The role of media and communication
It is important to understand the dominant socio-economic and cultural patterns underlying the creation and distribution of the entertainment and information content, mass-produced to feed the different traditional and new media.
“Culture takes diverse forms across time and space. This diversity is embodied in the uniqueness and plurality of the identities of the groups and societies making up humankind. As a source of exchange, innovation and creativity, cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature. In this sense, it is the common heritage of humanity and should be recognised and affirmed for the benefit of present and future generations.” These words come from Article 1 of UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and express very eloquently the need for diversity in all aspects of human activity.
With the tremendous development of the communication and information sectors, particular attention has been paid in recent years to the need for cultural diversity in the media as a way of preserving concepts of identity and social bonds within communities and cultures while promoting local cultural expression and local languages.There is no doubt that today’s media environment increases choices, provides opportunities for cultural expression and dialogue, and facilitates the flow of information at the planetary level. But during the last decades we have also witnessed a concentration of ownership and a limitation of access and content sources.
One of the main lines of the plan of action of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity clearly stresses the importance of encouraging the production, safeguarding and dissemination of diversified contents in the media and global information networks and, to that end, promoting the role of public radio and television services in the development of audiovisual productions of good quality, in particular by fostering the establishment of cooperative mechanisms to facilitate their distribution.
The importance of creating and distributing culturally diversified and local content for the new and traditional media is therefore formally recognised as a crucial factor in the promotion of cultural and linguistic expression.Local content is the expression of a community’s knowledge and experience, and the process of creating and disseminating, it provides opportunities to the members of the community to interact and communicate with each other, xpressing their own ideas, knowledge and culture in their own language.
A community may be defined by its location, culture, language or area of interest and can comprise a whole region, a sub-region, a nation, a village or a group of people with strong cultural, linguistic, religious or common interest links. Thus, a community may include a handful of people or millions; its members may share the same location or be geographically dispersed. Communities are not static or exclusive and individuals may belong to many communities at the same time.
In this context, it is important to grasp and understand the dominant socio-economic and cultural patterns emerging on the back underlying the creation and distribution of the entertainment and information content that is being mass-produced to feed the different traditional and new media. The dominant trends are obviously the top-down flow of content from economically and socially powerful groups to less privileged and disadvantaged ones; from the more developed countries and more sophisticated media production houses to the less developed countries and networks.With the exception of community radio, which has traditionally allowed more local content production and dissemination,
The importance of creating and distributing culturally diversified and local content for the new and traditional media is therefore formally recognised as a crucial factor in the promotion of cultural and linguistic expression.
Local content is the expression of a community’s knowledge and experience, and the process of creating and disseminating, it provides opportunities to the members of the community to interact and communicate with each other, expressing their own ideas, knowledge and culture in their own language.
A community may be defined by its location, culture, language or area of interest and can comprise a whole region, a sub-region, a nation, a village or a group of people with strong cultural, linguistic, religious or common interest links. Thus, a community may include a handful of people or millions; its members may share the same location or be geographically dispersed. Communities are not static or exclusive and individuals may belong to many communities at the same time.
In this context, it is important to grasp and understand the dominant socio-economic and cultural patterns emerging on the back underlying the creation and distribution of the entertainment and information content that is being mass-produced to feed the different traditional and new media. The dominant trends are obviously the top-down flow of content from economically and socially powerful groups to less privileged and disadvantaged ones; from the more developed countries and more sophisticated media production houses to the less developed countries and networks.With the exception of community radio, which has traditionally allowed more local content production and dissemination,
the content made available to billions of people worldwide through television and the Internet, comes from a very limited number of sources. A recent research study conducted by UNESCO in the Pacific region shows that, despite tremendous improvements in the recent past, some island countries are still trying to reach a 10% of local content on their television screens.
Known important local content producers are - India in Asia; Brazil and Mexico in Latin America; Nigeria in Africa but the success of these industries has often sacrificed quality and public service for commercial considerations, often reducing the potential of the medium to its entertainment and advertising dimensions. There is yet another problem that has been proved to be more difficult to overcome than content production, it is its distribution. Broadcasters worldwide, but particularly in developing countries, public or commercial, prefer buying low-price Western packages than purchasing the broadcasting rights of content made in the region, the latter being more costly and requiring an effort of accustoming their audiences. Even if broadcasters often have no choice because of weak or non-existent production and programming budgets, it is also a matter of lack of commitment at the decision-making level, where the importance of local content for the promotion of cultural diversity is not yet fully recognised.The consequence of current audio-visual distribution practices is that neighbouring countries ignore the content produced beyond their borders, contributing to the lack of understanding between their populations.As for the “new content” made available through the Internet, this comes often in languages which are not understood by billions of people. The English language has become a pre-requisite for having access nearly to half of the overall knowledge and information available through the net, let alone in search engines, metadata, indexes, catalogues, site directories etc.UNESCO’s strategy to promote content development relies on creating proactive partnerships with content creators, media organisations, NGOs, distribution and broadcasting outlets and professional international organisations. For this, the Organisation launched two years ago the Programme for Creative Content, which aims at boosting the production and distribution of local content for television, radio and new media.
The search for new tools, with which poorer countries and communities can develop their creativity and reach wider audiences and markets while safeguarding their cultural identity, has become easier with the latest technological developments. Internet delivery, for example, provides new energy to this sector and a whole new range of possibilities in terms of audiences. It is true that the economy of some sectors (e.g. the music industry) is being threatened by these new developments and the negative consequences of the abuse being made by some users (e.g. piracy). This is unfortunately inherent to every new technological development and an effort of adjustment to the new landscape will be necessary for many. But one cannot deny the fascinating avenues that are being opened for small groups and individuals to communicate and deliver their contents.
In this spirit, UNESCO has just launched an Audiovisual e-Platform, a multicultural, on-line catalogue for independent producers and broadcasters. The e-Platform, now fully operational, intends to increase the flow of content among countries that are unusual content providers, empowering local, independent producers to reach international audiences, and creating a new space for intercultural communication and dialogue.
In other words, the platform aims at becoming an alternative communication channel, offering very diverse approaches to audiovisual story-telling and content production. The programming available through this system consists of recently directed television productions, including documentaries, short fiction films, children’s programmes and TV-magazines, that are innovative in form or content, going beyond conventional forms of television language as well as a genuine expression of different cultures in the world. All these challenging and creative productions can be fully screened on-line and acquired by contacting the right-owner. Moreover, the system provides a forum for discussion as well as e-mailing and news services.
The system is highly secured and restricted to professional use. It works at two different levels. At an individual level, independent directors, producers and distributors are able to use this tool to promote their work on their own by giving access to their contacts to their personal catalogues. At an institutional level, UNESCO and its partners are able to stimulate the distribution of the platform’s materials with broadcasters, distribution networks, festivals, cultural institutions and other partners.
And I should stress that UNESCO is very interested in strengthening its collaboration with these “other partners”, such as local associations, media libraries or cultural centres, as they can become a significant new audience for this kind of materials. The addition of all these local players at the international level can result in an important, unprecedented network of professionals interested in content generated in every region of the world. To sum up, the idea is to empower local content producers while enhancing the effectiveness of the Internet as a medium for communication and delivery.
We hope that in one-year’s time we will have an important community of users and that their usage will translate into benefits for the local content producers.
The next step may be to open this kind of initiatives to the general public for a modest fee, following the pay-per-view principle, which can then replenish the independent authors’ content production budget lines, ensuring some sustainability and keeping creativity alive in the audiovisual sector.
“Culture takes diverse forms across time and space. This diversity is embodied in the uniqueness and plurality of the identities of the groups and societies making up humankind. As a source of exchange, innovation and creativity, cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature. In this sense, it is the common heritage of humanity and should be recognised and affirmed for the benefit of present and future generations.” These words come from Article 1 of UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and express very eloquently the need for diversity in all aspects of human activity.
With the tremendous development of the communication and information sectors, particular attention has been paid in recent years to the need for cultural diversity in the media as a way of preserving concepts of identity and social bonds within communities and cultures while promoting local cultural expression and local languages.There is no doubt that today’s media environment increases choices, provides opportunities for cultural expression and dialogue, and facilitates the flow of information at the planetary level. But during the last decades we have also witnessed a concentration of ownership and a limitation of access and content sources.
One of the main lines of the plan of action of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity clearly stresses the importance of encouraging the production, safeguarding and dissemination of diversified contents in the media and global information networks and, to that end, promoting the role of public radio and television services in the development of audiovisual productions of good quality, in particular by fostering the establishment of cooperative mechanisms to facilitate their distribution.
The importance of creating and distributing culturally diversified and local content for the new and traditional media is therefore formally recognised as a crucial factor in the promotion of cultural and linguistic expression.Local content is the expression of a community’s knowledge and experience, and the process of creating and disseminating, it provides opportunities to the members of the community to interact and communicate with each other, xpressing their own ideas, knowledge and culture in their own language.
A community may be defined by its location, culture, language or area of interest and can comprise a whole region, a sub-region, a nation, a village or a group of people with strong cultural, linguistic, religious or common interest links. Thus, a community may include a handful of people or millions; its members may share the same location or be geographically dispersed. Communities are not static or exclusive and individuals may belong to many communities at the same time.
In this context, it is important to grasp and understand the dominant socio-economic and cultural patterns emerging on the back underlying the creation and distribution of the entertainment and information content that is being mass-produced to feed the different traditional and new media. The dominant trends are obviously the top-down flow of content from economically and socially powerful groups to less privileged and disadvantaged ones; from the more developed countries and more sophisticated media production houses to the less developed countries and networks.With the exception of community radio, which has traditionally allowed more local content production and dissemination,
The importance of creating and distributing culturally diversified and local content for the new and traditional media is therefore formally recognised as a crucial factor in the promotion of cultural and linguistic expression.
Local content is the expression of a community’s knowledge and experience, and the process of creating and disseminating, it provides opportunities to the members of the community to interact and communicate with each other, expressing their own ideas, knowledge and culture in their own language.
A community may be defined by its location, culture, language or area of interest and can comprise a whole region, a sub-region, a nation, a village or a group of people with strong cultural, linguistic, religious or common interest links. Thus, a community may include a handful of people or millions; its members may share the same location or be geographically dispersed. Communities are not static or exclusive and individuals may belong to many communities at the same time.
In this context, it is important to grasp and understand the dominant socio-economic and cultural patterns emerging on the back underlying the creation and distribution of the entertainment and information content that is being mass-produced to feed the different traditional and new media. The dominant trends are obviously the top-down flow of content from economically and socially powerful groups to less privileged and disadvantaged ones; from the more developed countries and more sophisticated media production houses to the less developed countries and networks.With the exception of community radio, which has traditionally allowed more local content production and dissemination,
the content made available to billions of people worldwide through television and the Internet, comes from a very limited number of sources. A recent research study conducted by UNESCO in the Pacific region shows that, despite tremendous improvements in the recent past, some island countries are still trying to reach a 10% of local content on their television screens.
Known important local content producers are - India in Asia; Brazil and Mexico in Latin America; Nigeria in Africa but the success of these industries has often sacrificed quality and public service for commercial considerations, often reducing the potential of the medium to its entertainment and advertising dimensions. There is yet another problem that has been proved to be more difficult to overcome than content production, it is its distribution. Broadcasters worldwide, but particularly in developing countries, public or commercial, prefer buying low-price Western packages than purchasing the broadcasting rights of content made in the region, the latter being more costly and requiring an effort of accustoming their audiences. Even if broadcasters often have no choice because of weak or non-existent production and programming budgets, it is also a matter of lack of commitment at the decision-making level, where the importance of local content for the promotion of cultural diversity is not yet fully recognised.The consequence of current audio-visual distribution practices is that neighbouring countries ignore the content produced beyond their borders, contributing to the lack of understanding between their populations.As for the “new content” made available through the Internet, this comes often in languages which are not understood by billions of people. The English language has become a pre-requisite for having access nearly to half of the overall knowledge and information available through the net, let alone in search engines, metadata, indexes, catalogues, site directories etc.UNESCO’s strategy to promote content development relies on creating proactive partnerships with content creators, media organisations, NGOs, distribution and broadcasting outlets and professional international organisations. For this, the Organisation launched two years ago the Programme for Creative Content, which aims at boosting the production and distribution of local content for television, radio and new media.
The search for new tools, with which poorer countries and communities can develop their creativity and reach wider audiences and markets while safeguarding their cultural identity, has become easier with the latest technological developments. Internet delivery, for example, provides new energy to this sector and a whole new range of possibilities in terms of audiences. It is true that the economy of some sectors (e.g. the music industry) is being threatened by these new developments and the negative consequences of the abuse being made by some users (e.g. piracy). This is unfortunately inherent to every new technological development and an effort of adjustment to the new landscape will be necessary for many. But one cannot deny the fascinating avenues that are being opened for small groups and individuals to communicate and deliver their contents.
In this spirit, UNESCO has just launched an Audiovisual e-Platform, a multicultural, on-line catalogue for independent producers and broadcasters. The e-Platform, now fully operational, intends to increase the flow of content among countries that are unusual content providers, empowering local, independent producers to reach international audiences, and creating a new space for intercultural communication and dialogue.
In other words, the platform aims at becoming an alternative communication channel, offering very diverse approaches to audiovisual story-telling and content production. The programming available through this system consists of recently directed television productions, including documentaries, short fiction films, children’s programmes and TV-magazines, that are innovative in form or content, going beyond conventional forms of television language as well as a genuine expression of different cultures in the world. All these challenging and creative productions can be fully screened on-line and acquired by contacting the right-owner. Moreover, the system provides a forum for discussion as well as e-mailing and news services.
The system is highly secured and restricted to professional use. It works at two different levels. At an individual level, independent directors, producers and distributors are able to use this tool to promote their work on their own by giving access to their contacts to their personal catalogues. At an institutional level, UNESCO and its partners are able to stimulate the distribution of the platform’s materials with broadcasters, distribution networks, festivals, cultural institutions and other partners.
And I should stress that UNESCO is very interested in strengthening its collaboration with these “other partners”, such as local associations, media libraries or cultural centres, as they can become a significant new audience for this kind of materials. The addition of all these local players at the international level can result in an important, unprecedented network of professionals interested in content generated in every region of the world. To sum up, the idea is to empower local content producers while enhancing the effectiveness of the Internet as a medium for communication and delivery.
We hope that in one-year’s time we will have an important community of users and that their usage will translate into benefits for the local content producers.
The next step may be to open this kind of initiatives to the general public for a modest fee, following the pay-per-view principle, which can then replenish the independent authors’ content production budget lines, ensuring some sustainability and keeping creativity alive in the audiovisual sector.
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