About the Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies (AMAN)
History - Members
AMAN was founded on 21 November 1991 in Tunis.
The decision was taken by the Directors General of news agencies of Mediterranean countries, who participated in an international symposium called “Communication in the Mediterranean and the Future”, as part of a meeting on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Tunisian News Agency (TAP).
According to the Tunis Declaration, a working group made up of LUSA (Portugal), AA (Turkey) and SANA (Syria) coordinated by TAP (Tunisia) was set up with an aim to strengthen inter-agency cooperation in the Mediterranean.
This Committee was instructed to investigate “possibilities and ways of achieving the common objectives defined at the Tunis symposium, such as setting up a union or club of Mediterranean news bulletin creating a directory of the Mediterranean news agencies and developing technical relations ".
The founding members were the signatory agencies of the Tunis Declaration, and precisely: Anadolu Ajansi (AA), Agence France Presse (AFP), Agence Mauritanienne d'Information (AMI), Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA), Algerie Presse (APS), Agenzia EFE (EFE), Al Jamahiryah News Agency (JANA), Agencia de Informacao (LUSA), Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP), Middle East News Agency (MENA), Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP), Palestinian News Agency (WAFA).
The signatory news agencies of the Tunis Declaration met in a Constituent General Assembly in Istanbul, on 2 October 1992 and adopted the first Statutes. Since then the AMAN Statutes have been revised during subsequent General Assemblies held in different Mediterranean countries.
Mediterranean News Agencies which did not take part in the Tunis meeting and consequently were not signatories to the Tunis Declaration could apply to the General Assembly for membership, provided that they met the requirements specified in the AMAN Statutes.
More Mediterranean news agencies have joined AMAN since then, namely: ANA/MPA Greece, ATA Albania, CNA Cyprus, FENA Bosnia Herzegovina, HINA Croatia, NNA Lebanon.
AMAN has signed cooperation agreements with other regional news agencies organisations, namely EANA (Europe), OANA (Asia-Oceania) and ABNA-SEE (Balkan, South-East Europe). The three organisations have the status of Observers in AMAN and they can be invited to attend the AMAN annual meetings.
The Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies (AMAN) is registered at the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver in Nicosia, Cyprus, as a non-profit organization (reg. number: HE403172).
Guiding Principles and Aims of the Alliance
AMAN was founded and operates with the aim to strengthen cooperation among news agencies of the countries on the shores of the Mediterranean and is charged with investigating possibilities and ways of achieving its aims and objectives.
The values of equality, tolerance, respect for others, and professionalism govern the Alliance. It is a non-political organization and cannot engage or participate in and cannot be used for the furtherance of any political objects, agendas and/or purposes.
The Alliance is engaged to work for the development of closer information and communication in the Mediterranean region, playing a basic role in the realization of the consciousness, which is necessary to strengthen the ties among the Mediterranean countries.
The Alliance was established to promote, support, encourage, participate, organize, finance and direct efforts which aim at the free transfer of information, and exchange of information and news among the national news agencies of the Mediterranean countries.
Issues like democratization, human rights, socio-economic, cultural and scientific development, the environment, migration, peace and security in the Mediterranean could be subject to ties and dialogue among news agencies in the Mediterranean.
All members are expected at all times, to promote and act in the best interests of the Alliance and to refrain from and not do anything that is contrary to the guiding principles, interests and reputation of the Alliance and any of its Members, Directors, the Secretary and/or Observers.
All members are expected to and must adhere to the highest of professional and ethical standards.
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Following the Dubrovnik Declaration which AMAN signed on October 2022. we have collectively joined the United Nations' influential SDG Media Compact.
All AMAN member agencies are now members of this prestigious network. It has more than 200 media organizations across 160 nations. So, AMAN can now influence the global dialogue on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are also using their collective resources and capabilities.
In September 2018, the United Nations launched the SDG Media Compact, an initiative marking a new drive to advance awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals, (SDGs). The SDG Media Compact began with 31 founding media and entertainment companies and has grown into a powerful alliance of almost 400 members around the world, spanning 160 countries on five continents, with a combined audience of about 2 billion people worldwide.
The SDG Media Compact seeks to inspire news and entertainment organizations to leverage their resources and talent to amplify and accelerate progress towards achieving the Goals
SDG Media Compact members receive regular opportunities for engagement with UN experts on key issues relating to the SDGs as well as regular updates, relevant content and insights on UN priorities issues.
Members of the SDG Media Compact remain independent and free to define for themselves how to take action under the Compact, with guidance and expertise from the UN on thematic and substantive issues, when needed. While the Compact does not prescribe any specific action from participants, members are expected to commit to engaging on the SDGs by leveraging their creative talent and resources to develop content focussed on SDG related issues and/or scaling up their sustainability practices.
