ALMA MATER STUDIORUM-UNIVERSITÀ DI BOLOGNA
Silvia Gaiani
Researcher and PHD candidate in International Cooperation and Policies for sustainable Development
University of Bologna
Italy
Mobile: 0039-335 7001757
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Global village: technology bridging the Digital Divide
Title: Community media for development: the case of India
Despite the economic progress achieved in India, the majority of people, particularly women in rural areas, continue to live in desolate and miserable conditions.
Similarly, despite the proliferation of massive media in the region, the majority of Indians remain deprived of the benefits of this powerful educational tool. The apparent reason for this inability of present forms of global media to reach the poor lies in their failure to encourage genuine participation by common people and rural communities.
Within this framework, special attention should be given to the role played by “Community media” (e.d media which are community owned and controlled) in assisting governments and rural institutions in developing policies and programmes to foster communication for development
Community media can provide a platform where people can take active participation as well as it can bridge communication/development gap. Community based radio, television, press and internet projects work by enabling people to become media producers, to reinforce knowledge dialogue and cultural expression at community level.
They promote community cohesion by offering a common platform on which diverse and common interest can be shared and understood.
In the district of Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh, India), UNICEF, the local university, and some local NGOs have organized awareness campaigns and capacity building programmes through a community radio and some internet programs.The aim of such activity is to raise awareness in rural people regarding issues like health, education, employment, human rights and right to information. Global media can effectivley be used for educating and motivating people to adopt good practises for better opportunities of development.
The community-based approach seeks to build relationships between the broadcaster and the people listening on the other side with the help of facilitators of learning, whose role is to evoke and provoke the expression of what others know. Only towards the end of programmes facilitators summarise, add, or modify the expression of the learners' experience.
Community based radio, television, press and internet projects have proved to be successful because they are mainly for the people, by the people and of the people.