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Cultural Expression in the Global Village Cultural Expression in the Global Village EDITORS: DAVID NOSTBAKKEN & CHARLES MORROW SOUTHBOUND PENANG INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH Cirm OTTAWA CAIRO DAKAR JOHANNESBURG MONTEVIDEO NAIROBI NEW DELHI SINGAPORE Copyright © Southbound Sdn. Bhd. and International Development Research Centre, 1993 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. Published in Malaysia by SOUTHBOUND Sdn. Bhd. 9 College Square 10250 Penang Malaysia. ISBN 983-9054-04-X Published in Canada by INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH Cir'mw P.O. Box 5500 Ottawa Ontario KIG 3H9 Canada. ISBN 0-88936-702-7 Printed by Jutaprint Penang, Malaysia. Typsetted by TYPOGRAPHICS in 10.5/16 pt. Palatino Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Cultural expression in the global village / editors David Nostbakken & Charles Morrow. ISBN 983-9054-04-X Communication, International - Congresses Communication - Congresses. 3. Communication Developing countries - Congresses. 4. Television broadcasting - Congresses. 5. Communication in economic development - Congresses. 6. Communication and culture - Congresses. I. Nostbakken, David. II. Morrow, Charles. III Intemational Development Research Centre. 384 Contents I Foreword Alain Gourd iii Acknowledgments I Introduction David Nostbakken 7 Historical Perspective 9 Communication For Development In Latin America: A Forty-Year Appraisal Luis Ramiro Beltrdn S. 32 Latin America: Peculiarities, Problems, and Proposals Rafael Roncagliolo 39 An African Perspective Paul A.V. Ansah 58 Communications for Development, Democracy, National Independence, and Economic Growth Jacques Habib Sy 80 Asian Self-Expression and the Global Village Vijay Menon 89 Historical Perspective - Discussion 99 Correcting the Imbalance 101 Development Communications: An Alternative to What? Michael Laflin 110 Some Positive Experiences Reinhard Keune 115 Asian Development Communications in the 1990s Saik-Yoon Chin 141 Development Communications: The Sky is the Limit Anita Anand 146 Namibian Experience Nahum Gorelick 151 Perspectives of an Independent Producer Patricia Castaño 158 The Future of Broadcasting Tom McPhail 164 Correcting the Imbalance - Discussion 172 Conclusions 174 A Global Broadcast Service (WETV) 179 Participants Foreword The Annual Conferences of the International Institute of Communications have become a leading world forum for reflection on the role of modern communications in social, cultural, and economic development. Their importance has been enhanced in recent years by pre-conference symposia that have permitted participants to examine critical issues in depth. This proved to be a timely combination in 1992, for the overall theme of the Annual Conference, which brought together 500 world leaders in communications in Montreal, was Globalization and Nationalism. The choice of this topic reflected the deep concern of many about the role played by modern communications intwo overarching trends at the end of the 20th century: the globalization of the world economy and its culture; and the rise of nationalism, with its sometimes tragic consequences. The communications and information revolu- tion has clearly fuelled the pace of globalization. But as a number of participants remarked, the most surprising consequence has been the parallel resurgence of nationalist sentiments, a heightened value for tradition, and a deep concern for the protection of cultural identity. Cultural Self-Expression in a Global Vifiage was the title chosen for the 1992 Pre-Conference Symposium. The 60 communication specialists from South and North concluded that societies whose people are deprived of the right to cultural self-expression become losers in an increasingly competitive world: when imagination and creativity are stifled, social and economic systems become rigidly unproductive and are unable to cope with the pace of change common to the modern world. They warned that, when monopolized by the few, the mass media can be a repressive influence rather than being a positive force in the evolution of societies. The participants suggested innovative ways to redress the balance in access to the means of communication, particularly television. This led to the formu- lation of a proposal by the International Development Research Centre for a 11 Global Access Television Service that would offer the means of cultural expression to many voices now deprived of such access. As President of the International Institute of Communications, I would like to thank the sponsors of the Montreal Pre-Conference, the International Devel- opment Research Centre, the Canadian International Development Agency, and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, for supporting this important meeting. It has created a worldwide network of professional communicators dedicated to finding practical ways and means of ensuring that the miracles of modern global communications serve the needs of all of the people of the world. Alain Gourd President International Institute of Communications 111 Acknowledgments Speciai thanks are owed to: the International Institute of Communications for providing the opportunity for this Pre-Conference; to the National Film Board of Canada for collaborating in a parallel roundtable on Women in the Media; and to those who provided financial support, notably the International Devel- opment Research Centre, the Canadian International Development Agency, and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. The Pre-Conference Steering Group consisted of, in addition to the editors, Alain Ambrosi, RafaelRoncagliolo, CarolJoy,Nahum Gorelick, Roger Dumelie, and Jacques Habib Sy. The organizers wish to thank the IDRC Secretariat, notably Seema Akhtar, Lyse Lavictoire, Angie Anton, and AliAfshari for their dedicated assistance. Special thanks to Michael Graham for his detailed editing of all Conference papers, and to Robert Anderson and his students at Simon Fraser University for their editing of the discussion sections. INTRODUCTION The conference underlying this anthology was organized to deal with the growing need to find new and innovative ways of gaining wider access to one of the most powerful technologies of our time - television. Underlying this need is the recognition that self-expression is required for all forms of social and cultural development. In changing times, the nature of self- expression must be readdressed, particularly as it relates to new technologies and new global imperatives. Mere months prior to the conference in Montreal, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro reinforced the importance of new thinking in the use of modern tools of communications. Agenda 21, the document that emerged from the Rio Conference stated it very clearly: .countries, in cooperation with the scientific community, should establish ways of employing modern communication technologies for effective public outreach". This conference was organized by a few individuals with a vision of a global television service that could harness the power of this extraordinary medium to help save our planet. A vision of a global television service that would provide balanced access for programming originating in the South as well as the North. A vision of a global television service that would liberate a diversity of expression on issues of sustainable development and the environment. This subject was dealt with directly in some sessions of the Montreal Pre-Conference. It was also dealt with at an ensuing conference of the International Institute of Communications, where a variety of options for global television services were explored in front of representatives of communications industries worldwide. Following these two conferences and during the preparation of this publication, the vision became reality in part through the approval by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of a new initiative to establish an international partnership for the creation of a global access television service. A number of partners 2 Cultural Expression in the Global Village now have enlisted in this cause and their collective vision is described in detail in "A Global Broadcast Service (WETV)". The planning for what has come to be called WETV was inspired by the reflections of a remarkable group of communication professionals, teach- ers, and development workers who attended the Pre-Conference to the 1992 Conference of the International Institute of Communications. They debated and analyzed the entire sweep of communications and its relationship over the last 40 years to social and economic development in the Third World. But the underlying thread of the discussion dealt with television and its mythical power, which has enthralled, puzzled, and occasionally enraged our society over the past four decades. Self-Expression A Basic Human Right Self-expression by individuals and the societies from which they spring is vital to growth and development. The sharing of information through formal and informal means builds knowledge, empowers people, and induces institutions to act. The Annenburg School of Communications, after several decades of sifting and sorting the role and impact of a wide range of media, has described television as the "hidden curriculum" because of its enormous penetration and its capacity to engage audiences worldwide. Neil Postman, an influential educational practitioner

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