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]