"This book is an invitation—an invitation to discover the potential of a simple video camera and the power it holds to spark social change. Every day, all around the world, activists draw upon video in creative, strategic ways and use the results to ensure that silent voices are heard and importan
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t reforms are made. In this book we will show you how they do this, and how you can do it too [...] These chapters will walk you through the process of “video advocacy.” By this phrase we mean the use of video as an essential tool in social justice activism—one that can be deployed as strategically and effectively as more traditional forms of “advocacy” referring to the range of ways to exert pressure for a defi ned goal of change, including persuasion, relationship-building, lobbying, organizing, and mobilizing. We will draw on the inspiring real-life experiences of social justice video advocates worldwide—groups that have worked with the human rights organization WITNESS where I work, and a range of other wellknown and lesser-known fi gures in the activist universe. Throughout you’ll fi nd an emphasis on the emotional and empathetic aspect of video, on its humanizing ability to communicate across boundaries. We also stress the need for collaboration within organizations and among outside allies to more successfully facilitate the production and use of video." (Introduction, page xii-xiii)
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"El hecho de propiciar y multiplicar los canales de expresión y participación ciudadana de niños, niñas y adolescentes es vital para asegurar su desarrollo y para fortalecer la cultura democrática en la sociedad. Que ellos puedan hacer oír sus voces para expresar sus inquietudes, deseos y nece
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sidades, es clave también para que los adultos que trabajan en áreas relacionadas con sus problemáticas puedan tenerlos en cuenta a la hora de definir las políticas públicas que los afectan. La serie de materiales de capacitación producidos en el marco del proyecto Red de Radios escolares rurales y de frontera se orienta en este sentido al promover, a través del espacio radial, la sensibilización de las comunidades respecto de los temas planteados por los niños, niñas y adolescentes, y la construcción de sus estrategias de transformación social junto con los otros actores de las comunidades implicados en ese proceso." (Página 3)
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"This book offers readers a one-stop guide to debating on the radio, the benefits of using the format and the procedures necessary to conduct successful debates." (Publisher description)
"This book aims to record political activism on the Internet and "take stock of some of the successes and failures of cyberactivists as they try to beat the various censorship regimes in Asia." The sections of this 664-page book comprise of 'Political Frameworks & New Technology', 'Regulations and C
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ontrol', 'One Party States', 'Alternative Media', 'Civil Society', 'Diaspora Communities', and 'Political Parties'. The book's 18 chapters provide an overview of current trends in democracy related new media research to country-specific case studies. "The common thread running through the book is the organizing of civil society groups at the grassroots level, and how they are influencing certain segments of their respective countries, and even challenging state control and the monopoly of mainstream media." Asian Cyberactivism strives to examine political organising online in Asia even as the technology and the rules change. Activists provide their perspectives on how new media relates to democracy, and showcase examples that could be emulated to further the cause of democracy." (Communication Initiative)
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"This book is the first one in English about the famous community radio stations operated in Bolivia by the miners’ trade unions. Since about 1950, there has been a network of more than twenty radios all locally funded and operated. This book focuses on the most heroic period of their existence du
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ring the twenty-five years from about 1960 to 1985. This unique experience of local media is described through the voices of Latin American communication researchers and political activists. The chapters are selected and translated by Alan O’Connor who published the first scholarly article in English on the Bolivian miners’ radios. This book also gives readers an introduction to the methods and concerns of Latin American communication researchers. This work includes overview written by Bolivian communication researchers who first brought the miners’ radios to the attention of researchers on participatory media. These pioneering articles struggle to fit the unruly miners’ radios into the concepts of debates about global communications. They stress what is unique about the Bolivian experience and the successes, problems and lack of resources of the radio stations. The book also includes moving testimonies by participants in the radio stations. An historic transcript from a live broadcast shows how the radios connect up during times of political crisis in an attempt to organize resistance to a military coup. With the decline of the Bolivian mining industry since 1985 many of the radio stations no longer exist. The book documents attempts to rescue at least some of the stations and continue their work into the present." (Publisher description)
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"This report was prepared for the Social Science Research Council's (SSRC) Information Technology and International Cooperation (ITIC) program. The ITIC program exists to explore the relationship between information technology and civil society. Its goal is to build knowledge about the use and gover
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nance of information technology by civil society actors - from NGOs to alternative media - especially at the transnational level. The program brings international groups of scholars and practitioners together to collaborate at meetings, online, and through the exchange of writings. One of two initial 'knowledge reports' released by the program, this document focu es on the issue of how civil society organizations are using information technology. In conjunction with this report, SSRC has organized a research network in order to expand on the knowledge and analysis on this topic. The network is engaged in writing papers, discussion and collaborative projects related to IT governance. A companion report published at the same time as this one focuses on the international governance of information technology and its implications for civil society networking. A similarly structured research network has been formed on this topic." (Foreword, page 3)
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"This is an entirely new edition of the author’s 1984 study (originally published by South End Press) of radical media and movements. The first and second sections are original to this new edition. The first section explores social and cultural theory in order to argue that radical media should be
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a central part of our understanding of media in history. The second section weaves an historical and international tapestry of radical media to illustrate their centrality and diversity, from dance and graffiti to video and the internet and from satirical prints and street theatre to culture-jamming, subversive song, performance art and underground radio. The section also includes consideration of ultra-rightist media as a key contrast case. The book’s third section provides detailed case studies of the anti-fascist media explosion of 1974-75 in Portugal, Italy’s long-running radical media, radio and access video in the USA, and illegal media in the dissolution of the former Soviet bloc dictatorships." (Publisher description)
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"Our research confirmed that many IFI (international financial institutions)-watchers are struggling to utilise ICT efficiently. The majority of organisations we studied do not have a communications strategy that takes into account the possibilities ICT affords. If they do have a website, it is not
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updated regularly. Almost everybody we consulted complained about information-overload, while at the same time lacking information relevant to them specifically. These difficulties are, of course, also experienced by NGOs, campaigners and specialists in other issue areas. We identified a range of obstacles that make effective information sharing and co-operation more difficult. Some are easy to grasp, although not necessarily easy to tackle (i.e. language), while others are extremely complex and cause much frustration (i.e. internal politics and structures of NGOs). Many have been around for years. The introduction of ICT is accompanied by new difficulties, such as information overload and computer viruses, but can also have a multiplier effect on the "old" problems. This is not news, but it makes sense to point out again that new technology relies on "traditional" factors to succeed in establishing effective communications. It depends less on working with the latest software than on how people relate to each other. Power structures and democratic or non-democratic procedures can, directly or indirectly, promote or hinder communications." (Executive summary)
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"This report analyzes the ways in which civil society and the media contribute to establish more accountable governments in the region. The report is organized around two main sections: section I provides a general overview of the trends and changes that affected the development of Latin American so
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cieties and the media in the past decade. More specifically, it will concentrate on the appearance of two actors that greatly contributed to shape the agenda of accountability in the region: a regional network of civic associations and movements organized around demands for due process and a new form of investigative or watchdog journalism. The section describes both the types of actors involved in a politics of accountability and the main issues they have addressed. Section II concentrates on the workings and achievements of this politics of accountability. It analyzes the methods and strategies employed to make public officials accountable and on some of their accomplishments." (Page 1)
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