"This paper provides an ethnograpic analysis of the relationship between theatre groups and donors/theatre groups and audiences that moves away from the national planning / social engineering vs domination/resistance frameworks to highlight what happens at the interface of the development encounter.
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It also considers the impact of foreign funding on Nepali theatre at large. The issues that I raise refer to urban professional / semi-professional actor's representations and experiences of doing social theatre." (Abstract)
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"1. There has been remarkable growth in both private and non-for-profit radio in Nepal since 1997: 216 licenses had been issued as of July 2007 with 78 FM stations broadcasting; of 93 licenses issued to non-profit groups, 31 were operational as of May 2007.
2. To its detriment, the FM radio sector h
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as and continues to be largely unplanned and unmanaged. There is technical congestion in the capital region and high redundancy of licensed services, even in some rural areas; there are major policy gaps and limited means to ensure accountability of broadcasters. The current system of regulation does little to promote a diversity of services or to ensure that broadcasters meet public needs or address national development priorities.
3. The application and practice of community radio principles is remarkably inconsistent. Many stations are community radios in name only. Community radio in Nepal is poorly defined and there is no policy framework to guide the development of the sector. Of particular concern are issues of limited ownership, ‘capture’ by the elite, poor representation of community groups, particularly on gender, caste and ethnic lines. There is a risk that community orientation and the focus on public interest programming will be weakened.
4. In spite of gaps, Nepal’s community radio sector possesses a certain maturity and sophistication. There are a large number of stations, increasingly coordinated. There are excellent practices in programming and community participation, many of which are being replicated. There are resource centres and support organizations with high capacity, both private and non-profit. There is an active national association of community stations." (Key findings, page 4-5)
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"This study is about Community Radio Madanpokhara (CRM) in Palpa district in Western Nepal. Initiated and managed by the local residents, CRM has been on the air on frequency modulation (FM) band serving 800,000 potential listeners in the region since 2000. Triangulating in-depth interviews, observa
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tions and an audience survey as methods, this research explores the nature and extent of the local residents’ participation in the communication process. The station, operating with a wide participation from its community members, has not only been successful in providing them with an access to much needed information and entertainment but has also, in fact, proved to be an important avenue for the local population to express their opinions and views as well as exchange feelings. An audience survey, conducted in January 2004, revealed that 80.8 percentage of the local respondents listen to their community radio station for information and entertainment. Community radio in the region not only took away listeners from the state owned radio station, it also added new listeners. Thus, operation of a community radio station is not about sharing power, but it is also about creating new power. CRM has increased access to information for a larger section of rural population previously not served or underserved by the state media or the capital based-elite media. If knowledge is power and democracy is more about decentralization of power, then community radio stations in Nepal are truly championing this cause by creating many centers of power in the nation by empowering those left behind in the process and by securing their active involvement. They are encouraging the dispossessed and the marginalized in breaking the ages-old culture of silence, and CRM is leading the way in this endeavor." (Abstract)
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"This paper presents preliminary findings from a multi-sited qualitative study of poverty and information and communication technologies (ICTs) in India, Indonesia Sri Lanka and Nepal. It draws upon data gathered by 12 ethnographic action researchers working across 15 community ICT initiatives. Thes
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e local, 'embedded researchers' are part of a larger international project called Finding a Voice: Making Technological Change Socially Effective and Culturally Empowering, which includes UNESCO (South Asia) and UNDP (Indonesia), in partnership with Queensland University of Technology, the University of Adelaide and Australian Research Council, along with numerous local and regional organisations." (Introduction)
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"This book is a review of 56 projects funded by the Pan-Asia ICT R&D Grants Programme for Asia-Pacific from 2002-2005. The aim of this book is to examine trends within these particular information and communications technology (ICT) projects in order to determine factors for success, and, common cha
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llenges. The underlying goal is to understand which projects have a lasting impact and can be replicated on a larger scale [...] In general, the review and analysis show that projects of particular value are those that increase access to information, improve efficiency, and support participation in civil society and governance initiatives. A key factor of success is projects that embrace participation and include a consultative process in their design, planning and implementation phases. However, the research showed that building partnerships and reaching common understandings throughout the planning of these initiatives was a complex and challenging undertaking. The importance of dissemination and marketing of project results is a common thread throughout each of the projects in this book. Some projects with successfully completed research objectives could not progress further without substantial promotional efforts. The analysis in this book also points to a range of strategies in which projects can be expanded on a larger scale. For example, project models can grow by moving to new locations thereby gaining momentum elsewhere." (Foreword)
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"Inspired by innovations that emerged from the Kothmale Community Radio and Internet project, Sri Lanka, in 1999 and 2000, UNESCO has since established some fifty CMCs in a wide range of contexts in some twenty countries on three continents. In addition to new facilities and increased local capacity
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in communities around the world, pilot CMCs have involved a wide variety of partnerships, across all levels, and have led to an expanding number of creative and dynamic new initiatives and solutions in key areas, from content creation to financial and social sustainability. Significantly, the first phase of the CMC programme has also led to national ‘scale-up’ projects now underway in Mali, Mozambique and Senegal. This volume not only shares the context and experiences of UNESCO-supported CMCs, but is also intended to facilitate direct, practical cooperation between international and national agencies with CMCs at the ground level by providing a directory of local CMC services and contact information." (Foreword)
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"Wireless is the hottest technology and media sector in the world today—and Asia is at the centre of the action. This volume captures the flavour and implications of these fast-paced developments by providing a comprehensive, detailed and insightful look at the wireless scenario in the Asia-Pacifi
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c. It charts the growth of the wireless ecosystem across the region, highlights the valuable lessons learned by the pioneers, and contextualises these themes with developments in other parts of the world including the US and Europe. With contributions from numerous experts in the region, the book includes 16 thematic chapters, 10 book reviews, and profiles of 10 countries—Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal and Bangladesh." (Publisher description)
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"This study considers the conflicts in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, primarily looking at restrictions, highlighting similarities and differences and drawing some general conclusions about the ways in which authorities and combatants restrict freedom of expression. It also sets out international stand
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ards pertaining to freedom of expression and information relevant to conflict situations." (Introduction)
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"The specific objectives of the study were to: find out the source, means and condition of information; obtain some information on the condition of education; find out condition and practices related to caste and ethnicity; obtain some information on people's belief in tradition and superstition; ob
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tain information on economic aspects of household; find out pattern of use of technology in everyday life; obtain information on community activities and affair; find out the existing situation, attitude and practice in relation to gender; obtain information on situation of health; and find out the mode of people's participation in politics. [...] All data on the basis of which analyses have been made are primary which have been obtained from the field. The people inhabiting the areas that are covered by Radio Palung constituted the sole source of data required to meet the research objectives laid above. The villages covered were Palung, Daman, Chitlang and Bajrabarahi from Makawanpur district. In this research, population of active age and households in the above mentioned four villages constitutes the universe. Five hundred households, which is approximately 20% of the total households, were taken as samples. From each household, one person was chosen as respondents and interviewed. It is to be noted that only the owner of households were chosen as samples, and domestic servants, hired laborers, married daughters and people living in rent were excluded." (Introduction, page 2-3, method of study, page 6)
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"It has been found that overwhelming respondents from various social groups and occupation rely on "people" for local information. The Katuwali still constitutes a means of information for a sizeable portion of population. For national and international news, radio and television are among the major
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means. The possession of radio increases with increase in literacy. The Radio Nepal has the greatest number of listeners. The 6-8 am, 6-8 pm and 8-10 pm are the times during which the radio is listened by a great many people. The subjects that are preferred by the listeners are news and folk and dohari music. In the study area, only 31% of the household possess television set. It was found that no local newspaper is published from the area and also that there is no any public place or center where people could read newspapers. Moreover, the size of the regular reader of the regional and national newspaper is dismally small. Female lags behind the male in reading the newspapers. It was found that children school going age of a sizable portion of families do not go to school. The frequency of failing in exam is remarkably high; the children of 31% parents respondents have failed in school exam [...]" (Summary, page 104)
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