Hi folks,
FYI.
Katim
Warren Feek wrote:
> The Drum Beat - 19 - India
> May 10, 1999
>
> The email and web network from THE COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE partnership -
> The Rockefeller Foundation, UNICEF, USAID, WHO, BBC World Service, CIDA,
> Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, The European
> Union, Soul City, The Panos Institute. Information, ideas, linkages and
> dialogue on communication, development and change.
>
> Web Site: http://www.comminit.com
> Director: Warren Feek [log in to unmask]
>
> COMMUNICATION TREND
>
> 1. Beginning with the launch of satellite TV in the form of Star TV in the
> early 1990s, India has seen a boom in electronic media. Millions continue
> to have no access to clean water or basic education; however access to TV
> and radio has increased dramatically. This, coupled with the transition to
> a market economy, has fueled a consumerist, entertainment-driven media
> culture. Development agencies, once dependent on state-controlled radio
> and TV, now have to define their own space in a media environment that is
> competitive and market-driven.
>
> Expanded profile: http://www.comminit.com/review_indianmedia.html
>
> PROGRAMMES
>
> 2. "Our Voice" - "Namma Dhwani", a pilot community radio project, was
> conducted in Chitradurga district, Karnataka, to assess the possibilities
> for local participation and programme content. A monthly 30 min. programme
> was produced and aired on the local FM station of All India Radio in 1998.
> The project involved participation of local individuals and groups.
> Themes included watershed management, girls' education, women's health,
> women's self-help income-generation schemes and the impact of adult
> literacy programmes on rural life. Experimental broadcasts using a
> portable briefcase-size radio station from UNESCO will be starting June
> 1999. Contact Sucharita Eashwar [log in to unmask]
>
> 3. Video for Women's Voices (SEWA) - A festival of films by rural women
> was recently showcased in New Delhi. Trained by the Self-Employed Women's
> Association (SEWA) of Ahmedabad, most of the women are poor and illiterate,
> and recognise video as a tool for empowerment - to document and highlight
> their issues and concerns. Video is an integral part of SEWA's activities:
> it is used for income-generation, occupational health, wage negotiations,
> legal interventions, teaching new skills and advocating for policy change.
> Contact Mirai Chatterjee [log in to unmask]
>
> 4. Healthy Highways Project - This nationwide STD/HIV/AIDS awareness and
> prevention campaign for truckers has been launched by DFID and developed by
> Social Marketing and Communications (SOMAC), Lintas, India. It includes
> communication materials (booklets, audio tapes, flip charts, mobile photo
> exhibitions, posters, condom fliers etc) in 6 Indian languages and English
> and will be implemented through NGOs working directly with target groups
> across the country. Material is targeted at people in the transport
> industry including truckers, their assistants, sexual partners, employers
> and sex workers. Contact Gulan Kripalani
> [log in to unmask]
>
> 5. The Campaign Against Child Labor - Labour Day saw the Prime Minister of
> India receive postcards from thousands of mostly rural children all over
> India urging him to help eradicate child labour by promoting education as a
> fundamental human right. The campaign was launched by the CACL, a loose
> coalition of 5000 NGOs and individuals that addresses the issue of child
> labour and mobilises public opinion and action. 4 years ago, CACL launched
> a campaign of print ads that highlighted the condition of children engaged
> in domestic work and building construction. The ads provided a phone
> number, and callers were sent reference material, posters and descriptions
> of volunteer work. Volunteers were trained, and many have formed their own
> community action groups. Contact Suresh Rao [log in to unmask]
>
> 6. Increasing Media Education & Literacy - In an effort to combat
> excessive entertainment programming on TV and increase programmes that
> reflect audience needs, the Delhi-based Centre for Advocacy & Research
> initiated a media literacy and education effort among a cross-section of
> viewers. This includes providing audiences with an understanding of how
> media operate: the linkages between programme content, sponsorship and ad
> revenue, and the role of audiences in determining content. Through
> viewership forums, participants have advocated for more realistic and
> sensitive depictions of the issues and problems in their lives. Groups are
> now meeting on their own and will soon officially register as a legal
> entity called the Viewership Forum. Contact Akhila Sivadas
> [log in to unmask]
>
> 7. Jhabua Development Communication Project - This satellite transmission
> project was launched in 1997 by the Development Education Communication
> Unit of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the Jhabua
> district, Madhya Pradesh, one of the country's economically poorest states.
> The project uses 150 direct reception systems in selected villages with 12
> talk-back terminals plus a studio and earth station. Programmes on health,
> education, agriculture, forestry, panchayati raj (local governance) and
> cultural heritage are broadcast in evenings, supported by afternoon
> training programmes for development functionaries. Contact SR Joshi
> [log in to unmask]
>
> 8. Unnati Features - This Delhi-based service addresses gender bias in
> media coverage of issues relating to women and development. This bias is
> especially evident in the regional English and Hindi language press.
> Unnati advocates for and facilitates greater coverage on women's issues in
> the regional press by working closely both with newspaper editors and
> community development workers who offer a different grassroots perspective
> through their journalistic contributions. Unnati features have appeared in
> some 30 mainstream publications. Contact Shree Venkatram
> [log in to unmask]
>
> 9. Managing Film & TV Production (MAP) - This collaborative project of the
> European Union and the India Cross Cultural Programme will provide film
> producers and directors in India with management skills and an
> understanding of European film markets in order to increase business
> opportunities for Hindi films in Europe. Two week-long seminars will focus
> on production, scriptwriting, legal issues, business plans and marketing.
> Contact Parthiv Shah [log in to unmask]
>
> 10. For details on the previous programmes, go to The Communication
> Initiative's "FEATURED": http://www.comminit.com/index.html#features_stuff
>
> GATHERINGS
>
> 11. The Asian Media Information & Communication (AMIC) and EEPI Business
> Management school held a 3-day conference on "Media Proliferation: How can
> Broadcasters Best Serve the Public Interest?" Apr. 19-21 in New Delhi.
> Seminars focused on: the sustainability of Public Service Broadcasting;
> broadcasting and new technologies; balancing business and social
> responsibility goals in broadcasting; emerging models for PSB; and, serving
> the young through PSB. Contact Vijay Menon [log in to unmask]
>
> 12. The 28th International Association of Women in Radio & TV (IAWRT)
> Conference was in New Delhi in Feb. 1999. "Cultural Diversity - A Media
> Challenge" was attended by women broadcasters from Peru, Sweden, Finland,
> Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Thailand. Broadcasters participated in
> a competition to select the best programmes in radio and TV on the theme
> "Women and Human Rights." Contact Akhila Sivadas [log in to unmask]
>
> MATERIALS
>
> 13. The Media South Asia Project studies the impact of new broadcasting
> media in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Conducted under
> the auspices of the Institute of Development Studies in the University of
> Sussex and funded by the Ford Foundation, this study will be published
> early next year. Contact David Page [log in to unmask]
>
> 14. A consumer health education resource centre in Mumbai aims to empower
> people by providing information to promote preventive and curative health.
> Health Education Library for People (HELP) has books, journals,
> newsletters and pamphlets, audiovisual media including video tapes and
> computer software. Information also provided via the Internet. Most
> materials are in English; educational materials will be translated into
> regional Indian languages. Http://www.healthlibrary.com Contact Dr
> Aniruddha Malpani [log in to unmask]
>
> 15. A Media Materials Resource Centre (MMRC) has been established in
> Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh as part of the USAID Innovations in Family Planning
> Services (IFPS) Project. MMRC is a clearinghouse for audiovisual, print
> and other material on family planning and reproductive/ child health
> issues. MMRC procures and disseminates information including publications
> on media, IEC, RCH-related issues among NGOs and the public sector.
> Contact VS Chandrashekar [log in to unmask]
>
> WEB SITES
>
> 16. SW-Asia-IT is a list-server for Information Technology developments in
> South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri
> Lanka) hosted by Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC). It
> provides a forum for discussion on development and use of IT in the South
> Asian context and seeks to expand the impact of Internet initiatives and
> enhance coordination among development actors in South Asia. Archives:
> http://www.apnic.net/wilma-bin/wilma/s-asia-it
>
> 17. India Development Network (INDEV) is a British Council supported
> effort working to increase access to relevant and timely information about,
> for and by the development sector. INDEV provides an Internet forum for
> sharing of solutions to development problems. It includes: an NGO
> directory, project database, document database, statistics database. INDEV
> also trains NGOs on web publishing. Http:// www.indev.org Contact Neena
> Jacob [log in to unmask]
>
> ***
> Many thanks to Nirupama Sarma, Consultant, The Communication Initiative,
> [log in to unmask] for her contribution to this issue. Editor - Deborah
> Heimann [log in to unmask]
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