCO. But, after both the United States and the United Kingdom retreated their memberships from the organization, the initiative lost financial support and suffered a boycott by pro-free-market western institutions. Today information is the biggest weapon one can harness against one’s enemy, propaganda, false news are supplied through almost all the mass-media mediums.

If proper channels for information are not created they may lead to create disputes and prove to be a matter of concern for the member states .In an elected body known as the Co-coordinating Committee with an elected chairman as its head has been constituted to coordinate the activities of the pool. The committee meets at least once a year and its meetings were open to all participants. The chairman and members of the committee are elected during the general conference at the end of every three years such arrangements need to be established again so that technical communication can increase between the Member States.