I Want The World to Know TV

THE POWER OF PEACE: RMATION AND COMMUNICATION NTRODUCTION EXPRESSION AND CULTURAL DIALOGUE What is evident is that diverse cultures will cont and as important as sustainable future Our Creative Diversity: Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development, UNESCO, 1995 Today self-expression means having access to and the capacity to use the mass media and new information and communication tools. HE TOOLS OF SELF EXPRESSION Some experts call the mass media, and in pa rticular television, the “hidden curriculum” time, and argue that most of what we learn and know about the world, “we learn from mass media.” be the failure of this curriculum to reflect There is no doubt that the mass media have gene rally exhibited a domin In the Arab media, the west is often synonymous w ith moral deficiency, cultural incompatibility, animosity towards Islam, whereas ural. That is to say, the systems underlying the media tend to shape them. Private ownership and control is tied to ad systems to varying degrees are influenced by what is case has there been a particular need or While this may be changing, particularly in coun tries with high immigration patterns, the aspect d hear people speaking for themselves in their But as the world changes, so do technologies. Te dio are now much more accessible. Alternative systems with different structures, ownership and control are feasible. Digital technologies make it possible to put came ras and microphones in more hands and in more media and ICTs for development and self-expression. This includes tr Violence Profile Number 8: Trends in Network Television, ( Philadelphia: Annenberg School of Communications, 1976) Benjamin Barber, Jihad vs. McWorld (New York: Random House. 1995) “ Moving Beyond Stereotypes” (Danish Centre For Culture and Development , May, 2006 ) ensuring freedom of the press, policy work a nd support, training in mass media and ICT for development (ICT4D), influencing conventional media gh. Is there a collective cohesion? Is the whole bigger than the sum of the parts? With some notable exceptions, much of the endeavour to date has been project-driven and piecemeal. Many projects do not go beyond the pilot demonstration stage. Conferences pass resolu Local Content who we are in the world, we need to see and hear each other in our own cu ves owing to lack of attention to distribution. Distribution is the hard part. Systems of opera ensure that cultural product is audiences. In a time of ICTs, distri the elements of interactivity 3. Critical Mass In the mass media, one-off efforts are not likely to have dramatic impact with audiences. Being there on a daily and consistent basis has more meaning and influe nce, especially on a scale that Some notable recent conferences incl ude: Second Asia-Europ scale and presence required to have a significant impact. What is tunities to support the creation of su ch an initiative at this time: youth populations (male and fema of communication. oduction, broadcast, webcasti ng, blogging, gaming, design and distribution are increasingly affordable. ty. For example most deve the ICT world (cell phone, software, hardware, and dotcom And there are several models of new operating systems that can inform any new or larger scale operation. AKARTA AND THE ROAD TO PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS There have been numerous important conferences dialogue, the underlying peace imperatives, and recommendations to be considered for partnerships and action in the uses of mass medi a and ICTs. The Jakarta Forum called for January 2007 will review the most prominent of thes e recommendations, and will provide ample opportunity for discussion of them. Following general discussion, forum delegates will be introduced to a concept and plan that integrates several of the many recommendations of previous conferences into a comprehensive partnership initiative. Four recommendations in particular are folded into the initiative: “establishment of a satellite ogue on a non-commercial basis, The Asia Media Summits in Kuala Lumpur, May 2005 and 2006, recommend multi- l content development for televisi platforms. Others, including the May 2006 High Level Gro For example: One World, YATV, Visi on TV, JumpStart on-line, research into methods, models and modalities of using media and ICTs to their fullest for cultural self-expression a nd mutual understanding. Training features in most conference recommen in production, distribution, and management. for a dedicated digital multi-media and ICT Programming for audiences of all ages (including children) from a diversity of cultural contexts on themes ranging from faith and reli development, arts, culture and peace; cultural spaces, merchandizing and information services; A built-in formula and procedure for suppor ting local independent producers and content digital technology for production and post- Support for production of on-line games and experimentation in the design of product for new platforms as they emerge; impact of the service. To be a not-for-profit enterprise with an independent board. Funding partners and clients will form an Advisory Council to the board. Management is hired to run the company with top level skills a nd for carriage of product; The Canadian- based Vision Television Network funded its start up with multiple religious organizations that then became “Mosaic Partners” or paying c lients who placed their programming in ti me slots they purchased from the Delegates to the Forum will include some of those who have participated in previous gatherings that have given rise to the thinking behind th e network. New faces will be added, particularly from the private sector in th e ICT and mass media industries. ideas, their commitment, their prac expected that the Forum is not an end in its recommendations, but rather the launch of Some examples of innovative ICT initiatives include: Games for Change, Unicef, World Bank, Parsons are designing on-line computer games such as Peacemaker; Free Voice, on air and on-line news service for children; JumpStart, on-line news feeds from 200 countries to subscribers; One World, cross cultural product on-line offering news, current affairs and information; My Space an on-line safe house for cu