Report on Our Media 5 - Day Two



Bangalore, Wednesday 7 December, 2005



My turn to report, as Juan did yesterday. Today we didn't have anymore the presence of a representative from the Home Affairs Office interested in our presentations and discussions... We also had less people in the conference room, less than 40.



Panel 3 - STUDYING COMMUNITY MEDIA AND ICTs FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: ETHNOGRAPHIC ACTION RESEARCH APPROACH



Chair: JO TACCHI , Queensland University of Technology (Australia)



This panel was prepared well in advance, and included various reports on UNESCO funded Community Media Centres. The focus of presentations was on Ethnographic Action Research (EAR), which has been going on for the last three years around these initiatives.



SAVITHRI SUBRAMANIAN, from UNESCO India, reported on "Putting ICTs on the Hands of the Poor", a project that is developed in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal and Delhi, and a few neighbouring countries. The projects are mainly addressed to women and youth, through the setup of Community Media Centres that emphasize the development of local content. The EAR approach has been an important component to include the phases of planning, doing, observing and reflecting, a constant circle that allows improving the activities as they develop. Initiatives that were initially more computer-focused later diversified to include other communication tools.



KARMA TSHERING, from the UNESCO team in Nepal, also reported on a similar EAR approach to pilot CMC projects in Tausen, Manigram and Mandanpokhara. The main idea is to mix ICTs with community radio and other communication tools, with the objective of empowering voices of the poorest segment of the community, such as the Dalits, women and people with disabilities. He mentioned the challenges of sustainability in combining the social mission with entrepreneurship initiatives.



SEEMA B. NAIR, from Voices (Bangalore), reported on similar projects in West Bengal.  In Nabanna two computer centres link women through the use of print and video to communicate; women access community information through video and interpersonal dialogue, in a programme called "Panchas" (gossip), thus strengthening a network that speeds information exchanges among villages. Video is used as a research tool, more effective than print. She also mentioned another initiative, outside of UNESCO, by which the government will setup 630 ICT centres in Kerala. Also from Voices, RANATH BHAT focused on the research aspects of the experience.



JO TACCHI wrapped-up the panel presentations addressing some key issues of "content and voice"; content that is local and voice that represents inclusion and participation. She focused on "key problematic gaps" yet to be solved: 1) technical vs. content, 2) voice vs. information, 3) discrete vs. integrated communication, and 4) potential vs. proof.



This last intervention was the most critical and analytical, since the previous were rather descriptive and repetitive, since the CMC model, in spite of its variations, is very similar in the various places where it has been developed. Jo Tacchi questioned the mere delivery of information and the mere access to technology as the panacea. Following Amartya Sen she referred to issues of "capability and human rights" approach to development.  She also mentioned another new EAR project: "Finding a voice", to investigate effective ways of articulating information and communication to empower poor people to communicate.



During the discussion time, important issues were addressed by some of the participants, for example the "technological determinism" and the potential of "new social hierarchies" being created by these projects (the two questions were raised by Vinod Pavarala from the University of Hyderabad), as well as "the individualistic view of empowerment" rather than the collective network growth (Jethro Petitt from IDS, Sussex). Juan Salazar questioned the relationship with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and raised issues of sustainability.



The next session before lunch was:



Panel 4 - MAKING MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES SOCIALLY EFFECTIVE AND CULTURALLY EMPOWERING



Chair: TANYA NOTLEY, Queensland University of Technology (Australia)



This was also a very well prepared panel, articulating the various aspects of the theme discussed by 6 panellists.



VENU ARORA, from Equal Access, presented a two-year old project in North India, in the Himalayan region, developed with support from UNESCO IPDC. Equal Access provides technical assistance on the ground. Local content development is the key aspect of the work that is done in five different communities in the area of Uttaranchal. The project started with very simple means to document oral traditions in local dialects, using simple tape and digital recorders, but evolved to a communication project that has a centre where people gather for workshops and that became a main reference for the community. Satellite receivers have been installed to expand broadcasts of locally produced programming. The main challenges, "language, gender and cast", seek to involve more women, since the participation has not increased, and to be more inclusive of Dalits and other marginalised groups. Her presentation ended with a photo-show of the activities, punctuated by wonderful local music.



JO TACCHI, from the Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation (Queensland University of Technology, Australia), reported on the radio-Internet research project developed in Queensland, aiming to combine research with applications. The project includes two main activities: content creation and a website, both involving young people from deprived communities in Queensland. Training activities have been conducted, one on indigenous stories and the other on music production. She discussed issues of access and media literacy, as well as the patters of ICT use among youth, questioning the government concept of bridging the digital divide by providing connectivity and computers, without considering issues of media literacy and local content production. She ended her presentation showing a short digital story made by one of the participants in the project.



BEN GRUBB, technical advisor to Kothmale Radio in Sri Lanka, another project that has received attention from UNESCO, referred to the convergence between ICTs and community radio, of which Kothmale Radio has been a pioneer. His presentation focused this time on "mobility and access", describing the new initiatives to take technology closer to the community level. For that purose an innovative experience is being implemented, called eTuktuk <http://www.etuktuk.net/>  (the small three-wheel auto-rickshaws that are common in this part of the world). These eTuktuk from Kothmale Radio are self-contained mobile telecentres delivering services directly to the communities. They also operate as community radio mobile units. They use state-of-the-art new technology, for example mobile phones and satellite links, to ensure connectivity for transmission of various forms of data.



TRIPTA CHANDOLA, Research Associate at DFID (UK), presented a project developed in slums of Delhi, which are also studied under the light of Ethnographic Action Research. She presented a critical analysis on the use of new technologies that are only focusing on access and not on usage and participation. She pointed to the relevance of introducing ICTs if directly related with social practices. "Technologies become sites where power is also exerted", she concluded.



SUDHAMSHU DAHAL, from Equal Access (Nepal), presented the Radio for Young People project, which produces programming broadcasted through both FM stations and national networks. The youth programme, "Chatting with a Friend", focuses on HV/AIDS, started six years ago and has been funded through UNICEF Nepal.  Several hundreds of listening clubs have been created to follow-up on the weekly broadcast of the youth programme, which has provided not only for further collective discussion on the issues, but also for feedback to improve content.  UNICEF is no longer involved in managing the programme. EAR helps to continuously monitor the project and adapt the content to make the programme more relevant to local needs.



The discussion that followed focused on the Kothmale experience, trying to expand not only on the technology aspects but mainly o the participatory and decision-making process.  SUNIL WIJISINGHE, who runs the radio station on a daily basis, provided juicy anecdotes.







Two panels were scheduled for the afternoon; it was a long day...

Panel 5 - INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE:  COMMUNIY RADIO AND RESISTANCE



Chair: JUAN SALAZAR, Sydney University (Australia)



This was the first panel that took the meeting to a more international level, with presentations from three different regions of the world.



MARIO MURILLO, Colombian teaching at Hofstra University (New York, USA) and an activist of community radio, reported on "Community Radio, Civil Conflict and Popular Resistance by the Nasa people of Colombia".  He started by describing the general situation of indigenous community radio in the country, where the 2% of the population is made of 84 indigenous communities that speak 65 languages. Although small in numbers, he indigenous communities have in recent years increased their power and political weight, partly through the use of community media. "Words without action are empty..."  He emphasized that new technologies, including community radio and ICTs, are only another tool that Colombian indians use on top of heir traditional means of communication: dialogue and debate, town meetings, inter-personal communication. Radio is seen as an extension of the other communication activities, supporting the "communication action process".



PRYA KAPOOR, from Portland University (USA), anecdotally touched upon several issues related to her personal experience with community radio and her work in the US, but focused mainly on her recent participation at the WSIS in Tunis, recalling what some of the speakers had said at the official meeting.



OTIENO RJ NDONG'A, from the University of Botswana, presented "Empowering Rural Communities through Effective Communication Channels", tracing the history of the Refugee Information Network setup in Western Tanzania, at the Ngara district, a experience with which he had been involved. He described in detail the situation of 750,000 refugees that crossed the border to Tanzania in 1994, to escape from the civil war in Rwanda and Burundi. He explained the need that emerged to create a communication system among refugees, but also addressing the needs of the local Tanzanian population. The communication strategy included the creation of Radio Kwizera (Radio Hope), which was setup, financed and managed since its inception by the Jesuit Refugee Service (although the presenter failed to mention this).



The discussion that followed was mainly focused on asking details and clarification from the panellists.





Panel 6 - ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION



Chair: ALFONSO GUMUCIO-DAGRON, Communication for Social Change Consortium



This was the last panel of the day, and again, it was an international panel, including presentations on research conducted in Australia, Canada and The Netherlands on Internet issues. The presentations didn't have any relation among them, since the panel had not been planned as such.



MARY FRANCOLI, from Carleton University (Canada), reported on "Research on Information and Communication Technologies with Aboriginal Communities (RICTA)", a rather new research network (formed in September 2004), focusing on analysing and supporting the use of ICTs among aboriginal communities in Canada. She traced the evolution of legislation on indigenous groups, which resulted in their marginalisation and impoverishment. The network considers that ICTs have brought some improvements to the lives of aboriginal communities, by fostering dialogue, education, the delivery of government services, and opportunities for self-presentation and identity reaffirmation.



CAROLYN PENFOLD, a lawyer from the University of New South Wales in Sydney (Australia), presented on "Internet Content Regulation", explaining how the Australian federation has handled content restriction in media over the years. The Federal Government is in charge of strategic sectors such as telecommunications, and sees that a classification system is in place, whereas the States regulate the application of the norms. The system of classification for Internet is largely based on the existing classification for films, which has raised a number of concerns and has proved to be little effective over the six years of existence.



JAKOBIEN VAN DER WEYDEN, a student in Media and Culture at the University of Amsterdam, presented a research project on the relationship between the Internet-based independent news sites of Indymedia and mainstream media. The research is the first to focus on how is Indymedia reflected in manstream media, either as a source of news, or as a subject of news. The divide between the independent network and mainstream media appeared clear in the research.



The discussion that followed the presentations focused on clarification questions.  Only Susanah George raised an issue, not directly related with this panel, on the conceptual framework of "community" as an alternative space, and the need to debate further some concepts that we have been using along the conference.



The journey ended with the presentation by JUAN SALAZAR of a documentary video he directed with Mapuche organisations in Chile, showing their struggle for recognition and citizenship. MARIO MURILLO also showed samples of Deep Dish Television (New York) programming, as an alternative to mainstream network TV.



Sorry if this report looks a bit long, it reflects in any case the intensity of the work done today.



Meanwhile, several hands have drafted various paragraphs of the statement that will be submitted tomorrow to the consideration of the plenary.  Juan is putting together the document.



Best regards,



Alfonso Gumucio