NEMBC EB Summer 2001
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Summer 2001 Edition National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council Broadcaster 2001 A Big Decision Year inside: Ethnic Jason Li : Turning Down the Static on Multicultural Radio More Music to Your Ears Re-Writing Her-story: NEMBC Migrant Women’s Oral History Project Graveyard Groovers at 2000FM The Check Your Media Law Skills Contents INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY MARCH 8th 2001 3 2001: A Big Decision Year The NEMBC has recorded George Zangalis, NEMBC President greeting and information 4 Rewriting Her -Story messages for IWD in 20 Migrant Women in the Workforce languages on CD and a copy Oral History has been sent to your station. If you can’t get hold of the CD, 6 Graveyard Groovers: 2000FM please ring the NEMBC on 03 9486 9549 or email us at 7 More Youngs on Seats: [email protected] Youth Strategy You can get more information 8 Music to Your Ears : about IWD activities in your state Australian Music Radio Airplay Project at: ACT www.act.gov.au/government/ 10 Curriculum Developments womenact NSW www.women.nsw.gov.au 11 Check Your Media Law Skills quiz WA www.wa.gov.au/wpdo 12 International Women’s Day NT www.owp.nt.gov.au VIC www.women.vic.gov.au 13 Emerging Communities TAS www.women.tas.gov.au QLD www.qldwoman.qld.gov.au 14 Innovate or Perish: SA www.sacentral.sa.gov.au/ Somali Radio Health Project at 2000FM agencies/ofw/ofw.htm 16 2000 NEMBC Conference: see page 12 for more IWD info. Our Emerging Futures 19 News 22 No Ordinary Day: www.nembc.org.au Melbourne Walk for Reconciliation visit the nembc website 24 Counting on Diversity and find... 2001 Census * australian news stories in 19 25 Understanding Each Other’s Point of View... languages 3 times a week Dispute Resolution Services * training news and curriculum 27 Fiery Radio In Chile * sector news and updates Radio Batuco * features 28 Multicultural Radio: Tuning Down the Static Jason Yat-Sen Li, 2000 NEMBC Conference Keynote Address Cover Photo: Vincent Lam (left) and Raymond Lam (right) from 3ZZZ’s Chinese Program Photo taken by Jacqui Brown 2001 BIG DECISION YEAR 2001 will be a “big decision” Our ideas were shared with equal year for ethnic community conviction by the other sectors. A broadcasters, and indeed for series of discussions late all community broadcasters in last year, also involving the CBF, resulted in agreement to Australia. The “big boys” of vigorously pursue a common the commercial national and policy and campaign funding international media strategy. conglomerates will continue The policy focuses on: to try and dominate the · continuation of all existing nation’s media at the expense designated funding [ethnic & of the public and community multicultural, general, print sectors. handicapped and indigenous] at George Zangalis, NEMBC President levels that reflect the growth in the Popular reaction to this All of the community broadcasting sector, including returning ethnic development is gathering sector organisations are & multicultural programme momentum, with demands for a committed to ensuring the full funding to $50 per hour better financed and independent strength of our 220 stations all over · the successful Australian Ethnic ABC and a continued growth of Australia and the tens of Radio Training Project be re- ethnic and other community thousands of people involved in funded, and that training be broadcasting in metropolitan, them, maintain a constant flow of extended to other parts of the regional and rural Australia. information, discussion and community broadcasting sector Reaffirming our principles and debate on the merits of our claims. · continued funding of existing aims of involvement, relevance, technology and music projects Community broadcasting is the community ownership and · funding of targeted new projects genuine voice of Australia. It management should be at the especially for regional, rural and encourages media production all heart of our planning and action. remote Australia over the country as against the This is especially true in an The campaigning strategy trend to turn us all into mindless election year where the existing involves: consumers of media products triennial funding arrangement for · a public launching of our policy emanating from a few national and community broadcasting is up for · lobbying all political parties, international centres. review. ministers, local members, etc I look forward to working with you The NEMBC recognised very early · community radio stations all on this important undertaking. the importance of the entire pursuing these issues locally George Zangalis community broadcasting sector In the plethora of competing and NEMBC President (ethnic, indigenous, print often antagonistic demands for handicapped and general) working government funding, the role of together to develop common the media and in particular our funding policies. We need to have own community media in a common campaigning strategy promoting the needs and to ensure a united approach to get interests of our communities positive growth orientated cannot be emphasised enough. outcomes. The Ethnic Broadcaster, Summer 2001 - 3 Women have always been a majority of the workforce in the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industry. Migrant women have contributed significantly to the development of the Australian Textile, Clothing and Footwear industries. Photo of clothing factory floor at left courtesy of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union photographic archive. RE-writing HER-story One of my greatest memories of childhood is sitting with my grandmother learning to roll vine leaves while she told me stories. This thirst for wanting to hear about the family history continued into adulthood when, by the time I learnt to do interviews, I started recording the stories of the old people in our family. “Even now, apart from the This interest in family history moved to an interest in migrant Snowy Mountain history when I worked at the Social History Unit of the ABC. Going through the archives there, I was not surprised to find HydroElectric Scheme and an absence of migrant stories about Australia. When I Chinese gold mines, it is proposed a series on migrants in the 1920s, my colleagues unlikely that children in were skeptical that I would find anyone to interview. I found Australian schools are four people for the series but was left with a feeling of learning anything about urgency of the need for more oral history projects in our communities. their community’s early If I hadn’t had this initial interest in family stories I would have contribution to the grown up in Australia believing that migrant communities only development of this really started significantly contributing to the building of this country.” country after the Second World War. Even now, apart from the Snowy Mountain HydroElectric Scheme and Chinese gold mines, it is unlikely that children in Australian schools are learning anything about their community’s early contribution to the development of this country. Unlike indigenous communities, migrant communities have been slow to lobby for changes in Australia’s official history. 4 - The Ethnic Broadcaster, Summer 2001 STORIES YOU’LL HEAR... • Women in the health industry • Non recognition of skills – Latin American women underachieving in the workforce • Ford factory – contracted assisted migrants 1945-60 • Migrant women working in the legal system • Migrant women’s contribution and visibility in the media and arts industries • Small business – Italian cafes in Sydney’s ‘Little Italy’ • Public transport – migrant women bus drivers • Women of difference in dress and customs in the workforce • Industrial action – ACT Hospital laundry strike of 1987 • Women and trafficking in the sex industry Copies of the oral history programs will be sent to each community broadcasting station in Australia. The program producers come from a variety of states and territories and from regional as well as metropolitan areas. Official histories of Australia omitted from the public record. It continue to undervalue the should go without saying to country’s migrant population. Our readers of this magazine that if children are growing up believing English-speaking women are that this country was “developed” complaining about being left out of by the English settlers. Not only history, we can assume that does this reinforce English culture migrant and Aboriginal women as being dominant in their minds, have been almost completely it also reminds them that they are ignored. “outsiders” or at the very least “the Programs for the series are being children of visitors” to this country. produced by women broadcasters It is this absence of public records around the country and will tell the on migrant communities that stories of women in all kinds of makes oral history projects even jobs from the factory floors to the more important. Oral history is courtrooms of Australia. The series often the first step in research will cover migrant women’s leading to a search for documents struggle against a system that has and other materials that help to discriminated against them on the construct a more thorough history grounds of both race and gender, of this country. So it was with great as well as their role in industrial pleasure I accepted the opportunity action. The programs will provide to co-ordinate the NEMBC project our children with appropriate role looking at Migrant Women in the models and provide researchers of Workforce. The series of ten Australian history with a resource programs has been funded by the that up until now has been largely National Council for the Centenary unavailable. of Federation Fund, an appropriate The “Migrant Women in the source of funding when one Workforce” oral history project is a considers the gaps in Australian significant first step to rewriting history. “OUR-story” of Australia. More importantly the mainstream Nicola Joseph women’s movements’ criticism of Executive Producer HIS-story (not HER-story) has Migrant Women in the Workforce always been that women are The Ethnic Broadcaster, Summer 2001 - 5 Grooving in the Graveyard… Speaking at the Innovate Or range of backgrounds both cultural interaction between callers and the Perish plenary session of last and geographical.