Need for convergence of old and new media for empowerment

Pune: Like many other social activists who campaign for change in society, Pune-based Neeraj Jain, the founder of Lokayat, believes that there is no better way to drive home a message, especially to women, than street theatre or the audio-visual media.

So whether it is about the condition of the roads in the city, the aggressive stance of the US against Iraq, contamination in soft drinks, or the plight of the slum dwellers, Neeraj and his group members put up public performances to attract attention.

He has now established Aaghaz, a film club that screens documentaries, which will “make people see, think, analyse and take action.”

Ranjana with late Hemant Kanitkar, who developed puppetry as a form of communication / Photo credit: OWSA

Similarly, Ranjana Kanitkar is another activist whose attempt to change the mindsets of people in rural areas involves the use of theatre, but in the form of puppetry.

“We tackle sensitive issues relating to communal divides, tribal atrocities, exploitation of women, addictions to drugs and liquor, infanticide and child education by using puppets,” she states.

Neeraj and Ranjana, as such, are on the right path when it comes to using communication as a tool for empowerment.

New study

This, after all, is concurrent with the finding of a study on new communication technologies and its usage to reach out to women at grassroots level, initiated by ISIS International and five intermediary groups in the Asia Pacific region.

This has been published as a book titled: PC4CD-People’s Communications For Development.

ISIS, one of the oldest international communication groups, tied up with five intermediary groups in the respective countries for the project.

India was represented by Pune-based Aalochana Centre for Documentation and Research on Women.

Other groups included the Civil Media Development Institute, Thailand; FemLink Pacific: Media Initiatives for Women, Fiji; and Health, Education, Sustainable Livelihood and Participation for All, Resources, Inc (HELP), Papua New Guinea.

The study was supported by the International Development Research (IDRC). Nearly 81 intermediary groups in the Asia Pacific region were interviewed, which constituted a mix of grassroots women-specific organisations, and groups addressing diverse social issues.

The study was conducted in India, Philippines, Thailand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Popularity of theatre

The findings of the study in India clearly point out that theatre is popularly used by intermediary groups and it is one of the most effective communication tools.

“We found that most intermediary groups used theatre to communicate to grassroots level women,” Marion Bernadette Cabrera, program head, Governance Communication and Democracy, ISIS, said.

The reasons cited for this trend, she explained, is that theatre is visually more stimulating, affordable, culturally appropriate, interactive and has a wide reach.

Overall, oral communication, theatre and radio topped the list of empowering potential traditional communication tools. Apart from these three, all the rest had their limitations.

“For instance, while books (print media) manage to engage the community, the disadvantage is that it fails to reach to the women owing to illiteracy or lack of time. Films and video, however, have a wide reach,” pointed out Simrita Gopal Singh, founder member of Aalochana.

Given the situation, the information technology revolution seems to remain an urbanised feature since it is the least accessible and effective communication tools when it comes to reaching grassroots level women.

“New ICTs, computers and internet still remain generally inaccessible and ineffective for grassroots women across all the five countries, including India,” said Cabrera.

The general objectives of the study were to understand the ICT environment and infrastructure in each country, besides determining the actual ICT usage by intermediary groups in empowering women at grassroots level.

The study also helped ISIS and others to learn what the notion of empowerment was for intermediary organisations and how these were related to perceived effectiveness of ICTs.

“While computer and Internet are highly advantageous in terms of efficiency and connectivity, their limitations are that they are alienating and isolating, cut personal interactions, remove passion in activism, and are inaccessible to women.

Moreover, the access to ICT can only come when grassroots women are able to access their basic needs,” Cabrera further explained.

While cell phones too are one of the constituents of the new ICTs, Cabrera said the study groups were still unsure whether it could statistically substantiate the reach of cell phones to grassroots.

The conclusion of this study is that rather than splitting various forms of media into old and new, there is a need for convergence of the two to bring about empowerment.