"We have argued throughout this book that the various versions of the cultural convergence thesis are deeply flawed, whether one has in mind the ‘media imperialism’ argument that was fashionable during the 1970s, the ‘Coca-colonization’ claim that was popular during the 1990s, or contemporar
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y approaches advocating ‘cultural protectionism.’ The convergence thesis rests on the premise that repeated exposure to the ideas and images transmitted by CNN International, MTV, and Hollywood will gradually undermine indigenous values and norms. Consequently, many deeply conservative cultures fear that opening the floodgates to the American or Western media will erode faith in religion, respect for marriage and the family, and deference toward traditional sources of authority. But earlier chapters demonstrated how lack of access to globalized mass communications persists in many poor nations, limiting the diffusion of Western ideas and images. This book has documented the existence of multiple firewalls that prevent the mass media from penetrating parochial societies and thus influencing the culture in these places." (Page 261)
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"There is a need to encourage cultural sensitivity in the production and consumption of communication and information contents, thereby facilitating access, empowerment and participation. To this end, action should be taken to: a. Support the production and distribution of innovative and diversified
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audiovisual materials, taking account of local needs, contents and actors, and having recourse as appropriate to public-private partnerships. b. Assess the impact of ICT-driven changes on cultural diversity, with a view to highlighting good practices of multilingual access to written and audiovisual productions. c. Promote media and information literacy for all age groups in order to increase the ability of media users to critically evaluate communication and cultural contents." (Recommendations 5, page 151)
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"This article explored the particular version of ‘national culture’ that emerged in Mali’s post-independent history at the interface of a governmental politics of culture and communication, media technologies, and people’s media engagement. I argued that the dialectical production of ‘the
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past’ as a source of cultural identity and nationalist pride was gradually transformed under the subsequent regimes of postcolonial Mali. Central parameters of claiming and validating one’s past have changed, along with a shift in significance (and employment) of ‘the past’. In previous decades, ‘remembering the past’ formed part of a hegemonic quest for a national heritage and an all-encompassing collective identity that tended to silence internal difference. This representation of national culture contrasts with more recent governmental attempts to create a sense of national unity not by reference to a common past but by acknowledging cultural diversity and celebrating the nation state’s capacity to ease out the tensions arising from internal difference. What conclusions can we draw from the shift from mass-mediated celebrations of oral traditions identified with practices of remembering an ‘authentic’ past to the staging of‘cultural diversity’ on state television? In what sense is this shift indicative of how individuals and groups need to frame and pursue their citizenship entitlements under current political conditions shaped by the effects of multiparty ‘democracy’?" (Conclusion, page 206)
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"Am 20. Oktober 2005 verabschiedete die 33. UNESCO-Generalkonferenz das "Übereinkommen über den Schutz und die Förderung der Vielfalt kultureller Ausdruckformen". Der vorliegende Band enthält die zwischen Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz abgestimmte deutschsprachige und die englischsprac
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hige Originalfassung. Beiträge von Kader Asmal (Südafrika), Sabine von Schorlemer (Deutschland) und Ivan Bernier (Kanada) erläutern Bedeutung, Hintergründe, Verhandlungsdynamik und Perspektiven zur Umsetzung der Konvention. Außerdem enthält der Band auch den Wortlaut der 2001 verabschiedeten "Allgemeinen Erklärung zur Kulturellen Vielfalt" der UNESCO." (Buchrücken)
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"The Task Force research initiative has resulted in the most comprehensive study on cultural diversity and the media ever undertaken, anywhere, that will serve as a major source of information for future research. Interview subjects generally concluded that some advances have been made regarding the
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presence of cultural diversity on television in the past decade, but there is still a great deal of progress required. Many provided suggestions for improvement, such as the increased use of internships and the development of a database of actors, directors, producers and experts from Canada’s ethnocultural and Aboriginal communities. The Task Force initiated a round of consultations with interview subjects to discuss Recommended Best Practices and Industry Initiatives in April 2004. Focus groups provided a broad range of strong opinions and perspectives on the issue of cultural diversity and television. Several areas of concern were highlighted by focus group participants across the country: the persistence of stereotyping; too many instances of negative or inaccurate portrayal; underrepresentation of many groups; unbalanced or negative portrayal on newscasts; and a serious absence of Aboriginal representation on television. The benchmark content analysis substantiated many concerns raised within the focus groups, and provided a very rich assessment of exactly how cultural diversity is reflected and portrayed on television." (Executive summary)
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