MAGAZINE
DEUTSCHE WELLE
GLOBAL MEDIA FORUM
BONN JUNE 2012
IT’S A MobIlE world:
EduCATIoN IN Your hANdS! 1
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EdITorIAl The most important factor Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Russel Baker had a very unorthodox view of his own craft: “An educated person is one who has learned that information almost always turns out to be at best incomplete and very often false, misleading, fictitious, mendacious - just dead wrong.” While we are discussing the need for journalism to free itself of transporting certain ideas out of economic interest and talking about the manipulative aspects of reporting, we sometimes forget that not everyone has access to basic education. According to the UN Institute for Statistics, some 61 million children around the world do not even have the opportunity to even receive basic education and attend primary school. If we want media literacy, we need to provide education first. Without people who can read and inform themselves there is no public. And without an educated public, there is no critical journalism. There are three years left before the deadline to reach the UN`s ambitious Millennium Development Goals. However, we are nowhere near achieving the second goal, which is universal primary education. Despite great steps in many countries to tackle this issue, the pace of progress is insufficient to ensure that, by 2015, every child completes primary schooling.
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by Armand Feka, Editor in Chief
As journalists, we should be impartial, yet we are biased in many ways. We consider ourselves the Fourth Estate, the latest addition to Montesquieus original tripartite principle. The watchdog that keeps an eye on the three other powers: executive, legislature, and judiciary. At the 2012 Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, we heard that the concept of media educating people might not hold much weight in these times of infotainment and increasing flows of information. Although this development might be the current zeitgeist, we must, as journalists, understand the importance of critical thinking. We also must give people the skills and confidence to support changes for a more just and sustainable word. That is why our team of international journalists not only reported from the conference, but also wrote stories about current events in their respective home countries: from Pakistan to Kenya. We, as the media, have the power to advocate for causes and hold people responsible for their actions. We can also prioritize promoting education as a part of our raison d’être. By doing so, we empower people to gain critical thinking and communication skills. An educated public is not only thoroughly inoculated against manipulation; it is also a safeguard for quality in the future of journalism.
SUMMARY talking is everything 4 When What happens when a website promotes sex-debating in India.
to stop a revolution 8 How Why did Hosni Mubarak failed to stop the Egyptian revolution?
Maasai people of Kenya 12 The How changes in the environment strongly influence their existence.
is cyberwar! 14 This The use of computers and
other devices to attack an enemy’s information systems
European Youth Press
European Youth Press is an umbrella association of young journalists in Europe. It involves more than 50,000 journalists working for university magazines, Internet projects, radio and video productions, or are interns in editor-rooms, freelance journalists, journalism students or trainees. With print magazines or blogs, podcasts and v-casts, the association wants to give young media makers from all over Europe the opportunity to cooperate directly with each other. Above all, the aim of all member associations and the umbrella structure is to inspire young people to deal with media and take an active part in society by fostering objective and independent journalism.
Orange magazine
IMPRINT Publishers line: Orange Magazine European Youth Press, Rue de la Tourelle 23, BE-1040, Brussels, Belgium Editors-in-Chief: Dobriyana Tropankeva (Bulgaria) Armand Feka (Austria) Photos by: Karim Kara (Kenya) Layout: Paola Pasolini (Brazil) Proofreader: Stephen Robert Morse (USA)
Editorial staff: Stephen Robert Morse (USA) Diego Ortiz (Costa Rica) Lee Xian Jie (Singapore) Momal Mushtaq (Pakistan) Ruth Aine Tindyebwa (Uganda) Rachelann Wanja Muragu (Kenya)
Read more at: www.orangemagazine.eu
Fresh. Vibrant. Creative. Orange Magazine provides journalistic education and supports young journalists by giving them room to explore media and current affairs. Writers and photographers from different countries with diverse backgrounds make this magazine unique. They create multi-faced magazines with new and interesting contents. Creating it means having an exciting time in an ever changing environment. Reading it means getting facts and opinions directly from young and innovative journalists. POWERED BY
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WHeN TAlKINg IS eveRYTHINg The state of Tamil Nadu, in southern India, is one of those open to some sexual education in classrooms. However, even there, by 2009 only 21% of young men and 17% of young women have received formal sex education, according to the International Institute for Population Sciences of Mumbai. Credits: DFID / Pippa Ranger
by Diego Arguedas Ortiz, Costa Rica
“Auntyji, I really need your help. I’m 18 years old and I masturbate at least once a day. I’ve been told this is an illness and that I can make myself sick. How can I stop?” asks a youngster living in Hyderabad, India.
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From his desk in New Delhi, Kuber Sharma checks dozens of e-mails a week. None, however are written for him, they are for his online alter-ego Auntyji, an “aunt” who understands agony, and shares her maternal wisdom with confused and troubled Indian youth. Sharma works as a blogger for Love Matters, a Dutch-based website that set itself a daring goal: make it possible for people to talk about taboos in conservative societies, placing topics such as homosexuality, pregnancy, sexual harassment or basic genital anatomy out in the public.
“In a lot of cases the information is forbidden and when it’s there, it is just wrong and sometimes scary. And none of the information out there talks about pleasure, which along with sexual health, is a big component of your sexuality,” explains the project coordinator, Michele Ernsting. India, where Love Matters opened its first international operation, proves her point immediately: half of the states ban sexual education and the other half makes it optional. And when it is taught, the instructors have rarely had sex education themselves. Surprisingly, the county’s National Family Health Survey showed in 2006 that 80% of men and 62% of women believed that children should be taught about AIDS/HIV at school. And the most searched term in Google India is “how to kiss.” Launched in South East Asia in July 2011 by Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW), the site promptly unveiled the existence of a large audience craving for this information. Every month, almost 150,000 users access the website, with an outstanding average visit of 9 minutes on the Hindi site. Why is it so popular? Perhaps because it breaks sex down to the basics, with sections that explain, piece by piece, how the male and female bodies work, firsttime sex (supremely popular in terms of traffic), relationships (both gay and straight), and almost every conceivable topic connected with sexuality. It is, essentially, the whole sexual education syllabus in a single website. “We try to be non-judgmental, using language that is as clear as possible and we never say to people you shouldn’t do this or that. We say, if you do it, this will happen and you might get sick. You can look at porn for example, but just remember that is not how relationships work in the real world,” states the coordinator. Your house, your voice
It’s a win-win situation for both parties: the nonprofit NGO guarantees that its audience receives appropriate sexual content while getting rid of any legal hazard, and Love Matters makes sure they don’t collide with a local project, while being unapologetic about the need of a local partner to balance their Dutch perspective. TARSHI was commissioned to translate the content, both literally and culturally, Hindi and to Indian society so Love Matters could reach a broader audience. In November 2011, the new site was operational, and by 2012 it had become the flagship of the whole project, outrunning its English language equivalent both in visits and in time spent on the site. “I can safely say that the Hindi website is the most unique knowledge base on sex and sexual practices in India, while the English version is one of the leading portals as well,” concludes Sharma-Auntyji. Mobile is the place to be
Almost half of the visits Love Matters have in India come from mobile phones; in Pakistan it’s the overwhelming majority. Previous research in Delhi and Mumbai showed that the youths were willing to access sexual health information online, but from the privacy of their phones. Mobile phones are a bypass around figures of authority such as parents or teachers that may censor the information provided by Love Matters. While a computer screen might be hard to conceal, small gadgets provide the necessary privacy for youths to freely access the site. “We know young people spend a huge amount of time on their mobiles, and they look at things like porn. They actually don’t have a problem looking at sex in their phones, so why not give them good information about sexuality as well as all the other stuff they are already looking at,” stated Ernsting.
When Ernsting first came up with the idea of the site, after witnessing a Dutch website on the topic, she was sure about one thing: they needed people on the field to develop the project. After contacting RNW’s partners all over the world, the Indians were quick to answer the call.
The new African site, aimed at Kenya and Nigeria, is largely based on a mobile site that can provide users a friendlier experience while using their phones. With almost 71% of the population subscribed to a phone company in Kenya, and 55.8% in Nigeria, mobile is the place to be.
“The Dutch perspective on sexuality in one of openness; the Indian approach is hypocritical and largely one of silence. So it is important to be mindful of the culture and to not be too explicit in certain places. That is why it was necessary to have an Indian partner in the process,” uttered Radhika Chandiramani from the Indian non-governmental organization TARSHI (Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues), who has been closely working on the subject since 1996.
The Love Matters team understands that and intensively works on Facebook and Twitter to engage users with the site. They even launched a campaign of “sexy-love tips” to keep their audience posted, in the effort of providing as much information as possible to youths. Meanwhile, Auntyji has already answered back: “Puttar, first of all take a deep breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. And now listen to me carefully: What you are doing is the most natural thing in the world.”
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by Stephen Robert Morse, United States of America
In front of a standing room only crowd moderated by Kristin Zeier, Head of Background English at Deutsche Welle in Bonn, a panel of media experts gathered to discuss “An Algorithmic View of the World: How Google and others Shape Awareness and Education.” The three panelists were Dr. Marc Jan Eumann, Secretary of State for the Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dr. Mercedez Bunz, a journalist, digital thinker, and author based in London, and Falk Lüke, a freelance journalist from Berlin.
AlgoRITHMS 3.0
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For the non-techies out there, an algorithm is - according to thefreedictionary.com - “a step-by-step problem-solving procedure, especially an established, recursive computational procedure for solving a problem in a finite number of steps.”
To build some competition requires a whole lot to get this information in the first place. The web has a tendency toward monopolies. The web gets better because of the network effect: It gets better when more people use it.”
Zeier opened the discussion by saying, “Algorithms make it possible for us to find what we need. They are a necessary support for us to search for information on the web. On the flip side, they limit the diversity of information on the web. This may limit our perceptions on the world. Some say that search engines are a threat to our democracy.” Bund simplified the problem by saying, that we are debating the “cultural technique of the algorithm, administrating the knowledge of our world. Traditionally, schools and publishing houses would administrate, but now that has fallen on private companies.”
Bunz added, “Google doesn’t care about the individual. The so-called universal algorithm of Google has taken years to construct. If you enter a search term and enter Google, and they have already indexed the web site, then that is compared, has this name been searched for. If there is an increase in search for a specific name of 20%, then the first result will be a news hit for the item.”
She asserts that this is because since the birth of the World Wide Web it was viewed as a marketplace. Web was that at the beginning, it has been viewed as a marketplace, so it is logical that it’s most important players are in the private sector. Eumann added, “There is a problem as to who is sorting out information. We need to inform society, but it is up to the individual to determine what they want. What’s important to me is diversity.” The question came up if there was an imminent “risk to diversity” on the web. Lüke replied, “In Brussels, they charge that Google is abusing their market power. They may give precedence for their own offers, for example. So there is a potential risk of limiting diversity. You can of course use alternative search engines.” He emphasized what sets Google apart is the sheer size of its data set, “Google is not so good because it is technically so good, but the more we use them, the better they get. This complex system learns from our behavior.
Kristin Zeier Head of Background English, Deustch Welle, Bonn, Germany
Credits: Karim Kara
Lüke joked that four young people with the same name as him are now “held accountable for what I am publishing.” Zeier noted that parents now ask, “Do I want to name my children with unique names that are easily found on the web?” Lüke felt that it’s “too narrow to only talk about Google. Algorithms are used in so many other areas.” When you try to buy a mobile phone, your name is run through a database, and the telecom company checks your creditworthiness. Lüke asserts that this check “has to be based on scientific criteria according to the law, but we don’t really know what’s going on. You have a right to know what the result of data processing is, but you have no right to learn about the algorithm.” If one thing is clear: The debate over how companies and governments use personal data will certainly be a debate that is carried out well into the 21st century, most likely with an increasing political weight.
Jan Euman Secretary of State for the Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and Media, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Dr. Mercedes Bunz Journalist, Digital Thinker, Author, London, United Kingdom Credits: Karim Kara
Credits: Karim Kara
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HoW To SToP A RevolUTIoN by Xian Jie Lee, Singapore
These days, the internet is hailed as a tool of revolution. Twitter, Facebook and Sina Weibo are fueling protests everywhere. But stop people from going online, and stop the revolution, it seems. Why did Hosni Mubarak fail to stop the Egyptian revolution of 2011 despite having shut down the internet? How did China manage a shutdown that quelled the violent 2009 ethnic riots in Xinjiang, China? Day One of the Egyptian revolution bade Twitter goodbye. The next day, Facebook announced that traffic from Egypt had dried up. Nobody was surprised, and the protests went on. 32 minutes after midnight on Day Four, Issandr El Amrani blogged from neighbouring Tunisia: “Urgent: Egypt has shut off the internet.” At the break of dawn, 80 million people would find themselves without internet access and Short Messaging Service (SMS) – tools that had made the first protests possible. This would continue for five days. Another week and nearly 900 deaths later, Mubarak quit. He was not the first dictator to deny internet access during turbulent times. Nepal, Myanmar, and China all hold the dubious honour of silencing their populations in the same manner; in 2005, 2007, and 2009, respectively. The swiftest response came from the Chinese government: When anti-police protests led to ethnic riots in Ürümqi, the capital city of the northwestern frontier region of Xinjiang, internet access, SMS, and international telephony to the region were cut off within a day. For 312 days, seven million Xinjiang internet users remained offline to the rest of the world. But the Chinese government’s actions, coupled with a massive police crackdown, quelled rioting that left more than 195 Uyghur and Han Chinese dead.
A rapid deployment of armed police and the shut down of the internet in Xinjiang, China, quickly brought the riots to a halt Credit: Andrew Ann / Creative Commons
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“Freedom for Egypt” asks a protestor, while depicting Hosni Mubarak as Hitler Credit: Zeinab Mohamed / Creative Commons.
Retain total control of infrastructure
Government-owned infrastructure makes the drastic step of a total shutdown an easy one to execute. Chinese ISPs must go through one of four government-owned telecommunications providers: CSTNET, ChinaNet, CERNET and CHINAGB.
In Egypt, Telecom Egypt was said to own “virtually all the country’s fiber-optic cables”, and government “concessions” were granted to Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Renesys, an internet analysis company, blogged some eight hours after the shutdown observing that the Mubarak regime had seemingly called Internet Service Providers (ISPs) “one at a time, telling them to take themselves off the air.” Resistance to the demand could have possibly resulted in retraction of their concessions, followed by a forced shutdown that would have been difficult to reverse. So the ISPs decided to withdraw Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routes, and with it, activists’ access to the outside world. The BGP is like a postmaster - it provides delivery routes for data. With
BGP routes withdrawn, data ceases to flow, and methods of subverting government censorship, such as Virtual Private Networking (VPN) and Secure Shell (SSH) tunnelling are rendered impotent. The only way to access the internet becomes an expensive satellite connection or old school dial-up through an overseas telephone number. For the same reason, Xinjiang’s internet access was shut down, and not merely crippled like in Iran and Tunisia. Fine-tune access
Governments can ill-afford cutting internet access when threatened, especially in today’s global economy. The Mubarak administration must have deliberated on the financial implications before deciding on the blunt tool of a total shutdown that would completely shut down Egypt’s businesses. Apart from economic ruin, their actions further angered the population, and idling workers streamed into street marches. Xinjiang was less of a headache. Being one of the poorest provinces, it
contributes less than 2% to the country’s total Gross Domestic Product. Even then, the shutdown in Xinjiang appeared to be executed with finesse, allowing only government agencies and approved businesses access to the internet. The industry at large continued working. And while the Mubarak regime had kept Egyptians under close watch, China’s Ministry for Public Security, along with a rumoured 30,000-strong internet police, have kept China free from revolutions with the Golden Shield Project since 2006. Also known as the Great Firewall of China, the Golden Shield kept Xinjiangers limited to official government news, albeit with severe adaptations like the removal of search tools, keeping everyone in China free from Twitter and Facebook. Ensure freedom from the media
Both Egypt and China have sterilised the press. At the time of the revolution, Egypt ranked 127th on the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, while China ranked 171st. But whilst
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When letters were written to national newspapers by various Singaporeans in 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002, and 2004 calling for the ban to be lifted, the Ministry responded: “We are acutely conscious of the difficulties of insulating Singapore society from negative influences in an increasingly networked world,” and added, “the ban on satellite dishes will continue for as long as it is effective and useful.”
Singapore, a modern city-state, has a ban on the ownership of private satellite dishes Credit: Nicolas Lannuzel / Creative Commons
newspapers can be kept within national borders and internet access may be put under strict surveillance, satellite television broadcasts can neither be kept within borders nor be easily filtered. Mubarak failed to stem access to information. In the absence of social media, Al Jazeera’s 24-hour Arabic network continuously beamed images of large crowds despite the annulment of its licenses and media accreditation on Day Five of the Egyptian revolution. The constant images dissolved the fear people had of police brutality, showed them where everyone else was gathering, and emboldened them to produce strength in numbers. In China’s Xinjiang, however, people lacked free access to international satellite channels, and even then, most would not have understood broadcasts in foreign languages. China’s stateowned news network, CCTV, broadcast images of the riots only hours after they happened, and only presented the government’s side of the events. Lessons for, and from Singapore
Singapore, a Southeast Asian city-state with five million people, has become the wealthiest nation in the region after four decades of one-party rule, but today it faces a widening income gap. Opposition voices have grown louder.
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Alex Au, a Singaporean socio-political blogger, wrote that in the unlikely event a major protest occurs in the citystate of Singapore, the government’s response “may not be calibrated for containment, but tend towards crushing the movement,” and “will look less like Malaysia’s rumbles, and more like Bahrain in 2011.” But a revolution is unlikely to ever happen. Like Egypt and China, the government of Singapore retains total control of telecommunications infrastructure. Via its sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, it directly and indirectly owns majority of shares in Singtel and Starhub, both owners of the national telecommunication infrastructure.
In 2008, Al Jazeera English was given a license to broadcast in Singapore via Singtel’s pay-to-view cable service, mio TV. A Wikileaks United States Embassy cable noted that Amy Chua, Director of Media Content at the MDA, had monitored the channel “long enough to be familiar with … its content”, “but noted that if the channel broadcasts objectionable content, it would be up to SingTel as the supplier to take action.” In 2010, Al Jazeera English aired reports about poverty and homelessness in Singapore. Weeks later, the channel was removed from pay-to-view television without reason, and was replaced by “newer adequate choices” such as Russia Today and China’s CCTV 9. Perhaps Hosni Mubarak would still be in power if he had taken lessons from the Singaporeans and the Chinese. To stave off a revolution, it seems, governments must first starve their people of uncensored information - not just their access to the internet.
Singapore ranks 135th on the 20112012 Press Freedom Index, and the two largest newspaper and broadcast companies, Singapore Press Holdings and MediaCorp, are largely state-owned. But unlike Egypt, Singapore has had a decades-long ban on private ownership of satellite dishes. The then Ministry of Information and the Arts explained in the national newspaper, The Straits Times, “The Government disallowed the installation of satellite dishes in homes… to keep out undesirable satellite broadcasts of values and lifestyles.”
Illustration by Thierry Ehrmann
Credit: Andrew Ann / Creative Commons
The Slums as a Newsroom by Diego Arguedas Ortiz, Costa Rica
This is no BBC or Discovery Channel crew. As reporters and producers make their way through Nairobi’s slums with cameras and microphones, they halt from time-to-time to chat amicably with the residents; they seem untroubled, even at home. And they are: born and raised on the same streets as their interviewees, the young staff from the Nairobi Community Media House (NCMH) can boast about their firsthand knowledge of local issues. Self-reporting on local communities has grown in many African countries: the Voices of Africa Media Foundation, a media training organization founded in 2006, empowers young locals to make use of mobile technology to report from their own communities. “Traveling Africa made me realize people there could not raise their voices; mainstream news is only interested in hunger and civil war. So when wireless Internet and mobile technology emerged, I thought we might have a chance to give voices to communities that were usually deprived of them,” explains Pim de Wit, managing director of the Foundation. And use it they have: since completing theirfirst pilot programs in Ghana and Kenya, the project has successfully produced over 1,000 videos on their training website. Equipped with smartphones with capabilities toto record, edit, and even createvoiceovers, youths in 8 African countries (Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Cameroon, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, and Zimbabwe) have gained significant practical journalism experience.. “We don’t dictate a topic to be covered. We tell people to look around, find something interesting around them, and get a story out of it,” argues senior trainer Dr. Olivier Nyirubugara. Learn now and go forth
The project’s goal is to provide promising and media-oriented young people a chance to develop reporting and news-gathering skills during a six month program. Thus, the trainees produce one weekly video story and professional journalists give feedback on how they can improve. The prospective candidates must be proficient in either French or English, be Internet literate, and prove previous interest or involvement in media.
throughout the program in order to feel accountable for it. The Foundation believes journalism can be a full-time occupation for its trainees and encourages them to follow this path. The Foundation aims to get the freshly trained youths to get paid for their work, the logic being that, for instance, any NGO working in Africa has the need to monitor the progress of its work. Who could be better to show its impact (or lack of) than local reporters? But finding clients proves to be a major challenge; only a few prospective journalists prevailed in their quests to become wage-earning journalists. De Wit and his colleagues discovered that while their coaching model was successfully turning average youngsters into sharp reporters, the equation was still missing something. Get sustainable
That’s why Nairobi Community House took this process to another level. Launched as an official company in July 2011, the project’s revenue are distributed between the Voices of Africa Media Foundation and the reporting team, which comprises an editor and 10 staff members on its payroll, all of them from Nairobi’s slums. Yes, ten township-based young Kenyans ranging between 20 and 28 making journalism have made journalism a profitable occupation. Even they reported losses for their first year of operation, their 2011 Annual Report states that in the last quarter of 2012 they are expected to breakeven. The House’s work is primarily video journalism, and they also produce a bi-weekly episode for the Africa Slum Journals initiative.. Other products range from documentaries to a children’s puppet format program. And Nairobi is just the start. Voices of Africa Media Foundation’s strategic plan foresees the opening of five new Media Houses across Africa in the forthcoming years, one every twelve months. Nairobi’s reporters visited Kampala to help set up their chapter, while two Ugandan colleagues travelled to Kenya to observe the concept in action. De Wit believes in the power of his work, saying, , “If one medic can attend to 10,000 people, how many people can you serve with one community reporter?”
“I’m convinced that a society without strong media is weak and, the truth is tht the media sector in Africa is very poor. As a journalist, it is very difficult to make money,” points out De Wit. Voices of Africa not only teaches technical skills, but also tries to educate its trainees on the value of journalism. For each piece delivered on time, the reporter earns around $10, and they get a smartphone of their own use which they payfor
Credit: Nairobi Community Media House
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MAASAI pErSpECTIVES 12
The Maasai people of Kenya are a nomadic pastoralist community. They have lived in and depended on the wilderness for generations. Therefore, any changes in the environment strongly influence their existence and livelihood. In October 2011, a group of local Maasai were trained to use HD Flip Cameras by a team of trainers from Colorado State University. They were taught how to make short films and e-mail them to their trainers. They were asked to document any evident eects of Climatic Changes in their environment. These images were taken during the training program. The purpose of these films is to send out messages from the Maasai community to the world. This intent is to increase awareness of their situation and hopefully provide them with better options and ideas for future sustainable practices.
by Karim Kara, Kenya
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This is Cyberwar! by Stephen Robert Morse, United States of America
On January 17, 1961, as the cold war raged around the world, Dwight Eisenhower made his farewell address as President of the United States of America. In this speech, he said: “This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence - economic, political, even spiritual - is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”
More than 50 years later, Eisenhower’s words still represent truths, even as the political and economic forces that he described have rapidly changed. A new set of wars are being waged, and technology is the driving force behind them. These are cyberwars, and they are taking place at this very moment, all around the world. In his 2010 book Cyber War, Richard Clarke, the American security expert, defined cyberwarfare as “actions by a nation-state to penetrate another nation’s computers or networks for the purposes of causing damage or disruption.” However, Clarke fails to acknowledge that cyberwarfare features individuals, states, and corporations as both the perpetrators and victims of attacks. The evolution of cyberwarfare as it exists today has been most influenced by four key developments: The Wikileaks organization’s efforts to release otherwise confidential information, the creation and distribution of the Stuxnet and Flame viruses by America and Israel to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, the efforts of Chinese state-sponsored hackers to conduct espionage against governments, corporations, and individuals worldwide, and finally, the hacking group Anonymous’s ability to successfully disrupt internet-based activities of governments, corporations, and individuals whom they view as threats.
Richard Clark, cyberwarfare expert
Credits: Center for American Progress/Creative Commons
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Wikileaks and backlash
As non-state actors, the members of Wikileaks, led by Julian Assange, have taken it upon themselves to release confidential data that they have acquired. Though their targets have ranged from Barclays Bank to American former Senator Norm Coleman, the release of thousands of American diplomatic cables in 2010 arguably had the most impact on global relations. As former Canadian diplomat Scott Gilmore told the Globe and Mail newspaper, “Ironically, WikiLeaks is inflicting the same collateral damage it so loudly abhors. The ‘Cablegate’ release is not a real victory for a more open world. It will lead to a more closed world, where repressive governments will be more free to commit atrocities against their own people and the people who try to stop them will have even less information to help prevent this.” In this hypocritical version of cyberwarfare masked as journalism, the Wikileaks organization posits that other entities should be held accountable for their actions by Wikileaks, even though Wikileaks should be accountable to no one, because even though they promote transparency, they don’t list who their own donors are (which could include nefarious interest groups, terror organizations, governments, etc.)
A supporter of Anonymous
Credits: Tom Scott /Creative Commons
Stuxnet changes the game
In the case of the Stuxnet virus, it was recently revealed by the New York Times that while George W. Bush was in the White House, he sought an alternative to physical war to stop the Iranian nuclear threat. Bush sanctioned American and Israeli operatives to work together to create systems to severely slow down the Iranians’ nuclear operations. This cyberwar was continued by Barack Obama, who, intensified these operations. And in late May, it was revealed that a second, previously undiscovered piece of even more malicious software, called Flame, has also been floating through computers throughout the world, with the ability to control their microphones, grab screenshots, transmit private data, and more. Yet while we know that the Iranian government has been affected by this virus, we are at this time unaware of which individuals, corporations, or other nation-states have been affected. It is not only the American and Israeli governments that have engaged in cyberwarfare: The US Department of Defense acknowledges that it was victim to more than 55,000 attempted cyber attacks in 2010. Though it has frequently denied all accusations, the Chinese government is thought to be responsible for the majority of cyberattacks not only on the United States, but also directed against private firms and government entities such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and more. The list of purported attacks by the Chinese government seems endless: from attacking Google in 2010, to attacks against the Canadian government in 2011, to the British Military, to German Chancellor Angela Merckel’s office. The “hacktivist” group Anonymous is a strong example of individuals from many countries banding together to fight against anyone whom they collectively disapprove of. From hackers, many of whom are still in their midteens, have wreaked havoc worldwide. Most recently, the group has attacked the Indian government in response to its censorship of sites like Vimeo (for video sharing) and the Pirate Bay (for file sharing). Yet, its previous list of
Julian Assange
Credits: Stephen Robert Morse
victims seems endless, including the governments of Malaysia, China, Syria, and Israel, as well as companies like Sony and GM. Consequences beyond our worst nightmares
Bearing all of the above in mind, what are the consequences that individuals, nation-states, and corporations face as the result of government sanctioned, corporate, individually created cyber warfare efforts? Based on the above, it is highly likely that in the very near future, a city, a region, or perhaps a whole country, may wake up in chaos. As hackers in Southern California already proved, it is possible to take over the controls of computers that determine the amounts of chemicals that go into the water supply. In the wrong hands, the water of a whole population could be poisoned, which could immediately cause thousands of deaths. Similarly, disaster could strike if air traffic control systems are disrupted. Even more deadly, a whole electric grid could be taken down. What is clear: there is no precedent for such large-scale activities, meaning that it is unknown what types of human, economic, and political impact they will have. The world will be caught off guard when such an attack occurs, so the first victims will be forced to fend for themselves.
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MObIlE PhOnES: FUtUrE DEvIcES FOr AFrIcA by Ruth Aine Tindyebwa, Uganda
Credits: Javie Ssozi
“Mobile communication significantly improves quality of life, providing the tools to deliver enormous socio-economic benefits to people in developing countries. Connectivity helps to offset a lack of resources, particularly in rural areas, and provides access to a range of services, including education and healthcare.� Jan Embro, President of Ericsson in sub-Saharan Africa believes that.
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According to ITU 2011, there were 6 billion mobile subscriptions. That represents 87% of the world population. There are over 1 billion people in Africa, 41% have access to mobile phones. Developing countries have more mobile phones than developed nations. In Uganda as of June 2011, there were over 14 million mobile subscribers. Thus, more than 50% of Ugandans own mobile phones. Wikipedia defines new media as “a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century that refers to on-demand access to content anytime, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community formation around the media content.” Mobile phones are a form of new media that has exhibited exponential growth over the last decade. Whether this growth has been reflected in the day to day lives of Ugandans is relative. Developing countries in addition to Uganda need to appreciate new media. Appreciation means that we allow ourselves to fully understand the capabilities that are possessed by these technologies. Michael Niyitegeka Head Corporate Relations Makerere University College and Information Sciences says, “There is need for sensitization about the power of new media in supporting social development. The citizens need to be empowered to use these media. Governments ought to develop platforms that enable incorporation of new media in their operations/ processes. This will act as an incentive to the citizens to utilize new media. There are platforms that have been created. They may not have been necessarily been created by the government of Uganda, but they exist.” Mobile Phones development
to
enhance
Text to Change (TTC) is a nongovernmental organization based in Uganda. It is working in eight countries in Africa and South America. Text to Change gives an opportunity to mobile phone users in Africa to participate in text message quizzes and win prizes in
interactive education and development partners. Communities benefit from TTCs service as they receive information, pose questions and send back answers without being charged. TTC has been able to show clear results in terms of high response rates and uptake in health services [forexample] varying from 35% to 200% at partnering clinics by using SMS. Namirembe Eunice Gnay is a Programme Manager at TTC; she has been and still is a manager for health projects in Africa like the STOP TB Campaign Uganda and Mobile for Reproductive Health (M4RH) among others. m-Health or mobile-Health is a term used for the practice of medicine and public health, supported by mobile devices. “The use of new media, especially mobile phones, has opened up new opportunities for Ugandans. Farmers can now easily access markets and price information, health care is foreseen to improve with more information being shared via mobile. Education systems will also improve with the introduction of e-education and m-education. The opportunities are endless. People are able to tap into the opportunities within and outside Uganda. This reflects the adage, “If its not documented and shared on the Internet, then it did not happen.’’ She goes on to say that the current growth mobile phone use and coverage has opened up Uganda to new opportunities on how to inform and reach people at a wider scale. Many areas like health, education and economic development have already gained from the availability of mobile phones. People are also creating useful applications that smartphone users can download and use to share information. With appropriate content for health, people can be reached widely on issues like HIV/ AIDS, reproductive health and TB. Javie Ssozi a new media consultant working with the Open Society Institute explains how stakeholders have given a chance to the growth of the use of new media: ‘A couple of years ago, two of the major telecoms in Uganda - MTN and Orange – launched a free Facebook service which basically allows their subscribers to access Facebook at “zero” cost. Android has
Text to Change (TTC) logotype
provided a free platform for developers to develop and test their own applications and also to upload them and sell them on the App Market. Uganda and new Media
Is Uganda headed in the right direction as far as embracing new media is concerned? Simon Kaheru, a director at sms.info, sums it up: “Uganda is moving at a good pace – but we cannot be satisfied with where we at. There is still a long way to go in making the people and sectors that matter realize that mew age media forms and platforms are useful for more than just entertainment. For example, it was heartening to see, during the SIM registration exercise, MTN [a telecommunication company in Uganda] deploy registration agents with GPRS enabled phones to take photographs of people during the process. However it would have been much better if those photos and user details were uploaded onto a live database right there at the registration points.” James Makumbi a software developer, said it best, “The government needs to move faster. Enforce quality access of New Media and obviously the Internet to enhance its work, encourage the use of mew media and lead by example: use New Media and its’ tools.” SMS aids simple, rapid and spontaneous communication. We owe it to ourselves to look at the future and embrace it.
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THe CURRICUlUM of HATRed A common misconception among the youth of Pakistan is that people from other cultures and nations are hostile towards them. Many feel that other societies reject their moral values and encourage anti-Islam feelings. The resulting misunderstanding divides youth into extremes and makes them easily vulnerable for messages of hate and violence.
by Momal Mushtaq, Pakistan
The rising extremism and sectarian violence among the new generation, who comprise almost 70 percent of the population, is one of the most pressing problems facing the country. The “Curriculum of Hatred” is often termed as one of the major causes of increasing extremism and sectarian violence in Pakistan. The term refers to the contents of school textbooks, especially those printed and distributed by the public sector. For decades, this curriculum has helped shape the views of Pakistan’s young people . Only recently it has been exploited for ulterior motives by those in power. Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto introduced Pakistan Studies and Islamic Studies into the national curriculum as compulsory
subjects in 1971. Former military dictator General Zia ul Haq, under a drive towards Islamizing schools, encouraged the revision of this curriculum for vested interests. The Islamic concept of Jihad was propagated and is still being exploited, even though the material on Jihad and Muslim supremacy over nonMuslims has been removed from Islamic Studies text books. Today, Jihad and terrorism are considered closely related, with Jihad being one of the major factors behind suicide bombings. According to an editorial in Dawn, the oldest and one of the most widely read newspapers in Pakistan, “By propagating concepts such as jihad, the inferiority of non-Muslims, India’s ingrained enmity with Pakistan, etc., the textbook board publications used by all government
schools promote a mindset that is bigoted and obscurantist.” In schools, Pakistani students are oftentimes taught biased and exaggerated histories of Pakistan. The Social/Pakistan Studies text books in Pakistan, for instance, present India as an evil opponent. The separation of the subcontinent is written down in a very crude manner - highlighting only the what-went-wrongs on behalf of the British and how partition gave Hindus a chance to victimize Pakistanis. According to a report of Sustainable Development Policy Institute, “for the upholders of the Ideology of Pakistan, the existence of Pakistan is defined only in relation to Hindus, and hence the Hindus have to be painted as negatively as
For decades, text books have helped shape the views of Pakistan people, Credit: Uzair Sukhera
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possible.” The following examples are taken verbatim afrom the Grade VIII textbook reading the ideology of Pakistan: “The Hindu belief was that only a Hindu nation could live in the Indian subcontinent. Other nations should become a part of the Hindu nation or leave India. Many Hindu extremist parties such as the AryaSamaj were working against Muslims since the nineteenth century and even after fifty years after the creation of Pakistan, these organisations continue working to erase the ‘Muslims’ existence from the region.” According to Mahrukh Mumtaz Hussain, 20, a student at the National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan, “it may not be every Hindu, but majority of them followed the ‘Hindu belief ’.” Maaz Tahir, 24, from the Pakistan Marine Academy held a similar view. He felt that, “Hindus never believed in coexistence with Muslims.” Khoala Baloch, a 23, a graduate from Islamabad, Pakistan shared, “The part ‘leave India’ can be an exaggeration to some extent but the willingness to merge the believers of two religions into a single nation was and is ‘’the mightiest notion’’ that exists as an obstacle on the way towards a peaceful continent.” It is important to note that these are the thoughts of university educated young people of Pakistan, who constitute about one percent of the country’s population. According to Hanu Prateek Kunduru, 22, from the Indian Institute of Management Ranchi, , “India is a country where religion is very central to the life of people. This age-old
philosophy as expounded in Hindu scriptures, the Upanishads is ‘sarva dharma samabhava,’ which means respect for all belief systems.” There is a need to clarify the misunderstandings to ensure long-term stability and peace between India and Pakistan, in particular between non-Muslims and the people of Pakistan in general. Though the global community is aware of these issues, the Pakistani government has done little to change these misperceptions.Since changing the mindset of public would be a long-term process, the elected governments are not interested in investing in such changes These governments have focused on short-term investments as they are measurable and ensure direct success in elections. To ensure a peaceful society, it is vital that the contents of the school textbooks be thoroughly revised and reproduced so tht the next generation will be provided with correct historical perspective instead of one-sided stories that allow them to draw independent conclusions. With over 130 million of its population under the age of 30, Pakistan’s young people are the torch bearers of the future. Social media could play an important role in bringing about peace and education this regard. The internet and mobile penetration rates in the country are reported to be over 20 and 60 percent respectively, and a large number of young people in Pakistan are increasingly using Web 2.0. Hence, if utilized constructively, social media may play a prominent role in changing the perceptions of public at large.
SoCIAl MedIA SCeNe IN PAKISTAN Number of people living in the country Number of internet users Internet penetration Number of mobile users Mobile penetration Number of Facebook users Facebook penetration
187 million 29,128,970 (as of Dec. 31, 2011) over 15%
107.8 million over
60%
6,412,960 (on Mar 31/12) 3.4%
Source: PC World Pakistan, CIO Pakistan
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CoMMUNITY MedIA:
A RoAd To TRUe lIbeRATIoN ANd develoPMeNT WhEn thE KEnyAn vOIcElESS cAn FInAlly bE hEArD by Rachelann Muragu, Kenya
Development
Coming from Nakuru (a town two hours from Nairobi), I was listening to the radio when the driver switched to Ghetto Radio, 89.5fm. I always thought that since this channel is broadcast in Sheng (Kenyan urban slang), I don’t understand a word of what they’ve said, and therefore t89.5 is not a serious station. Later, I realized that this was a radio station for those living in the ghetto. I started to tune in and gave it my attention. The presenters addressed so many issues facing those in the ghetto, and I thought to myself, “This is what we need,” an avenue for communities to air out their thoughts and find solutions. From an article in IPS News covering Pamoja Radio fm, a community radio station: ‘In a Kibera-bound mini-bus taxi, the driver changes the station just as he turns onto Ngong Road, kilometres away from the Kenyan slum. He tunes into Pamoja Radio 99.9 FM, a local community radio station that broadcasts only in Kibera.
Session going on at Ghetto Radio, Credits: Ghetto Radio
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“Wacha tupate ushauri,” the driver tells the passenger next to him in Swahili. Translated, it means: “Let’s get some advice.” “Whenever I tune in to Pamoja Radio, I learn something new, a new life lesson. They discuss family issues that are familiar to most of us, they address issues of unemployment, and mostly advocate for self-employment,” said the mini-bus taxi driver, adding that on the weekend he listened as a local young man explained how he had raised himself out of poverty using a loan from a microfinance institution.’ As stated by Indigo Trust Pamoja FM, a community radio station in Kibera slum, Nairobi came to the fore during the 2007-2008 election violence, where they acted as a calming influence on the citizens in Kibera, which was in stark contrast with many comparable stations, which incited violence over this period. In this way, they remained true to their name which means ‘Unity’ in Swahili. Pamoja FM formed in 2007 to empower the youth of Kibera through education and information and it now transmits over a radius of 35-40km of Nairobi, giving a voice to citizens who are otherwise disempowered, and keeping residents informed about issues which dramatically impact upon their daily existence. It is always good to have a sense of development in all areas of life. Communities are not left behind when it comes to this. Since a community is a group of people with like mindedness, it is far easier to have development thrive there than in any other place. There are many ways in which we can make a community grow. For example
by building businesses, improving infrastructure, starting schools, digging boreholes and so much more. In these ways we make it a prime goal to have communities sustain themselves. Having projects done by the community, for the community, gives those living there a sense of ownership and responsibility. In Kenya especially, those who live in marginalized areas like the northern regions, Garissa and Turkana feel hopeless. In fact some of those living
Pamoja FM studio equipment Credits: Indigo Trust
there say that they are not part of Kenya as they feel left out in most things. Also, those in rural towns like Mura’nga and Nyeri experience the same thing. Finding a way to develop them would be of great help to the communities and this would enable them to move forward and not lag behind. Power of the media tools
Media is a very powerful tool. We have seen how influential the media is when it comes to causing people to act. In the horrific 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the media there had widespread propaganda that fueled the killing of at least half a million people according to the detailed report by the Human Rights
Watch released in 1999. However the media is also used to bring good to the society. Without the media, we would be enclosed to the comforts of our homes and not know much about what is happening in the world. It has helped us expand our knowledge, and thanks to technological development we can communicate with the whole world just by having the media. Community media
The media can be a great tool to bring development to a community. This is by having community media. Community media is media controlled by a community. In communities like Garissa and Turkana, in Kenya, one of the most desolate inhabited places in Africa, and with great need, donors and NGOs work there to try and help sustain the communities. This is a noble cause but there has to be a way to have the community sustain itself rather than have it always stretch its hand out for help. A community has to be able to run itself, to be independent. Community media is an example of community development that will cause communities to do so. Community media will help first by giving communities a voice where they know that they are included in the community and the country as a whole. This will give them importance and courage to make choices with regard to their community. Having a community feel a sense of ownership to a project really, makes it flourish. This is seen clearly in community media because the members of the community run everything. If it is a radio station, they are responsible for the entire production process. This makes those in the community very proud of themselves. In communities like Turkana, education isn’t important in their culture as most of them are pastoralists. The girls are married off at an early age causing them not to further their careers. Having a community media station at a place like this will broaden their horizon where they will learn so much. They will develop themselves extensively, because they are learning to depend on themselves. This will give them self worth giving them a desire to grow.
Positive influences
For those in communities where education is not revered, having a media station in the community may change the perspectives of those living there because those in the media will address the issue of education. Since media is highly respected by audiences, this will influence those in the community positively. Another positive effect is that, those in the community running the media houses will also be looked up to.
In this community media house, whether a radio or TV station or even a magazine, everything featured is about the community. If it’s in a village in Turkana, an announcement about when to take the cows cattle dipping is put on there. If there is a local musician who is holding a concert, it is advertised i through the media tool. If there is only one shop thriving over others, this can cause there to be healthy competition when one of them begins to advertise its products to the community, through the use of media. This makes those in the community feel important. The awakening
‘Bonoko’ presenter at Ghetto Radio Credits: Ghetto Radio
An example of someone who works for a community media station who is looked up to is a man called ‘Bonoko’. According to an article written by Grassroots.co.ke, Bonoko was born on the streets. The government started to pick kids up from the streets in 2011 and send them to special schools to be reformed. After being caught Bonoko ran away twice, once walking for a week from Kakamega in Western Kenya to Nakuru, on his way back to Nairobi. “The watchmen at these schools beat us too much”, he complains. He ended up completing only two years of primary school education. His life took a positive turn when he started working at ghetto radio. He is a positive influence not only to the community radio station but to Kenyans as a whole. As a presenter he communicates to the youth and gives advice about taking education seriously, by also giving his life story. This is the advantage that community media has over commercial media. Commercial media is controlled more by the sponsors and its main aim is to make money. Those that have community media decide what to air and they do not have to be controlled, as their main aim is to cater to the community.
Community media stations may be looked down upon by the commercial media stations because they are small and do not make money, but there is so much that can be accomplished through them. In 2007, in Kenya there was post election violence that wretched the country and almost plunged it into a deep hole, yet if there were more community media stations, this may have been avoided and disputes couldd have been mended. This is because the commercial media houses, especially those that broadcast in vernacular, dominated the airwaves. Many community media houses should be built where issues of tribalism are addressed. Communities should be educated against being divided on tribal lines. A community makes up a country and if we want to build a country, we can only start from the bottom up. With regard to community media, a quote from T.F Hodge is fitting. “When individuals and communities do not govern self, they risk being ruled by external forces that care less about the well-being of the village.”
Pamoja FM journalists in studio Credits: Indigo Trust
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MAGAZINE
The Arab Spring and Pakistan by Momal Mushtaq, Pakistan
Young people in Pakistan are largely influenced and also inspired by the media that brought about a revolution in the Arab world. Many people from Pakistan feel that the future may bring similar results in this part of the world. However, it is important to realize the role of media in shaping political culture in the Middle East and North Africa before the same model is applied in Pakistan. This topic was the highlight of one of the workshops at DW Global Media Forum, moderated by Anne Allmeling, a freelance reporter and editor in Germany. Speakers included Mr. Omar Abassi, a Political Scientist from Morocco, Mr. Oraib Al Rantawi the Director Al Quds Center for Political Studies in Jordan, and Ms. Shahira El Rafei, a Senior Editor of Al Ahram Newspaper in Egypt. One of the key reasons Egyptians were able to unite platform was due to the decades-long dictatorship of one man, Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian government and its intelligence agencies had complete control over mass media, and strict censorship was the norm on newspapers and TV channels. The situation in Libya, Tunisia or Yemen was no different. Modern tools of Web 2.0 like Facebook and Twitter were consequently used to take action against the oppressive regimes. Pakistan may be poorly governed by corrupt leaders, but the country enjoys democracy, that despite its crooked form, still features an independent judiciary and free media. With over 90 TV Channels, more than 106 licensed FM radio stations and countless illegal FM stations, the media already possesses a great influence on Pakistani politics. The media may change the course of Pakistan’s future. The impact of the media in the Arab World was different than Pakistan because of the totalitarian regimes that were disrupted, but because media penetration is increasing in Pakistan, its impact on the political future will undoubtedly be huge.
According to Ms. Shahira, before we can expect media to bring about a significant change, it is important to understand whether it has the right environment to play the role we want it to play Credits: Karim Kara
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ThE powEr of A SINGlE IMAGE
AUgUSTINe ANTHUvAN TellS oRANge MAgAzINe HoW PHoTolANgUAge HAS HelPed SoUTHeAST ASIAN CHIldReN Tell THeIR SToRIeS. by Xian Jie Lee, Singapore
“It is a cliché that a photograph is worth a thousand words, but it’s true, a single image can be worth a thousand words,” says Augustine Anthuvan, who since the 1980s has used photolanguage to encourage children to express their fears, anxieties and grief.
Youths with the photographs they chose at a recent workshop in the Philippines Credit: SIGNIS
Now he produces news features and documentaries as Editor of the International Desk at Channel NewsAsia, and also teaches media literacy to children around Southeast Asia. He spoke about photolanguage at “Through a Child’s Eye: Creating Images with the Next Generation,” a workshop hosted by the World Catholic Association for Communication. How does photo language work?
I have been using photolanguage in media literacy classes to help young people open up and talk about their own experiences. Very often when you get a group of children together, they pretend like they know each other, but they don’t really talk, so photolanguage helps them to open up. I lay a set of 96 photographs on the ground, and I say, “Walk around, and choose a photo that best describes who you are today.” They pick up a photo, take a look, and put it down. This is done in silence, so they can’t influence each other. Finally, I tell them to pick their photos again, and sometimes a single image may have been chosen by up to three or four children. They then talk about their choice of photographs, and put their photographs into a sequence to tell their story as a group. Later they develop these into a script and document their feelings through their own short film. What are some of the most popular images?
I use a set of photographs made by French photographers in the seventies, but it is amazing how it doesn’t matter where the photos came from. Some of the more popular photos are of a single child sitting alone, a group of people sitting alone, probably high on drugs, a couple hugging, or a mountain climber. And what do people talk about?
When I met a group of youths from Myanmar in the Philippines, they spoke of their fear, as this was before Aung
San Suu Kyi was released. They felt afraid because they’ve seen freedom in the Phillipines, but after the workshop they had to return to the same fears they had. Usually, urban children speak about school pressure, dysfunctional families, the lack of friends, and the lack of communication at home -- ordinary day-to-day issues. Films dramatize bigger things like drug problems, but everyday issues can be big issues for children. I had one boy who talked about how his mother constantly puts pressure on him because he cannot score 95% for his maths. It can trigger emotions in younger children. If it was child abuse, I can’t just close the exercise after a weekend and say.” Thank you, let’s move on.” The child may still be struggling because I have reawakened memories, so I usually work with a counselor. And many people want to remember the photo they have chosen. I have observed people taking photos of their photo, so obviously whatever the photo said to them sparked off something inside them. What’s one idea you think can help children?
Put the cameras in their hands and let them tell their own stories, but not for just one day, or one month. Give them a whole year to explore and expand. They will come back with real stories. Children are the most powerful scriptwriters.
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