A time for change
Over the last decade the world has witnessed and undergone some huge changes, almost all of them riding on the backs of bad news. The developing world has had its share of war, extremism, food and water crises, natural disasters, political and economic turmoil and more. Pakistan had more than its fair share. However through all the bad news and the crises, another change, perhaps not rapid but nonetheless very significant has been going on and although it has yet not flowered fully, nor its impact felt to capacity, it is a change that has come to stay and grow. Empowerment... Empowerment of the common man, And this one change could possibly singlehandedly alter the course of the nation and the lot of its citizens.
The cornerstone of this transformation is an environment that facilitates relatively free communication and the growing access to knowledge and information. What has made this possible is the explosion of various broadcast media channels whose diversity and reach are so profound that they have cut across all geographic, ethnic, social and cultural markers and barriers. Above all, this explosion has rendered the old requirement of literacy as a prerequisite for disseminating knowledge and information irrelevant.
The old paradigm where broadcast media was limited to one or two channels committed to a unidirectional flow of judiciously selected and filtered information is dead. Media now serves as a hub where communication is multidimensional and multidirectional, reaching all corners of the geographic, political, economic, social, commercial, educational, administrative, and governance landscapes. This new paradigm has given a voice to the common man, and although still in its infancy, it has already raised the bar on accountability and transparency.
When it comes to citizens empowerment, civil society and the development sectors can always be found on the front lines. This new paradigm presents an unprecedented and unequalled opportunity for those of us working in these sectors. It is now possible to create an environment that gives greater effectiveness to the works of these organizations, and empower the citizens and communities that they endeavor to serve and benefit. Many of the international agencies have already begun to harness the power of this media explosion to raise awareness, assess needs, deliver information, and make citizens true stakeholders in their initiatives and interventions. Some national and local organizations have been slow to catch on, but are coming on board, mostly as a result of requirements placed on them by international funding and donor agencies.
Nonprofits, NGOs and development agencies need to get the word out to their stakeholders about their projects, initiatives and the social issues that they address. They want to build their network of donors, volunteers, and advocates. They need to reach their stakeholders and to educate or build awareness in their target populations. There is huge frustration in writing reports and doing studies and building up rich information and on-the-ground activities and then having these only reach a few people and get shelved in a filing cabinet.
Media that uses audio and video, when done effectively, delivers a powerful experience and builds a personal interest in the audience. Media reaches out to a variety of audience levels and builds awareness of a particular issue, the challenges and solutions. It can create the interest and will to participate and even change personal behaviors. Using the different delivery means of radio, TV, Internet, DVD the media messages can reach out to individuals in their homes, at work, in groups or in schools. Seeing actual activities and seeing real people who are involved and have changed or are involved makes a strong personal impact and can empower people to make those changes in their own lives, in their family and community. Using media as a means to document and share projects greatly increases the ability to raise awareness, impact policy and get the project impact to go well beyond the small group who read an annual report or project document.
The Internet which has now reached to every corner of the planet is now more effective than ever in building community, sharing information and having an impact. The delivery of rich media content via the internet has taken this to an entirely new level with video, audio, photo galleries. Online social media with FaceBook, LinkedIN, Twitter and global networking has become the norm and has given wings to the reach of all types of media in an instant. As with any change, this too comes with its own demands, requirements, challenges and growing pains. Great strides have been made in the proliferation of television and radio channels as well as the physical and operational infrastructures that support them. However capacity building has not been able to keep pace, and is far behind, largely because it has been overlooked or ignored in the interest of commercial considerations, resulting in substandard programming and poor production values. Ethics and good judgment in journalism and reporting, good taste and cultural sensitivity in creative expression and excellence in technical capability and expertise are all areas in dire need of structured and methodical reform.
Media For Change is a publication that responds to a pressing need of the hour. Its objective is to bring together media with civil society and the development sector on a common platform to create healthy dialogue, exchange ideas, propose solutions, address shared needs and build on common strengths.
The people behind the magazine are Eckova Productions, its friends, partners, collaborators and employees. As an organization, we have worked in the non fiction film domain for several years, producing works for some of the most well known and formidable names in the development and non profit sectors. Our films have covered water, food, livelihood, disasters, disaster management, public health, governance, democracy, empowerment, culture, tradition, human rights, environment and countless others. As individuals our members are active at policy, management and grassroots levels in a number of civil society efforts. Change magazine is our small effort at giving back to the organizations and communities we serve.
With Change Magazine, we are pursuing excellence in publishing in print and on the web, with great design that complements worthwhile writing. We hope you agree and that you will consider supporting in whatever way you can this very necessary work.
Sarwar Mushtaq,
CEO, Eckova
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