IAMCR - International Association for Media and Communication Research

The challenges presented by ‘knowledge societies’ were taken up by our opening plenary speaker, Fatma Alloo, founder of the Tanzania Media Women's Association (TAMWA).  She talked about the way Africa has been portrayed in the media as being poor and powerless, and about the importance not only of equity of access to ICTs but of the relevance and value of information to local people.  Issues of content, literacy, language and usability are paramount, she said. She also emphasised the importance of local infrastructure and government regulation.  In too many instances, governments fail to enable open access to infrastructure or they enable it at unaffordable prices.  She offered examples of how the pooling of demand has led to a reduction in costs and of how the active roles of civil society members are enabling a process of empowerment.  She emphasised however that ‘e-engagement requires the demystification of the power of knowledge and the technologies used in dissemination of this knowledge through the media’.

Mushira Khattab, Head of Mother and Childhood Council, Egypt talked about the growing role of new ICTs in supporting health and education initiatives throughout the country.  She emphasised the need to build greater strength across a wide range of applications and to ensure that these reach the most disadvantaged in the country.

The second plenary on Critical Perspectives on Media and Communications in Development provided an opportunity for Dr. Indrajit Banerjee, Secretary General, Asia Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) Singapore to set out his views on the divides that exist in research and in practice between those concerned with communication and the media in the development context and those concerned with ICTs.  He made a passionate plea for a greater exchange between those concerned with issues in this area and for much more attention to be given not only to the benefits of ICTs but to how their implementation creates new issues for individuals and organisations.  These need to be tackled if those benefits are to be available to the poor and disadvantaged.

Dr. Marjan de Bruin, Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC), University of the West Indies, provided many insights into the way that the media in various parts of the world have dealt with HIV/AIDS. She commented on the problems engendered by the circulation of myths about the disease and the need to find ways of more effectively circulating information that can enable those affected to seek the support they need.

A presentation by the representative the Minister of State for Administrative Development in Egypt, for Dr. Ahmed Darwish, emphasised the attention that is being given to ICT strategies in the country and the growing emphasis on build up a strong knowledge base within the country.

Media Ethics and Religious Models of Communication, the third plenary, offered a place for an exchange of views between Professor John Durham Peters, Communication Studies, University of Iowa and Professor Ziauddin Sardar, Visiting Professor of Postcolonial Studies, City University.  Both speakers sought to position issues of religion – Christianity and Islam – in the broader context of debates about the role of religion and secular society both historically and in contemporary times. They commented on how media contribute to and fashion our spaces for public expression by opening or limiting and constraining representations of issues and peoples in various ways.

Dr. Naomi Sakr’s (Communication and Media Research Institute, University of Westminster), contribution to the fourth plenary on Media and Communication in the Arab World: Perspectives on Empires and Communication, provided a detailed assessment of the extent to which today’s media ownership patterns are consistent with the re-creation of media ‘empires’, the extension of existing empires, or a mixed picture in which there are pressures for increasing homogeneity alongside new found opportunities for diversity in the output of the media.  Her assessment was that there are signs of the latter, but that we must not be complacent in our efforts to foster media diversity and media coverage from various standpoints.  She was joined in this plenary by Professor Hussein Amin, who provided insight into the recent developments in the media in Egypt with respect to journalism freedoms and the changing priorities of different media outlets.

The fifth and final plenary of the conference, Global Governance, Equality and Action after the WSIS, saw Professor Andrew Calabrese, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Colorado; Dr. Hopeton Dunn, Mona Campus, University of the West Indies; Dr. Claudia Padovani, Department of Historical and Political Studies, University of Padova; Professor Marc Raboy, Department of Art History and Communication Studies, McGill University; and Professor Hussein Amin, American University in Cairo, discuss the need for continuing inputs into debates in this area.  Panellists noted that ambiguity of the outcomes of the WSIS, but highlighted the fact that there are signs of action in some areas.  There are new institutional mechanisms through which debates will continue, ranging from those under the auspices of UNCSTD (UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development) and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), to those at WIPO concerning IPR as well as under the UNESCO sponsored declaration on cultural diversity.  In terms of future contributions, the whole issue of the scale, scope and impact of innovation in global governance needs consideration from numerous angles and IAMCR members are well-placed to contribute.  These include examinations of whether the new modes of representation for civil society will in fact foster greater accountability, more equitable representation, greater justice and support for human rights.  Even if some of these developments only have symbolic significance, the panel noted the many opportunities for critical research and for active involvement in the ongoing political processes.  Such involvement will be essential if there is to be a momentum for ongoing and equitable change in the media and communication (ICT) domain.