[cr-india] Redefining CR?

[Ram Bhat]

Dear All, its been a very interesting debate about identity of community
radio/defining cr
I'd tend to go with Prof. Sanjay...
Its significant that a "space" has been created from advocacy efforts...
I don't think in a few years time it will be even possible to keep an eye
out on each and every station...
Ultimately, it will be the listener who will determine its community based
nature, or its absence thereof

Further, according to my limited experience, its very tough to take a stance
with things like:

Urban Vs. Rural - There are places which have characteristics of urban and
rural (we should be looking at policy issue of frequency allocation rather
than physical/cultural/social attributions of a place) and so on...
Also I think places which are definitely urban also need community
radio...there are slums, migrants, construction workers, sexual minorities
etc, for whom this could be of great help...it would be a shame if we
determine who needs help and who doesn't!

I also don't think we've arrived completely in terms of policy...there's
plenty of challenges still left..there's news, there's frequency allocation
and so on...
Also, from whatever I've seen there's a fair bit of ambiguity about
educational institutions and community radio, and like Kanchan says, there
seems to be this great burden they have taken upon themselves to engage with
communities outside the campus..while there is a captive audience of
students within who are sometimes not addressed....Campus radio has great
potential to be a fun, vibrant space, for independent young thought to come
out..I really hope to see some great campus radio...in Bangalore at least,
there seem to be some technical issues related to coverage..

However, having said that, I don't think NGOs are always representative of
the community either, and time will slowly tell, what kind of models are
emerging...Whatever little we have seen is both encouraging and inspiring.
Our job would be to strengthen models which we think exemplify community
radio, and not worry so much about the rest...

In fact this would be the ideal time for crf to step up activity, and come
up with a set of recommended guidelines, particularly things like
management...which the MIB guidelines don't talk much about..

It would be interesting to see the different kind of management models
emerging, how much community representation is there, what is the power
given to them, and if there is any conflict vis-a-vis, the NGO who is the
license holder, if there are any good legal options wherein the management
committee can be registered and power be handed over legitimately and other
such points...(It would be nice if DDS shares its management model and
structure, roles and responsibilities etc with us, since it will give others
an idea of what possibilities exist with management)
Also, if membership steps up for crf, and if some kind of strict membership
rules apply, it will go a long way in endorsing a good spirit of cr,
community owned, produced and managed radio...

Ram
maraa.in


On Thu, Jan 8, 2009 at 6:07 PM, <cr-india-request at sarai.net> wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
>
>   1.  Indian Broadcast industry awaits govt nod to key policies
>      (sakthi vel)
>   2.  (no subject) (sanjay bharthur)
>   3.  Impact Study on Role of Community TV in Empowering Women
>      (T.L.S.Bhaskar)
>   4. Re:  Redefining CR?? (Kanchan K. Malik)
>   5. Re:  Redefining CR?? (Arun Mehta)
>   6.  comminty radio (vaibhav awasthi)
>   7.  Community Radio in Bangladesh: At the Door of Reality
>      (George Lessard)
>   8.  New Years Update (Video Volunteers)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:45:40 +0530 (IST)
> From: sakthi vel <ardicdxclub at yahoo.co.in>
> Subject: [cr-india] Indian Broadcast industry awaits govt nod to key
>        policies
> To: dx india <dx_india at yahoogroups.com>
> Message-ID: <165826.67690.qm at web95409.mail.in2.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
> Come
>
> Advertisement
> 2009, the broadcast and cable industry will once again be looking at the
> government for a slew of policy initiatives in sectors like FM radio, cable
> distribution platforms and mobile TV, which otherwise remained stuck this
> year due to several reasons.
>
> The expansion of conditional access system (CAS) across 55 cities and a
> clarity on the revenue-sharing formula with DTH firms are among the pending
> issues on which initiatives from the government may come in 2009, industry
> sources say.
>
> 2009 may also see the nod from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
> (I&B) to some of the 150-odd pending applications from broadcasters who are
> looking to launch more television channels.
>
> Among the major policy initiatives that may get a push from the I&B
> ministry include approval to the third-phase expansion of private FM radio
> that will eventually see setting up of at least 500 new FM stations. The
> final recommendation in the matter has already been submitted to the I&B
> ministry by the broadcast regulator.
>
> "Once the music royalty issue between FM radio firms and the music industry
> is sorted out, we expect the government to announce the third phase roll out
> of FM radio," a senior executive of a leading FM station said. So far, over
> 250 FM stations have come up across 91 cities.
>
> On the cable front, some of the large cable companies like Digicable,
> Hathway, InCable and DEN, among others, are waiting for a clear policy on
> the new cable distribution platform called Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS).
> According to industry sources, the file on HITS has been waiting for the I&B
> ministry's nod for over six months now. "Currently, only Essel Group has the
> licence to operate HITS. A clear policy in the matter will open doors for
> other companies to seek HITS licence," said a source in the cable industry.
>
> HITS enables a pan-India distribution of cable channels using a satellite,
> a technology similar to that of direct-to-home (DTH) operators. However, in
> HITS the end-users are the cable operators, while in DTH, the end-user is
> the consumer.
>
> In 2009, the I&B ministry is also expected to clear its stand on the
> much-controversial expansion of CAS that has so far been limited to the
> select parts of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. "CAS expansion in 55 cities as
> recommended by Trai will be a tricky issue for the I&B ministry. Then there
> is a Delhi High Court order in the matter so CAS will remain a challenge for
> the government even in 2009," said a representative of MSO Alliance, the
> apex body of cable distribution firms who were successful in getting CAS
> enforced in January 2007.
>
> In 2008, the major initiative taken by the I&B ministry was the policy
> announcement on Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) in September. According to the
> I&B ministry's statement, IPTV will open the doors for another mode of
> distribution of signals whereby 400 permitted satellite TV channels will get
> distributed through the telecom networks.
>
> (c) 2008 Business Standard
> http://www.afaqs.com/main1.html
> _____________________
> Jaisakthivel, Chennai, India
>
>
>      Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to
> http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:35:46 +0530
> From: "sanjay bharthur" <bpssn54 at gmail.com>
> Subject: [cr-india] (no subject)
> To: cr-india at sarai.net
> Message-ID:
>        <70c960d00812310205w55b4e7c0n40b4d9f631fd3b7 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Of late and seeing many postings and debates about CR I am a bit concerned
> as to whether we are over defining CR and its mandate. This concern is
> relevant because we ought to move into a realistic plane. The platform upon
> which a different CR policy was fought had its purpose and sincerity that
> none can doubt. However, that approach and philosophy is not evident across
> the spectrum of CR stations that have come up and are likely to come up.
> Are our expectations of them skewed or oversimplified. We were concerned
> about sustenance and advocated limited advertisement support model. Now can
> we push our argument to suggest that advertisement support in a pluralistic
> market place can be choosy. We were wary of partnerships and now
> partnerships of all hues including government support is likely. State
> governments that were callously left out of broadcasting activities have
> now
> found unique opportunities to partner with cbos-recall the karnataka
> government approach- that we heard while we were at Bangalore. If let a
> hundred flowers bloom is our avowed intention can we stop the variety and
> diverse interests  and motives of intending CR operators?. Content is one
> aspect that we agonised and so did we on operational parameters. My concern
> is overreaction to attempts at someone somewhere exploiting CR's philosophy
> and or its exising licensing framework will isolate us from the larger
> concerns. We may want to reflect.
> -------------- next part --------------
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:50:19 +0530
> From: T.L.S.Bhaskar <tlsbhaskar at gmail.com>
> Subject: [cr-india] Impact Study on Role of Community TV in Empowering
>        Women
> To: cr-india at sarai.net
> Message-ID:
>        <afee913a0812310320k16b2b53cr299cf716722a4d93 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Dear All
>
> Can anyone help me with the follwoing?
>
> 1. List of references of role of community tv in empowering rural women-
> theory, case studies, success/under implementation stories, experiences
>
> 2. Any articles that I can read about how to conduct an impact study on the
> role of community tv in empowering women- how to choose the subjects for a
> proposed study, identifying social parameters to measure to know if there
> is
> a change due to the intervention (CTV) in both short-term and long-term
>
> 3. Can you direct me to researchers who have actually carried out such
> studies so that I can interact and learn from their expertise
>
> 4. Organisations which can guide me conduct an impact study as
> advisers/teachers
>
> 5. CTV centres in AP that I can visit in person and learn from their
> experience.
>
> I appreciate your assistance, and I look forward to hear from you,
>
> You can email me at tlsbhaskar at gmail.com OR tls.bhaskar at yahoo.com
>
> With thanks and regards
> Bhaskar
> -------------- next part --------------
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2009 12:39:02 +0530
> From: "Kanchan K. Malik" <drkanchan07 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [cr-india] Redefining CR??
> To: cr-india at sarai.net
> Message-ID:
>        <21d68a140901012309x271f7d0bi677e4e54392a324a at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
>
> A new policy is for a 'new' tier of broadcasting. Or should we, like
> several
> market products, have the same players and same kind of broadcasting
> repackaged with a 'new' label?
>
> If CR and its mandate is not suitably defined - why have a separate policy
> for it?
>
> If the approach and philosophy of CR is not being reflected across the
> stations that have come up, it is precisely because we seem to be
> compromising on the basic tenets of CR.
>
> No one is suggesting that there cannot be 'meaningful' partnerships, but
> that does not mean, giving up the basic premise/spirit of CR? I was given
> to understand that 'facilitating' is different from 'educating' people and
> that 'capacity building' is far more participatory and rooted in the
> culture/lives of people than mere 'training'. And that funding support
> would
> be to let a thousand CRs flourish and not for calling every new non-profit
> radio as CR just to add to the statistics.
>
> Variety and diversity are the soul of CR, but that cannot be interpreted as
> giving concessions on the interests and motives of the intended CR
> operators
> just to let 'hundred flowers bloom '. What if all flowers that bloom are
> backed by a propaganda, power, politics or privilege motive? What if one
> single-minded person/organisation with no passion for CR takes it upon
> himself/themselves to define what community radio is? Would we rather
> follow
> that as a guideline?
>
> If the group has followed the mails that have made a case against those
> [Community Radio & its distracters] "seeking legitimacy in government
> corridors in the name of community radio (or, more appropriately,
> caricatures of community radio)," you would probably understand the angst
> of
> the people who are sticking to the real spirit and philosophy of CR – they
> are being put down/discouraged by those who have co-opted CR to suit their
> own interests/agendas.
>
> How can one give up on the basics of CR? Should CR not be -
> rural more than urban?
> local rather than 'global'?
> people produced, owned and managed, rather than 'manned' by retired AIR
> officials?
>
> Why do we want to see CR stations as 'adopted' projects of government
> officials/departments? [I would rather have the social sector take them up
> –
> in the right spirit, of course]
>
> Why do students of campus stations have to teach communities what is meant
> by 'development'?
>
> I would think that if the state governments are so keen to get into
> broadcasting, they should struggle to seek ownership of the 77 local radio
> stations of AIR and run them well; rather than 'taking over' CR stations?
>
> 'Sustainability' is, no doubt, a big concern, but it should not become a
> cradle for nurturing outright commercial ideas or a passage for government
> players to march in.Some of the things that are being said or introduced
> into the CR debate in the name of sustainability would only lead to
> diluting
> its purpose and intent.
>
> I am sure those who are applying for CR licences for their communities are
> perfectly capable of finding apposite ways in which communities would work
> together to sustain their own radio stations.
>
> Kanchan
>
> 2008/12/31 sanjay bharthur <bpssn54 at gmail.com>
>
> > Of late and seeing many postings and debates about CR I am a bit
> concerned
> > as to whether we are over defining CR and its mandate. This concern is
> > relevant because we ought to move into a realistic plane. The platform
> upon
> > which a different CR policy was fought had its purpose and sincerity that
> > none can doubt. However, that approach and philosophy is not evident
> across
> > the spectrum of CR stations that have come up and are likely to come up.
> > Are our expectations of them skewed or oversimplified. We were concerned
> > about sustenance and advocated limited advertisement support model. Now
> can
> > we push our argument to suggest that advertisement support in a
> pluralistic
> > market place can be choosy. We were wary of partnerships and now
> > partnerships of all hues including government support is likely. State
> > governments that were callously left out of broadcasting activities have
> now
> > found unique opportunities to partner with cbos-recall the karnataka
> > government approach- that we heard while we were at Bangalore. If let a
> > hundred flowers bloom is our avowed intention can we stop the variety and
> > diverse interests  and motives of intending CR operators?. Content is one
> > aspect that we agonised and so did we on operational parameters. My
> concern
> > is overreaction to attempts at someone somewhere exploiting CR's
> philosophy
> > and or its exising licensing framework will isolate us from the larger
> > concerns. We may want to reflect.
> > _______________________________________________
> > cr-india mailing list
> > cr-india at sarai.net
> > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/cr-india
> >
>
>
>
> --
>  Dr. Kanchan K. Malik
>  Department of Communication
> S N School of PA, FA & Communication
> University of Hyderabad
> Gachibowli, Hyderabad 500046
> Phone: +91-40-23135501(O)
>          +91-990-858-2613(M)
> -------------- next part --------------
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2009 17:55:20 +0530
> From: "Arun Mehta" <arun.mehta at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [cr-india] Redefining CR??
> To: "Kanchan K. Malik" <drkanchan07 at gmail.com>
> Cc: "cr-india at sarai.net" <cr-india at sarai.net>
> Message-ID:
>        <4696228a0901030425l31c93d75ha93f9b9ee9aee0f5 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Good points, Kanchan. I do not see why we need to have separate
> categories for public broadcaster and community broadcaster. Why does
> India have only one public broadcaster? If we admit there there could
> me more, and start to define criteria for who should be allowed to set
> up a public broacasting service, we will find ourselves pretty much
> laying down the same criteria as we have done for community
> broadcasters.
>
> This would go very well with a policy for unlicensed secondary use of
> the FM band for transmitters under 5 Watts, as is the case in Citizens
> Band radio.
>
> Arun
>
> On 1/2/09, Kanchan K. Malik <drkanchan07 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > A new policy is for a 'new' tier of broadcasting. Or should we, like
> several
> > market products, have the same players and same kind of broadcasting
> > repackaged with a 'new' label?
> >
> > If CR and its mandate is not suitably defined - why have a separate
> policy
> > for it?
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 17:38:21 +0530 (IST)
> From: vaibhav awasthi <vaibhav_awasthi at yahoo.co.in>
> Subject: [cr-india] comminty radio
> To: cr-india at sarai.net
> Message-ID: <799581.49623.qm at web95208.mail.in2.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
>
>
>  Good evning sir,
>
> Today I was seeing about the community radio on google.
>   I want to start community radio But I have no more knowladge about this.
> for example like that expances.
>
>   I am a journlist in print media.
>   I have master digree in journalism and also in sociology.
>
> So please suggest me
>
> regards
>
> Vaibhav Awasthi
> Amar Ujala, Aligarh, UP
> +91-9411982883
>
>
>
>
>      Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to
> http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2009 19:15:18 -0500 (EST)
> From: "George Lessard" <media at web.net>
> Subject: [cr-india] Community Radio in Bangladesh: At the Door of
>        Reality
> To: asiapacific-general at lists.amarc.org
> Message-ID: <51265.216.108.22.182.1231114518.squirrel at flymail.web.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
>
> Sunday, January 4, 2009
>
> Community Radio in Bangladesh: At the Door of Reality
>
> Around the world and also south Asia community radio plays a vital role in
> overcoming political apathy by providing people with access to information
> about their local and national leaders. Empowered with this information,
> citizens can start to fight endemic corruption, developing methods to hold
> government officials accountable for their actions.
>
>
> http://bnnrc-bd.blogspot.com/2009/01/community-radio-in-bangladesh-at-door.html
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:15:39 -0600
> From: "Video Volunteers" <info at videovolunteers.org>
> Subject: [cr-india] New Years Update
> To: cr-india at mail.sarai.net
> Message-ID: <711aad9e5b7a997c95c5887144085f41.11375 at e2ma.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
>
>
> To view this email online, paste this link into your browser:
>
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>
> ___________________________________
>
>
>
>
> OUR BIGGEST RECOGNITION TO DATE
>
> Video Volunteers believes that empowering the poor with a voice will bring
> out new solutions to fighting injustice at a global level, and will
> transform our media one day. In 2008, we received a wonderful recognition
> that convinced us that others now believe community media is an idea whose
> time has come. In May, VV was selected as one of 19 winners of the Knight
> News Challenge, the world's most significant new media competition which
> received 3,000 applications this year alone. This funding will enable us to
> double the number of community producers working in India to over 100 and
> our partners to reach tens of thousands more villagers with inspiring video
> screenings. In November, Jessica Mayberry, Founder of Video Volunteers, was
> recognized as one of 11 "architects of the future" by the Waldzell Institute
> of Austria. In April, a grant that Video Volunteers and Drishti wrote to the
> Sir Dorabji Tata Trust in Indias ecured a grant of nearly $800,000 for
> Drishti, the organization with whom VV developed the community video unit
> model.
>
> Please CONTRIBUTE  (
> http://e2ma.net/go/1625010567/1470822/53978500/goto:http://www.videovolunteers.org/get-involved/support-our-work/)to<http://e2ma.net/go/1625010567/1470822/53978500/goto:http://www.videovolunteers.org/get-involved/support-our-work/%29to>our work to empower the poorest communities to speak out on their issues and
> solutions. If you donate by Jan 15, one of our donors will match your
> contribution -- doubling the impact of your donation. You can donate (
> http://e2ma.net/go/1625010567/1470822/53978500/goto:http://www.videovolunteers.org/get-involved/support-our-work/)
> online or send a check.
>
>  Winning the Knight News Challenge brings Video Volunteers into a great
> community of
> innovative thinkers concerned with news and journalism and social change,
> and VV is tapping into this network for ideas about how to bring our
> communities across the internet divide and how to incorporate cell phone
> activism into our work. The Knight Foundation awards these grants for
> innovations in community news because they "believe in media innovation
> through experimentation," says Alberto Ibargen, Knight Foundation president
> and CEO. "Each winning project is an experiment with the potential to
> transform how we practice journalism in the digital age."
>
> In 2007 and 2006, VV had won a Tech Award, the NYU Stern Business Plan
> competition, and Jessica was made a fellow of Echoing Green, an
> organization that identifies and promotes the world's leading new social
> entrepreneurs. As we are still a young orgnization, these awards give us
> great momentum, and new-found confidence that we will, in time, create a
> 'media industry for the base of the pyramid.'
>
> IMPACT OF COMMUNITY VIDEO
>
> When people living in Ahmedabad's slums spoke out about systemic corruption
> at the ration shops, the Samvad Community Video Unit (CVU), supported by
> Video Volunteers' partner Saath, took notice. The ration shops are supposed
> to give the poor 12 liters of subsidized kerosene for cooking each month,
> but instead, the shops were giving eight -- and the shopkeepers were
> pocketing the rest of the money. After Samvad made and screened a video on
> this, the community sprung into action. Young people stood outside of the
> shops and ensured that each resident was given the correct amount. The
> government conducted raids of the shops to stamp out the corruption. And all
> throughout a huge Muslim slum, the government ordered the shops to reduce
> the rates, benefiting 200,000 people directly in a time of rising food
> prices. The message is simple: when people have information, they will solve
> their problems on their own.
>
> The Manjam Praya Video CVU, in rural Andhra Pradesh, tackled debt traps in
> their magazine called "Weeding Through the Money." In remote areas of Andra
> Pradesh, there is barely any cash economy. "When we fall sick, we rarely
> have the money to go to a doctor," said one
> woman in the film. "Then we have no option but the money lender." Many
> villagers are forced to sell their crops to pay off the exorbitant fees and
> are left with nothing. Through the video magazine, people found out about a
> government loan program that promotes saving. The villagers are now taking
> advantage of the services, instead of visiting the money-lender. Vishwama,
> one of the producers at Manyam Praja Video which was started by VV's
> partner Laya, said that people are responding well to her films. "Most of
> the people don't have the information so they appreciate us. They give us
> places to sit, and give us chai (tea)," she said.
>
> PRODUCER SPOTLIGHT
>
> Neeru is a Dalit girl, the youngest of 11 daughters, who turned to video as
> a way to bring income into her family. India's highly divisive caste system
> pits villagers against
> each other. Dalits, (formerly "Untouchables") are the "lowest" rung on the
> ladder. She was always upset by the position of Dalit women in society and
> resented the fact that people felt sorry for her family - as if they were
> cursed for having so many girls. Neeru joined an all-Dalit CVU called Apnaa
> Malak Maa started by VV's partner Navsarjan She is now a fearless community
> producer who can confront any government official and has a firm grasp of
> the law and human rights. She conducts screenings on her own in feudal
> villages near her home, where upper castes sit up high on chairs, and lower
> castes sit on the ground. Neeru says that though she is the youngest in the
> family, everyone turns to her for advice and help. When Navsarjan started
> their CVU,they chose to situate it in the most dangerous villages where they
> worked, villages where a Dalit had been a victim of caste violence at least
> once in the last year. However, every two months now, the images of young
> Dalit youth speaking out for change are projected high on a screen for
> everyone to see. This is a sure sign that video can be a bridge between two
> opposing sides in a conflict.
>
>
> BRINGING COMMUNITY MEDIA INTO THE MAINSTREAM
>
> This year the Community Video Units were on Current TV,Nickelodeon, the
> Pangea Day global broadcast, and they also shot videos for CNN IBN. These
> aer the beginning steps towards our goal of a global community media
> network.
>
> We aired our first video, Movies Moving Mountains, on Current TV, the
> American cable station
> that was set up by Al Gore, and which features 'viewer created content.' We
> also shot three videos for the Indian CNN affiliate, CNN IBN, for their
> Citizen Journalist program. They agreed to pay for the stories, in what must
> be one of the first time producers from slums and villages are being paid by
> a mainstream news company.
>
> Last year Apnaa Malak Ma CVU became the first CVU to receive international
> television
> coverage! Nickelodeon caught wind of the story and Neeru (profiled above)
> was featured on their news special, "The Untouchable Kids of India." Here
> Nick News shares with American kids, "What's it like to be a Dalit kid?" and
> offers a first-hand look into the world of the Dalits, highlighting how many
> are now refusing to be victims. There is a special highlight on Neeru and
> her efforts to educate both Dalits and non-Dalits through her films,
> many which are designated "controversial" films and banned, though that
> does not stop her from continuing to make films. As quoted in the Nick News
> piece, Neeru says, "When I see the work which is being done, I am proud
> about it. Even I can do something. I am worth something."
>
> The Community Video Units shot cell phone videos that were broadcast all
> over the world as
> part of the Pangea Day broadcast, a four hour global television for peace
> and
> inspiration. Pangea Day donated 40 Nokia cellphones to Video Volunteers,
> with which the producers made videos on different universal themes such as
> love, friendship and hope. Video Volunteers gave one cell phone to each CVU
> to keep, and the phones will form the basis for a new strategy for cell
> phone video advocacy and video blogging by CVUs.  Five
> Producers were invited to Los Angeles to watch the broadcast, but
> unfortunately they didn't get their visas in time. Instead, some CVUs
> gathered in Ahmedabad and watched the global broadcast live on TV, the
> internet and mobile phones in May 2008, cheering when their friends' videos
> came on TV!
>
> You can watch these and more videos on Channel 19 (
> http://e2ma.net/go/1625010567/1470822/53978477/goto:http://ch19.org/), the
> online platform for the Community Video Units.  We do regular blogging and
> uploading of new videos to Channel 19 (
> http://e2ma.net/go/1625010567/1470822/53978476/goto:http://ch19.org) so
> check out the new site!
>
>
> VIDEOSHALA, COMMUNITY VIDEO FOR CITIZENSHIP, DIVERSITY AND EDUCATION
>
> This month the 18-month innovations period for the Videoshala Program wraps
> up. Videoshala is a new program that used the power of community video to
> improve education for disadvantaged children. Around 20 videos were made by
> community producers on
> classroom subjects like plants, water and occupations. The videos are shown
> back to children in nearly 200 village and slum schools. The project -
> called Videoshala - is a joint program of three NGOs - Drishti, Udaan and
> Video Volunteers -- in which four 'education community video units' were
> established with leading education NGOs in Gujarat: Hind Swaraj Mandal,
> Navsarjan, Sahyog and Meghdanush.  The project asked questions like, 'will
> children learn better if their educational materials reflect their own local
> environment? Can people without an education produce meaningful educational
> material?' The answer to those questions was a resounding yes. The first 18
> months was funded by USAID and the Quest Alliance, and the project will
> continue in the future.
>
>
> LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION --HERE'S HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED!
>
> PleaseCONTRIBUTE  (
> http://e2ma.net/go/1625010567/1470822/53978500/goto:http://www.videovolunteers.org/get-involved/support-our-work/)to<http://e2ma.net/go/1625010567/1470822/53978500/goto:http://www.videovolunteers.org/get-involved/support-our-work/%29to>our work to empower the poorest communities to speak out on their issues and
> solutions. If you donate by Jan 15, one of our donors will match your
> contribution -- doubling the impact of your donation. You can donate (
> http://e2ma.net/go/1625010567/1470822/53978500/goto:http://www.videovolunteers.org/get-involved/support-our-work/)
> online or send a check.
>
> Find us on Facebook Causes- Just go to "Causes" on Facebook and join Video
> Volunteers.
>
>
> Volunteer or intern - We are seeking filmmakers, graphic designers, web
> designers, business students, social workers and others to help us grow the
> program. Volunteers can work in India or the US, and can also work remotely.
> Send your resume to info at videovolunteers.org.
>
> Thanks for your support in 2008, and we look forward to sharing our work
> with throughout the next year too!
>
>
>
> ___________________________________
>
>
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>
> Newsletter produced by Video Volunteers
> C/O Temin and Co., 750 Lex Ave., 26th Fl. New York, NY 10022
> info at videovolunteers.org
>
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