SIGNIS Media 2/2007: Niños y medios
Transcripción
SIGNIS Media 2/2007: Niños y medios
SIGNIS Media publication trimestrielle éditée par l’Association Catholique Mondiale pour la Communication quarterly publication of the World Catholic Association for Communication ABONNEMENT SIGNIS Media Subscription 1 an / 1 year / 1 año : 25 Euros 3 ans / 3 years / 3 años : 65 Euros publicación trimestral editada por la Asociación Católica Mundial para la Comunicación Mr/Mme/Mr/Ms/Sr/Sra ................................................................................................................. Rue Royale, 310 1210 Brussels, Belgium Tel: 32 02 734 97 08 Fax: 32 02 734 70 18 E-mail: [email protected] www.signis.net Pays/Country/País ..................................................................................................................... Adresse/Address/Dirección ......................................................................................................... Ville et Code/Town & City/Código Postal & Ciudad ................................................................... YES ! I subscribe OUI ! je m’abonne ¡SÍ! quiero suscribirme Editor: Augustine LOORTHUSAMY Sub-Editor: Guido CONVENTS Cover & Lay-out: Pascale HEYRBAUT Impression: Imprimerie VAN DER POORTEN Méthode de paiement / Choice of payment / Forma de pago: by Internet via our secured website : www.signis.net/publiform-en en ligne sur notre site sécurisé : www.signis.net/publiform-fr por internet en nuestro sitio web garantizado : www.signis.net/publiform-es by Credit Card (Carte de crédit - Tarjeta de crédito) : Name of card holder/Nom du titulaire/Nombre del titular .................................................... Correspondents & Translation team: Gustavo ANDÚJAR, Marc BOURGOIS, Anouk DE BOCK, Alvito DE SOUZA, Peter MALONE, Robert MOLHANT, Lawrence PIETERS, Pietro LICATA, Alberto RAMOS, Beatrice RAPHEL, Daniel VAN ESPEN, Ricardo YÁÑEZ. 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Hollywood Actor George Clooney Goes on Journey to Darfur - A number of famous Hollywood actors such as George Clooney, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Angelina Jolie and Mia Farrow are involved in giving a voice to the human tragedy in Darfur. George Clooney and his father Nick made a documentary for TV on the tragedy, called A Journey to Darfur. Now the film is being shown on a number of television stations world-wide. Award for Congolese Human Rights Defender - On 1st May 2007, the famous rock star Bono presented the third Front Line Award to Gégé Katana, a defender of human rights for over 25 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo, at a ceremony in Dublin's City Hall. Gégé Katana is the founder and president of the Solidarity Movement of Women Human Rights Activists based in Uvira. Gégé Katana's movements are routinely under surveillance. She was completely banned from travelling between 1996 and 2003. She has been arbitrarily arrested on several occasions and regularly receives death threats. The annual Front Line Award honours a human rights defender who has displayed exceptional courage in working non-violently for the rights of others as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Lucy Liu, Children and Unicef - In early 2007, the famous ChineseAmerican Hollywood actress Lucy Liu participated in UNICEF UpClose, an awarenessbuilding campaign powered by Yahoo! Answers. The UpClose programme is a new forum for discussing the challenges facing the world's most vulnerable children. She asked: "How do you save a child's life?" Lucy Liu was appointed U.S. Fund for UNICEF Ambassador in 2005. She is particularly committed to supporting UNICEF's HIV/AIDS awareness and education programmes. Early in 2006, Liu received an Asian SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 Mireille Darc, réalisation et vie religieuse - Mireille Darc est surtout connue comme actrice entre 1960 et 1980. Après cette période, elle se raréfie à l'écran et se consacre plutôt à la photographie, à la télévision et au théâtre. En 2006, pour réaliser Vivre d'amour, elle va à la rencontre de trois communautés religieuses : les Sœurs de Jérusalem, les Carmélites et les Xavières. A travers les témoignages de sœurs de tous âges et de différentes congrégations, la réalisatrice tente de rendre compréhensible la vie dans l'amour de Dieu et la foi. Ce film a été diffusé sur les écrans de la télévision française en avril 2007. Togo : une télévision catholique ? On bénéficiait déjà de radios au Togo, mais on espérait vivement la naissance d'une télévision catholique. Suite à l'appel d'offres pour l'attribution de deux canaux lancés en février 2007, TVC SPES a été déclarée adjudicataire pour l'attribution d'un canal TV en UHF à Lomé. TVC SPES signifie Télévision Catholique Espoir. L'attribution du canal de télévision constitue une étape très importante pour le projet, mais il reste sa mise en œuvre pour laquelle la compétence, la générosité et le dévouement de chacun sont attendus. La TVC SPES est une propriété de la Conférence des Evêques de Lomé, elle sera implantée à Lomé et couvrira progressivement tous les diocèses. CONTENTS Subscription 2 Notebook 3 Editorial 4 Coverstory: Children and Media A Media Education challenge 5 Cultural Diversity 11 News from everywhere 16 Media Education 21 TV Producers 22 Radio 24 Books 26 News 27 Présence Chrétienne - n°132 / avril 2007 (Foto: Michelino Roberto) El Papa Benedicto XVI - En Mayo 2007, el Papa Benedicto XVI saluda en San Pablo al jeque Armando Hussein Saleh, representante de la comunidad musulmana en Brasil y al rabino Henry Sobel. Sobel, además de jefe de la comunidad israelita de San Pablo, el mayor Estado del país, goza de gran prestigio en el mundo intelectual. El rabino contribuyó a hacer caer la dictadura militar en ese país sudamericano. Frente a la muerte del periodista judío Vladmir Herzog, se negó a enterrarlo como suicida fuera del cementerio. Desacreditó así la pretendida tesis de los militares sobre la muerte del comunicador. El suceso tuvo una gran resonancia nacional. 3 ÉDITORIAL N otre organisation a toujours eu dans ses priorités la thématique de la relation enfants-médias. Cela s'explique notamment par le fait que l'OCIC a facilité dans les années 1950 la naissance du Centre International du Film pour l'Enfance et de la Jeunesse (CIFEJ). Les relations entre cet organisme et l'UNICEF furent toujours très étroites jusque dans les années 1980, où le Père Léo Lunders nous quitta. Ce Père dominicain, délégué de l'OCIC, défendit en effet à un niveau mondial le cinéma pour l'enfance, et, ce faisant, il prônait " l'Education aux Médias ", sans utiliser toutefois ce terme à l'époque. Avec la disparition du Père Léo Lunders, les contacts avec le CIFEJ et l'UNICEF devinrent moins intenses et plutôt ponctuels. Ensuite, dans les années 1980 et surtout 1990, c'est Unda en accord avec l’OCIC qui mit en priorité l'Education aux Médias dans son travail, ceci avec un tel succès qu'un véritable réseau se constitua. Au fil des années, les héritages respectifs de l'OCIC et de Unda se sont finalement rejoints dans la politique de SIGNIS et connaissent à l'heure actuelle un développement extraordinaire. Le dossier principal de ce numéro en est la preuve. En effet, les activités de SIGNIS et la présence de ses membres au niveau de l'Education aux Médias ont été très remarquées au Sommet de Johannesburg, démontrant ainsi l'importance que SIGNIS accorde à ce domaine si passionnant. O ur organization has always had the theme of the relationship between children and the media as one of its priorities. This is partly explained by the fact that in the 1950s OCIC was one of the founding members of CIFEJ, the International Centre for Films for Children and Young People. Relations between CIFEJ and UNICEF were always very close until the 1980s when Father Léo Lunders left us. This Dominican priest, an OCIC representative, worked for cinema for children at the world level, and in so doing, could be said to have 'preached' Media Education without using the term. With the departure of Fr. Lunders the contacts with CIFEJ and UNICEF became less close and rather intermittent. Then in the 1980s and especially in 1990, Unda, in concert with OCIC, gave priority to Media Education. This was so successful that a real network was created. Today, many years later, the traditions of OCIC and Unda have come together in the work of SIGNIS which is, at present, experiencing an extraordinary flowering. This issue's main story is the proof. Indeed, the activities of SIGNIS and the presence of its members in Media Education were very noticeable at the Johannesburg Summit, thus showing the importance that SIGNIS attaches to this enthralling field. N uestra organización ha tenido siempre dentro de sus prioridades la temática infancia y medios. Lo que explica que la OCIC haya sido en los años 50s una de las impulsoras principales del nacimiento del Centro Internacional del Cine para la Infancia y la Juventud (CIFEJ, por sus iniciales en francés). Las relaciones entre nuestra organización y la UNICEF fueron muy estrechas hasta los años 80s, cuando el P. Léo Lunders dejó su dirección. Este sacerdote dominico, delegado de la OCIC, defendió a nivel mundial el cine para los niños, convirtiéndose de hecho, en uno de los pioneros de la "Educación para los Medios", sin utilizar ese término inexistente en aquel entonces. Con el fallecimiento del Padre Léo Lunders, las relaciones con CIFEJ y la UNICEF fueron siendo menos intensas y más bien puntuales. Luego, en los años 80s y sobre todo en los 90s, es Unda en acuerdo con la OCIC que toma la prioridad de la Educación para los Medios, con tal éxito que se constituye una verdadera red de comunicadores en ese campo. En estos últimos años, las tradiciones respectivas de la OCIC y de Unda se unen dentro las líneas de acción de SIGNIS llegando en la actualidad a un desarrollo significativo, la nota de tapa de este número es prueba de ello. En efecto, las actividades de SIGNIS y la presencia de sus miembros educomunicadores ha sido muy destacada en la Cumbre de Johannesburgo, demostrando así la importancia que tiene para SIGNIS este campo apasionante. Augustine Loorthusamy President E arly this year Pope Benedict XVI announced the theme of the 41st World Communications Day, "Children and the Media: a Challenge for Education". For SIGNIS, with members all over the world committed to Media Education for children and adolescents, the message invites reflection on the work that media educators do with children. The Holy Father's message comes out 30 years after our organization adopted Media Education as one of its main issues of concern. In November 1977 the Unda General Assembly, held in the Belgian city of Namur, approved the project "Developing Media Education". These two events highlight the relevance of the theme for SIGNIS and this issue of SIGNIS Media reflects that institutional preference. SIGNIS Media has already covered this theme twice before: in issue 4/2002 and issue 1/2004. The first one, entitled "Children under influence", analyzed the controversial theme of the effects of media on young people. The latter reviewed a number of different media education experiences for teenagers and young people. This issue will focus on the relationship that children have with media, both as consumers and also as producers. This theme is presented in the framework of the 5th World Summit on Media for Children (5WSMC) and the SIGNIS Media Education meeting that took place in Johannesburg (South Africa). The Summit, which gathered a thousand communication professionals and 300 children, is a significant opportunity to think about children and media. In the following pages you will find the highlights of the Summit, the impressions of three young communicators, and a review of Sr. Rose Paccatte's workshop that SIGNIS offered in the 5WSMC. Also you will find a brief report about the meeting of 11 SIGNIS media educators in Johannesburg to reflect on the work that the organization will do in the coming years in the field of Media Education. Lawrence John Sinnah 4 SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 COVERSTORY Children and media A Media Education challenge Johannesburg as a meeting point The World Summit for Media and Children movement (www.wsmcf.com) was founded by Dr. Patricia Edgar of Australia in 1993 to promote quality programming for children around the world. Since then, World Summits have taken place every three years beginning in 1995 in Australia, then London, Greece, Brazil, and this past March 24 - 28, in Johannesburg, South Africa. As a member of the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals, the U.S. affiliate of SIGNIS. I was privileged to be the SIGNIS North America delegate to this conference. About one thousand people, including and almost 300 children, participated in the Summit at Johannesburg. The Summit was a thoroughly wonderful African experience. It showcased "the diversity of the global children's media environment with a focus on developing countries' achievements." Numerous educators, media professionals and children from South Africa, Kenya, Canada, Israel, the Philippines, Italy, India, and the United States, emphasized the fact that children have something to say and want to be part of media production in their countries and communities - and that they all want peace. The parallel Summit programme for children focused on hands-on media production and cultural interludes featuring African song and dance. The children read their own poetry during meal times; these pieces were inspiring and reflected their deeply felt lives. A spokesperson from MediaSnackers (http://:mediasnackers.com), a site/weblog/ project/call to action, based in the UK, for people interested in how young people consume and create media across the globe, said about the Summit experience: "The World Summit was an enriching experience for MediaSnackers. Our involvement was to work with a group of youth delegates and enable them to become digital journalists. These young people then had the skills, SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 equipment and support to blog and vodcast the conference from their perspective and create a digital window for the conference organisers." Children also addressed the assembly of participants. In one of the most moving sessions, Tepetia, who as a 12-year old was abducted and forced to become a child soldier during Liberia's civil war, said that "Many [children] participated in killing. In some countries a volatile mixture of cocaine and gunpowder was given to make them careless in battle." Ian Stewart, a Canadian journalist, while covering the stories of children in Sierra Leone in 1999 was shot through the head by a child soldier (who was in turn shot and killed), is today paralyzed on his left side. He lamented the fact that of the more than 100 stories that he filed for North American news outlets about the plight of children in the midst of war and as victims of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, very few were ever published. Now a doctoral student of history in the United States, Stewart's contribution to the Summit was sobering and inspiring. In addition, 250,000 households in South Africa are headed by children because of the impact of HIV/AIDS deaths. The question: "how will this reality shape Africa's next generation, and that of the world" confronted educators, government officials, and information and entertainment media professionals present. This situation of children-raising-children is one of the greatest challenges to Africa and the world today. How these overwhelming realities coalesce with the U.N. global imperative to create and promote quality media productions, as expressed in the Convention for the Rights of the Child, for and by children, is a question that the World Summit was only barely able to address. Rose Paccatte The SIGNIS meeting after the Summit Following the decision that the SIGNIS Board of Management (BOM) did in 2006 the SIGNIS Media Education group did their meeting in South Africa in the frame of the 5WSMC. Eleven media educators from the Pacific, Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Latin America and the group of interna- Augustine Loorthusamy, President of SIGNIS, with Fiordoze Bulbulia, Chairperson of the 5th World Summit on Media for Children. 5 COVERSTORY tional members (see picture) got together to start building a plan for this field of action in which SIGNIS is committed. This meeting was the follow up of the fourday Symposium on Media Education that was held in Lyon in November 2005. The beginning sessions were for the redaction of the final version of the Charter for Media Education (see below). The second day was devoted to the writing of the mission, aims and strategies of the Global Media Education Network and the plan that the SIGNIS BOM will study on its next meeting in November of this year. Johannesburg SIGNIS Charter on Media Education Building a Global Community of Media Educators (I) Preamble SIGNIS recognizes the power of the media and their influence in all aspects of individual, community, and social life. The fact that we live in a mediated environment makes it imperative to promote Media Education. While media are meant to contribute to human development and wellbeing, not all media activities uphold human values and dignity. By their nature, national and global media influence people's consciousness and social life, often leading to the legitimatization of the status quo. Critical thinking skills are essential for citizens of the 21st century so that they may be active participants in existing and emerging democracies. This means that people interacting with media messages will be empowered to challenge social, political, and economic structures when these put at risk the person, the community, human development, or the environment. moral, and human values of empathy, freedom and responsibility, truth and justice, and peace and reconciliation, aims to promote Media Education as a human right and a moral imperative for all societies and their governments. This Charter is based on human and Gospel values and on the teachings of the Catholic Church, respecting all faiths in a spirit of dialogue. To achieve community-oriented global communication and promote a sustainable environment, so that the basic needs of all people can be met now and in the future, this Charter aims to offer an effective action platform to introduce, advocate, and promote Media Education at all levels. (ll) Rationale for Media Education Media Education provides a conceptual framework and methodology to develop awareness, access, analyse critically evaluate, and produce media in their various forms. Its definition encompasses three main dimensions: - - - Critical - developing the critical competence to analyse and assess the media as cultural, social and economic institutions; Creative - developing and enhancing creativity to enable the use of the media for expression, interpersonal communication and active participation in the public arena; Cultural - broadening knowledge and experience of different kinds of media forms, content, and technology. We believe that Media Education 1. Empowers people to interact and engage critically with the media in local and global socio-political, economic and cultural contexts; 2. Enables people, through the use of the media, to become active citizens able to exercise their democratic rights and responsibilities; 3. Engages people to analyse media messages in relation to their institutions, codes and conventions, audiences, technologies and ideologies; 4. Provides ways for people to make informed choices; 5. Inspires the creative and democratic use of the media to express and communicate ideas, information and opinions, as well as to entertain, in an effort to promote participation in the creation of content; 6. Encourages the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to shape and share alternative content, media products, and services to meet individual, community, and regional needs and interests; 7. Promotes interpersonal communication to build positive relationships, family life, and community; 8. Enhances the dignity of the human person and the potential for ethical/moral and spiritual development, in solidarity with the poor, and with SIGNIS Media Education meeting (from left to right): Fr. Tom Kunnel sdb (Kenya), Augustine Loorthusamy (Malaysia), Pablo Ramos (Cuba), Sr. Dominic Dipio (Uganda), Agatha Ferei (Fiji), Ricardo Yáñez (Argentina/USA), Delia Hernandez (Philippines), Adrián Baccaro (Argentina), Gianna Cappello (Italy), Sr. Rose Pacatte (USA) and Lawrence John Sinniah (Malaysia). Against this background, Media Education (Media Literacy, Critical Media Education and Edu-communication) enables people to examine media production, media strategies, media ownership, the ways knowledge and meaning are made, as well as the capacity of the media to contribute to the common good and to empower citizens. This Johannesburg SIGNIS Charter on Media Education, animated by spiritual, 6 SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 COVERSTORY respect for the earth and cultural diversity. (III) Aims of the Charter The Charter proposes to launch a Global Network of Media Educators (GNME) that will: 1. Strengthen continuing Media Education efforts by both individuals and organizations; 2. Develop regional leadership for Media Education activities; 3. Develop strategic Media Education programmes, curricula and events; 4. Produce and make available print, electronic, and web resources for regional and global use. 5. Advocate the institutionalization of Media Education as part of national educational policies, and formal, informal and non-formal educational processes, and teacher training; 6. Conduct ongoing research to reflect changing realities and to assess Media Education initiatives; and 7. Establish a SIGNIS desk to co-ordinate the activities of the GNME. (IV) The Way Forward As citizens of the world in a multimedia age, we, members of SIGNIS, declare the importance of Media Education in strengthening the values of family, school, faith communities, public institutions, and society as a whole. Through this Johannesburg SIGNIS Charter on Media Education, we want to join hands with media professionals, cultural groups, and agencies that work to empower children, young and older people, women, and marginalized communities to participate actively to transform our mediated world into one of justice, peace and democracy for all. Mandela Bridge in Johannesburg Children participating in the Summit Avhatali Nekokhane is 15 years old and is from Limpopo, South Africa. She has some media experiences because of what she did in her school. She is quiet and serene. During the Summit she attended the radio workshop. "I learnt how to do an interview she said and for her the best of this event was to learn about other rights and to meet other children". Ida Ingmansson is 17 years old and is from Stockholm, Sweden. In her country she is doing a Media Monitoring Program supported by the Global College. "I've seen a lot of very interesting speakers, for example one child soldier who told his story". For her the most interesting projects in the Summit were those of children producing media. "We don't have them in Sweden she told us-, so I'm going to talk about them back in my country. The biggest problem with the children is how they are represented in media, often with stereotypes". Aníbal Obregón tiene 18 años y es de Argentina. Participa de la experiencia de producción para jóvenes "Desde Abajo Cine" que se realiza en la Provincia de Buenos Aires. En la Cumbre participó de un taller de animación. Para él lo mejor fue que se sentió cómodo, como en su casa. "Uno de los temas que me preocupa agregó Aníbal- es que en Argentina los medios discriminan a los adolescentes sin mostrar lo bueno que cada persona tiene; para mí los medios deben fomentar lo bueno que tenemos y cuanto valemos como personas. Cuando vuelva voy a intentar luchar por esto, transmitir esta experiencia y ver como todos juntos podemos solucionar los problemas que nos afectan a todos". A voice for children in the Media The 5th World Summit focused on a number of significant issues. A good number of impressions have got stuck on my mind. Hearing the voices of children with their raw directness, spontaneity and sincerity was remarkable. Adults were surprised realizing that children can speak/read so eloquently! Adults do not offer them many such opportunities. But the Summit showed that they wanted to speak! I was impressed by this bubbling energy of young people to express themselves: they SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 have opinions about the media, and they have their expectations of the media which have not often been met. Following this, what I returned home beaming with, was the desire to create space for children to express themselves in their own voices. In cultural contexts like mine, where adults are used to giving orders to children, the challenge now is to open up and learn to listen to what kids have to say; not in an opinionated manner, but with an open-mindedness that appreciates their points of view. Because we are adults, it does not mean we know it all! dr Dominic Dipio 7 COVERSTORY The SIGNIS participation in the Summit Father Chris Townsend, Communication/Information Officer of the South African Bishops' Conference and pastor of a local parish in Johannesburg, and Sr Rose Pacatte co-presented the SIGNIS workshop. Townsend addressed the role and challenges of children producing their own media within the limited possibilities of the South African Church, although opportunities for radio production certainly exist. He described the local situation and the challenges to dialogue between faith leaders of various churches and communities and key media makers about the quality of television content for children and families as well as the possibility to develop and broadcast specifically religious programming. Sr. Pacatte's presentation focused on "Helping Kids Mind the Media". She began by highlighting some points on faith formation (catechesis) in the popular culture environment. She then presented a four-part strategy for media mindfulness based on theological reflection, developed by Sr. Gretchen Hailer, RSHM, that anyone can use when engaged with any form of media. (For Sr. Pacatte's complete report see www.signis.net) Rose Pacatte NIÑOS Y MEDIOS Un desafío para la educomunicación A comienzos de año el Papa Benedicto XVI dio a conocer el tema de la cuadragésima primera Jornada de las Comunicaciones Sociales, “Los niños y los medios de comunicación social: un reto para la educación”. Para SIGNIS, con miembros en todo el mundo comprometidos en la educación para la comunicación de niños y adolescentes, el mensaje invita a reflexionar sobre el trabajo que los educomunicadores llevan adelante con este grupo etario. El mensaje del Santo Padre llega a los 30 años de que nuestra organización adoptara la educomunicación como una de sus preocupaciones centrales. Fue en noviembre de 1977 en la Asamblea General de Unda realizada en la ciudad belga de Namur con el proyecto “Desarrollando la Educación para los Medios”. Por lo que este año queda doblemente marcado por el interés que despierta este tema y el presente número de SIGNIS Media se hace eco de esa opción institucional. Nuestra publicación había hecho dos acercamientos a la temática, en el número 4/2002 y en el número 1/2004. El primero, con el título “Niños bajo influencia”, analizó el controvertido tema de los efectos de los 8 Los preescolares en frente de la TV en Chile El estudio del Consejo Nacional de Televisión (CNTV) ha confirmado que los preescolares tienen una alta exposición a programas de TV dirigidos a otras edades. Se trata de toons, menores de 6 años, que pretende saber cómo son los televidentes de esa edad. ¿Por qué denominar a estos niños como toons? La palabra está inspirada en el hecho de que esta franja etaria ve muchos "cartoons" -programas de animación-. Después de haber observado un gran número de niños en jardines infantiles y hogares de todos los estratos socioeconómicos, los investigadores concluyen que los toons son un grupo que tiene bastante más autonomía y capacidad de elección de la que se creía y de la que mostró este mismo grupo etario en estudios de 1994 y 1999. La influencia que ellos tienen sobre la familia es también muy importante, ya que los niños de 6 años toman hoy decisiones respecto a qué ropa usar, qué sabor de leche beber o qué golosina comer, o qué actividad desean hacer en familia. Lo más sorprendente es que los propios padres estimulan esta temprana autonomía, explicó María Dolores Souza -psicóloga del CNTV. Los toons pasan no solamente varias horas al día viendo televisión pero también películas en DVD y VHS, y usando videojuegos y otras tecnologías. Es increíble constatar que muchos niños permanecen hasta 14 horas por día en frente de un televisor, que sirve en muchos hogares como telón de fondo. Los preescolares pueden llegar a estar concentrados hasta cuatro horas. De este modo ven programas que no están dirigidos a su edad, lo que afecta la relación con sus padres. "Ellos comentan y preguntan lo que no entienden" explica la psicóloga. Muchas veces son informaciones a las que los preescolares no deberían tener acceso, porque no tienen la capacidad para procesarla. Finalmente, pasar tanto tiempo solos frente a los medios, impide en ellos desarrollar otras habilidades, como las sociales o la creatividad. Info: El Mercurio SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 NOTA DE TAPA medios en una audiencia menuda. El último se ocupó de dar cuenta de una importante cantidad de experiencias que existen de educación para la comunicación para adolescentes y jóvenes. Este ejemplar hará foco en la relación que los niños tienen con los medios, como destinatarios pero también como productores. El tema se analiza en el marco de la realización en Johannesburgo (Sudáfrica) de la 5ª Cumbre Mundial de Medios para Niños (5CMMN) y del encuentro de educadores para la comunicación de SIGNIS. La Cumbre, que reunió a mil profesionales de la comunicación y a 300 chicos, es un escenario propicio para pensar la relación niñosmedios. Se describe en las páginas siguientes los pasajes más salientes la Cumbre, testimonios de tres chicos comunicadores y la reseña de la Hna. Rose Paccatte del taller que SIGNIS tuvo en la 5CMMN. Brevemente también se relata el encuentro que once educomunicadores de SIGNIS celebraron en Johannesburgo para pensar el trabajo que la organización llevará adelante en los próximos años en el campo de la Educación para la Comunicación. mientas para la paz y la democracia. El millar de delegados escuchó atento cuando el prelado se dirigió a los 300 niños y niñas de 88 países para decirles: “Nunca es demasiado temprano para comprometerse con los medios, no tan sólo como consumidores, sino también como participantes activos”. El obispo estuvo presente en las cinco jornadas de la Cumbre, asistiendo a talleres y paneles. Los miembros de la delegación internacional de SIGNIS pudieron mantener una fluida comunicación con él que reconoció el trabajo que la asociación hace en este campo. Lawrence John Sinniah Los miembros de SIGNIS estuvieron muy activos realizando relaciones públicas, avanzando en el camino hacia futuras alianzas que permitan fortalecer la misión y comunes objetivos. Augustine Loorthusamy, Presidente de SIGNIS, presentó su ponencia en el plenario de “Los medios como recurso para construcción de la paz” en el Salón Principal junto a Sarah Crowe, Directora Regional de UNICEF. Sus palabras fueron muy bien recibidas por los asistentes. Fue también convocante el taller organizado por SIGNIS sobre Johannesburgo como punto de encuentro La importancia de la participación de SIGNIS en las Cumbres Mundiales de Comunicación, en este caso la de los Medios de Comunicación con la infancia y la juventud, radica en la oportunidad de insertar a la institución en los movimientos globales que, promovidos por la sociedad civil, intentan involucrarse en las transformaciones necesarias que conduzcan al respeto generalizado de los derechos humanos, de la infancia y de la comunicación. Más allá de la diversidad cultural y religiosa presente en este tipo de encuentros, la voz de los comunicadores católicos es atentamente escuchada en estos ámbitos y es muy tenida en cuenta por los profesionales y organizaciones de todas las naciones. Esto se puso de manifiesto en la 5CMMN que con el lema “Medios: instrumento para la paz y la democracia global” se realizó entre el 25 y el 28 de marzo en Johannesburgo, Sudáfrica, con la presencia y la palabra de Monseñor John Patrick Foley (Presidente del Pontificio Consejo para las Comunicaciones Sociales) quien tuvo un lugar destacado en la Ceremonia de Apertura. Sus palabras indicaron el camino para trabajar en las acciones necesarias para que los medios realmente sean herra- SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 La delegación estuvo representada por todas las regiones del mundo (África, Asia, Pacífico, Europa, América del Norte y América Latina). La integraron: Augustine Loorthusamy (Malasia), Lawrence John Sinniah (Malasia), Delia Hernandez (Filipinas), Agatha Ferei (Fiji), Gianna Cappello (Italia), Hna. Dominic Dipio (Uganda), P. Tom Kunnel (Kenia), Hna. Rose Pacatte (EE.UU.), Ricardo Yáñez (EE.UU./Argentina), Pablo Ramos (Cuba) y Adrián Baccaro (Argentina). Religiosidad y Medios de Comunicación que llevaron adelante el P. Chris Townsend (representante de SIGNIS en Sudáfrica) y la Hna. norteamericana Rose Pacatte. (Ver recuadro en página 8) Los delegados de SIGNIS tuvieron la oportunidad de acceder a múltiples experiencias e informaciones sobre temas de Educomunicación, políticas de comunicación, regulación, proyectos y realizaciones de diversas ONGs, creatividad en la producción, novedosas aplicaciones en el campo de las TICs, actividades de comunicación comunitarias, etc. Será su compromiso transmitir o socializar lo aprendido a todos aquellos que en las regiones asuman el compromiso de trabajar en comunicación, medios y derechos de la infancia. Para ello es fundamental la creación de bases de datos que concentren la información y redes que faciliten el diálogo y el intercambio para enriquecer la tarea cotidiana. La futura Red Global de Educomunicación puede tener un rol decisivo en este aspecto. La evaluación realizada por la delegación de SIGNIS incluyó, entre otras ideas, una carta que se envió al Consejo de Administración de la Fundación de las Cumbres realizadas hasta 2007. También se recibió una síntesis de lo actuado en la Cumbre de Johannesburgo de parte de Firdoze Bulbulia, Directora del encuentro, donde se destaca la participación de SIGNIS que por tercera vez se ha hecho presente en estos encuentros. Adrián Baccaro Ricardo Yáñez Mons. John P. Foley (Presidente del Pontificio Consejo para las Comunicaciones Sociales), Augustine Loorthusamy (Presidente de SIGNIS) y Agatha Ferei (Fiji) en el almuerzo de clausura de la Cumbre. 9 COVERSTORY ENFANTS ET MÉDIAS Un défi pour l'éducation aux médias A u début de l'année, le pape Benoît XVI annonçait le thème de la 41ème Journée mondiale des communications sociales : “ Les enfants et les moyens de communication sociale : un défi pour l'éducation “. SIGNIS compte de nombreux membres engagés dans l'éducation à la communication des enfants et des adolescents. Pour SIGNIS, l'Association Catholique Mondiale pour la Communication, le message invite à une réflexion sur le travail des éducateurs aux médias avec ce public cible. Le message du Saint-Père retentit alors que voici déjà 30 ans que notre organisation fait de l'Éducation aux médias une de ses principales préoccupations. C'est en effet en novembre 1977 que l'Assemblée Générale de Unda, réunie à Namur (Belgique), a pris cette décision dans le cadre d'un projet intitulé " Dans la perspective du développement de l'Éducation aux Médias ". Cette année se trouve de la sorte doublement marquée par l'intérêt que suscite ce thème et il est naturel que le présent numéro de SIGNIS Media se fasse l'écho de ce choix institutionnel. Notre publication avait déjà fait deux approches de cette thématique respectivement dans les numéros 4/2002 et 1/2004. Le premier, sous le titre " Enfants sous influence " analysait le thème controversé des effets des médias sur une audience d'enfants. Le second s'est attelé à rendre compte de bon nombre d'expériences d'éducation aux médias réalisées auprès d'adolescents et de jeunes. Il s'est focalisé sur la relation que les enfants ont avec les médias, non seulement en tant que destinataires, mais également en tant que producteurs. Ce thème a fait l'objet d'analyses au marché de la réalisation à Johannesburg à l'occasion du 5ème Sommet Mondial des Médias pour les Enfants et de la rencontre des éducateurs à la Communication de SIGNIS. Ce sommet, qui a rassemblé quelque 1000 professionnels de la communication et 300 enfants, a été une scène de choix pour réfléchir à la relation enfant-médias. Les pages de ce dossier reprennent les passages les plus saillants du Sommet, les témoignages de trois enfants communicateurs et le compte-rendu fait par sœur Rose Pacatte de l'atelier que SIGNIS a animé dans le cadre du 5ème Sommet Mondial des Médias pour les Enfants. Aussi le lecteur trouve un rapport de la réunion à Johannesburg. Quelque onze éducateurs 10 aux médias de SIGNIS y ont participé en vue de déterminer le travail dans lequel l'organisation va s'engager au cours des prochaines années dans le champ de l'éducation aux médias. Augustine Loorthusamy Johannesburg : le théâtre de la rencontre Pour SIGNIS, participer à des sommets mondiaux de la communication consacré avec l'enfance et la jeunesse est de première importance. C'est l'occasion d'insérer l'institution dans les mouvements globaux qui, portés par la société civile, tentent de s'engager dans les transformations nécessaires œuvrant au respect généralisé des droits humains, de l'enfance et de la communication. Au-delà de la diversité culturelle présente dans ce type de rencontres, la voix des communicateurs catholiques est écoutée attentivement dans ces périmètres, et prise en considération par les professionnels et organisations de toutes les nations. Ceci a été clairement remarqué au cours du 5ème Sommet Mondial des Médias pour les Enfants. Celui-ci avait pour thème "Les médias : instruments pour la paix et la démocratie dans le monde" s’est déroulé du 25 au 28 mars à Johannesburg. Monseigneur John Patrick Foley, Président du Conseil Pontifical pour les Communications Sociales, assurait la présidence de cette assemblée qui s'est tenue dans un lieu en symbiose avec la cérémonie d'ouverture. Ses paroles ont ouvert la voie et présenté le travail et les actions nécessaires à l'avènement de médias qui soient effectivement des instruments au service de la paix et de la démocratie. La délégation de SIGNIS représentait toutes les régions du monde (Afrique, Pacifique, Europe, Amérique du Nord et Amérique latine) ainsi que le groupe international (voir photo en page 6). Les membres de SIGNIS se sont montrés très actifs sur le plan des relations publiques. Ils ont progressé sur le chemin qui conduit à de futures alliances permettant de renforcer notre mission et nos objectifs communs. Augustine Loorthusamy, Président de SIGNIS, a fait part de ses propositions lors de l'Assemblée plénière qui se tenait au salon principal et s'intitulait "Les médias, des outils pour construire la paix". Ses propos ont été très bien reçus par les participants. Ils faisaient suite à l'intervention de Sarah Crowe, Directrice Régionale de l'UNICEF. L'atelier organisé par SIGNIS sur le thème "Religiosité et Moyens de communication" était animé conjointement par le Père Chris Townsend (représentant de SIGNIS en Afrique du Sud) et la Sœur Nord-américaine Rose Pacatte. (voir encadré en page 8). Adrián Baccaro Ricardo Yáñez The SIGNIS delegation at the Apartheit Museum. SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 DIVERSITÉ CULTURELLE Human relations cultural diversity and painful memories D uring the first quarter of the year, SIGNIS members participated in different film festivals in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America. Recurrent themes which were found in the presented and awarded films were: human relationships in families and among children, cultural diversity and how film is a part of overcoming the traumas of the past and also a way of remembering. Spirits talking to the living The ecumenical award at the Fribourg film festival Le cercle des noyés (Drowned in oblivion) by the Belgian director PierreYves Vandeweerd, is one of those films which looks to the past. The title of the film is the term for a group of political prisoners arrested in Mauritania in 1986 because of their fight for equal rights for Blacks, and who, cut off from the outside world, were incarcerated in a fortress in the desert for years. There they had to endure inhumane conditions, humiliation, forced labour, and torture. It is a film about political tyranny, misuse of power, injustice, and torture. As such, it can be understood not only as a gesture against forgetting, but also as a parable that can extend as far as Guantánamo. At Fribourg the ecumenical jury gave a commendation to Junun (by Fadhel Jaibi), a film about a young, schizophrenic Tunisian, Nun, who is a patient in a psychiatric clinic, where he meets a therapist who asks him questions and who listens. While he comes to terms with his past, the therapist puts her future at stake. For what gives her the right to poke her nose into the life of her patient and his family? It is almost common for film-makers in Arab countries to show schizophrenic characters in order to give them the chance to criticise a society, which has placed them in such an alienated position. This device is also seen in the Algerian film Bled Number One, where a woman is forced to obey oppressive traditional laws. She ends in an asylum in Constantine where she in her madness denounces her inhuman environment. In Latin America the unresolved political, and above all, juridical traumas of recent history SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 4 de julio, de Juan Pablo Young y Pablo Hernán Zubizarreta. El Jurado (Festival de Mar del Plata) concedió esta distinción especial por rescatar la memoria de un crimen que enlutó a la Argentina y a la humanidad; y hacerlo con valentía, respeto por la verdad histórica y calidad cinematográfica; al documental sobre el asesinato de sacerdotes y seminaristas palotinos. are still hanging over the (democratic) future of many countries. The Chilean short film Treinta Anos expresses this tension; directed by Nicolás Lasnibat, it got an award in Toulouse and a commendation at the Mar del Plata film festival. An old man whose wife and unborn child were murdered and hidden by the Pinochet regime comes back after thirty years of living as a political refugee in Paris. He sees that nobody is really interested in what happened in those days and that nobody wants to come to terms with the crimes of that undemocratic regime. In that same category of films the SIGNIS jury in Mar del Plata gave a special award to the film The 4th of july 1976. This film looks back to the massacre at St. Patrick’s in Buenos Aires, where five Pallotine priests and seminarians were killed. According to Peace Nobel Prizewinner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, this massacre was a thoroughly planned, well-coordinated operation. The killers targeted them as a warning to the Catholic Church and to frighten the increasingly rebellious intellectual middle-class, who didn’t accept the military coup. These priests were one of the first of the 30,000 victims of the military regime that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. Officially nobody knows who did it, but all the evidence presented in the film, indicated that a para-military group, perhaps linked to the Navy secret police (Esma), were the killers. The Church did not encourage a full investigation and they attributed the murder to the rebels. In this way the Catholic hierarchy, like the Bishops’ Conference were openly backing the military junta. A priest who survived the massacre and who was sent to Rome to be out of the reach of the death squads was completely ignored by the Church and treated as if he were a terrorist. The film ends with a Mass in which the events are commemorated three decades later and where the Cardinal (and with him the Bishops’ Conference) denounces those times and its crimes. It is one of the most emotional films about Argentina, the Church, and also the courage of those who decided to be with and to work for the poor. Another documentary, Angelelli, la palabra viva was dedicated to the assassination of bishop Enrique Angelelli on August 4th, 1976. When Pinochet took power in Chile, many talented people left the country. One of them was film-maker Patricio Guszman, who fled with his family to Cuba. His daughter Camila Guzmán Urzua went to school in Cuba and became a Cuban. Although the Cuban regime was a safe haven for them, and although the family sympathised with the regime, Camila made a very sharp portrait and analysis of the last twenty years (19832003) of what happened in Cuban society. Her starting and reference point is the school she went to. In the eighties everybody believed in the slogans of the revolution… then the wall came down, the Russians did not support the Cubans anymore. Then it became clear that Cuba lived in a dream, an unrealistic bubble, but, and that shocked Camila, the slogans and government information (propaganda) did not change. Her documentary is an honest but also a tragic way of looking at the Cuban revolution and its last twenty years. One 11 DIVERSITÉ CULTURELLE positive element is that the film Telón de Azúcar was made thanks to the Cuban film industry. The film got the SIGNIS award at Les Rencontres cinéma d’Amérique Latine in Toulouse. At the 17th African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival of Milan the SIGNIS award went to Daratt, a film from Tchad which already had a commendation from the SIGNIS jury in Venice in 2006. This film is the third feature film made by Mahamat Saleh Haroun. Daratt is in the tradition of Haroun’s work but the presence of Sissako can clearly be seen. The film tells in a sober and very visual way the story of someone who intends to revenge the killing of his father and who lives with the killer waiting for the exact moment to murder him. This time it is a kind of Stockholm syndrome. The young man who wants to kill discovers that his father’s murderer is also a man, and even a good man, with a family. The man even wants to adopt him as a son. Haroun brings into his story a lot of suspense. The boy hesitates, takes a decision and then does something unpredictable. The film is important for Africa, where blood feud between individuals, families or tribes is the engine of bloodshed over generations and even of war. Daratt shows that humanism and openness to the other is important and can be a solution to stop the eternal circle of violence. It is a film which definitely promotes a culture of peace. The same could be said of The Island by the Russian director Pavel Lounguine. What is the future for someone who has killed and betrayed? How can this change his life? Pavel tells the story of such a person who was forced to kill his friend in the Second World War. The murderer, consumed by guilt, sees the only way to redeem himself is to go to a monastery on a island and to live as a hermit. But to protect himself from the other monks he behaves strangely. Visitors to the monastery think that he has the power to heal and to exorcise demons and foretell the truth. The hermit knows in himself that this is a lie. He cannot exorcise the demons of the past… and the way he lives as a hermit can also be seen as a lie. Some see the story as a parable of recent Russia history. The demons (undemocratic rulers) of the past are still there and they are not yet overcome which means that they weigh on the future. Here the bad spirits still talk to the living. The Balkan wars of the 1990s have also left many scars and traumas and are a constant source for artists and film-makers. The Croat, Goran Devic, wants to oppose in his short film, I Have Nothing To Say To You, the process of denial in a small Croatian city after the war. Without facing the truth, and finishing with the demons of the past, darkness will prevail and will probably be the source for further conflict. This film got an Ecumenical commendation at the Oberhausen film festival. Another Ecumenical commendation at Oberhausen was given to We Will Win, by Mahmoud Hojeij, who shows an attempt by three men to solve the over sixty-year-old Arab-Israeli conflict. They are in Paris to tackle in eight minutes all the political, economic and psychological issues. The Legacy, which received a SIGNIS commendation in Las Palmas, is an interesting film about relations between families in the mountains of Georgia. Here three French tourists and their translator meet an old man, his grandson and an empty casket. They discover that the two are on a journey to their enemy’s village, where the old man will be killed to settle a longstanding blood feud. In Milan the SIGNIS jury gave a commendation to the animated film L’arbre aux esprits, directed by Cicilia Sawadogo (she was born in Germany, lived a while in Africa Le Cercle des noyés de Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd Prix oecuménique à Fribourg Le Cercle des noyés est le nom donné aux détenus politiques noirs en Mauritanie, enfermés à partir de 1987 dans l’ancien fort colonial de Oualata. Ce film donne à découvrir le délicat travail de mémoire livré par l’un de ces anciens détenus qui se souvient de son histoire et de celle de ses compagnons. En écho, les lieux de leur enfermement se succèdent dans leur nudité, dépouillés des traces de ce passé. 12 and is at present living in Canada). Her animation brings the spectator into the African metaphysical world, where (good) spirits talk with the living. In that sense the Argentinean documentary Next to be Gone (Los próximos pasados) is similar to L’arbre aux esprits. This is the second documentary film by Lorena Muñoz. It received the International Critics’ Prize and a SIGNIS commendation. It is about a lost mural painted by the famous Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896-1974) in Argentina. Munoz’s film is like a spirit who wants to say something to the Argentina of today. Film director Munoz goes back to the Siqueiros mural painting made in 1933 in Buenos Aires. Munoz is interested in the story because it says something about her country and also the neglect of history. This film has a lot in common with her previous documentary, co-directed with Sergio Wolf, I Don’t Know What Your Eyes Have Done to Me (Yo no sé qué me han hecho tus ojos, 2003). She seems to consider the loss of this painting as a kind of metaphor for the loss of Argentinean (cultural) identity… remarked film critic, Nelson Carro, in an article for Fipresci in 2006. The idea of loss, disappearance and forgetfulness, is the basis of both of Lorena Muñoz’s films, “but it is also fundamental to many Argentine cinematographic and literary works, products of a country whose identity is based on the absence of an identity. In this sense, Next to Be Gone can also be seen as an allegory about Argentina’s own history, which generally has to be constructed out of gaps and fragments.” Human relationships in their complexity The first SIGNIS award at the Las Palmas Film Festival went to Half Nelson, a film about a heroic teacher who is dedicated to his work. He is a crack addict, with a very confusing personal life. His job is the only thing what keeps him going, even when it is in a rundown Brooklyn high school, where he coaches the girls’ basketball team and teaches history to a class of mostly AfricanAmericans. He is a genuinely charismatic figure: alert, energetic, and clearly enthusiastic who stimulates the schoolkids. SIGNIS awards at Mar del Plata such as Ficció and El Otro are looking at crucial moments in a man’s life which have consequences for his future relationships and family. The film Ficció, also awarded by the international jury in Mar del Plata, is made by Catalan director Cesc Gay. It is a really simple but a well done, beautifully muted, intimate exploration of an unexpected relationship. Alex is a successful married film-maker in his SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 DIVERSIDAD CULTURAL forties. One day he has a problem in finishing a new script. He decides to look for inspiration in the solitude of the mountains. So he leaves his wife and children for a few days and goes to stay in a friend’s summer house. Everything seems reasonable, or is he passing through a kind of midlife crises? Then his friend introduces him to a young woman who is a musician. She lives in the mountains and has an uncomplicated life. Soon they are mutually attracted to one another, but they also know that they are committed to others whom they do not want to hurt. The film is looking at normal life and feelings, expressing what is important in life and the importance of family values. As a journalist correctly wrote, in Ficció the emotional power lies equally in words unspoken and caresses denied. For him as well as the SIGNIS jury, this film is a wonderful love story for adults. El Otro is by the Argentinean director Ariel Rotter. As in Ficció the main character is a man in his forties who is happily married. His wife is expecting a baby. He takes care of his father with whom he has a wonderful relationship. But apparently there is something wrong with this life. Is it a midlife crisis? He is wondering if life could have been more for him. He has to leave for a one-day business trip outside Buenos Aires. He is sitting next to a man who is almost the same age as him. When he arrives he finds out that the man has died. Instead of returning home, he finds out the dead man’s name and takes a room at the local hotel, and says he is a doctor. He is confronted with the effect of his lie as a women in the hotel has a heart attack and by chance he saves her life… which somehow also saves his own life. As he wanders in the night, he thinks about committing suicide. It is a healing experience and he discovers his tastes and his basic instincts again. He decides to go home, stronger from the spiritual experience, and to be a better father for his yet unborn child. In Ariel Rotter’s words: “Over the years, I believe that all of my films have been about the same subject. From my first short films to El Otro, I am always aware of the time allotted to us in life, and the question of what we do with this time preoccupies me.” Children and families looking for happiness In The Unpolished (Die Unerzogenen), the SIGNIS award at the Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival, a fourteen-yearold girl sees that her parents, hippies without any structure in their life and family, will destroy her life. They are on drugs and involved in illicit activities. She wants to have a normal and regular family life and decides SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 that if she wants to survive and have a future, she has to take responsibility for it. So she takes both her life and her parents’, in her hands. The Russian film, The Italian, by Andrei Kravchuk, a SIGNIS award at the film festival in Hong Kong, is a film for young people. Full of suspense and adventure, it is completely different from most mainstream products from Hollywood. The main character of this epic story is a six-year-old Russian boy who decides to run away from an orphanage with the help of a teenage prostitute to find his mother, rather than be sold to a wealthy couple in Italy. The film is also about life in a Russian orphanage. “It’s like a story by Charles Dickens, adapted by Gogol, and directed by Roberto Rossellini: inexorable, reformist, devastating, with the sentiment balanced by an overwhelming compassion” a critic wrote. It is a strong feature film, directed like a documentary. Kravchuk lives in St. Peterburg, in a city where thousands of children have been living on the streets since the 1990s. His story is also partly based on a real story of a young orphan who learnt to read and write so he could run away to look for his mother. For his actors, the director chose mostly orphans, and their expressions of sadness or helplessness are not faked. The SIGNIS commendation at the Hong Kong film festival went to a first film. Fresh Air portrays in a very subtle and fine way an impossible mother-daughter relationship in a small Hungarian town. Both the mother and her 17-year-old daughter are painfully lonely but would never openly admit it to each other, or to the outside world. The mother, who works as a toilet attendant, hopes that one day she will find a man. Her life is full of routines. She irritates her daughter who doesn’t like her mother’s job. They are living together, in tension and without real dialogue. The only place where they find themselves together in their loneliness is in front of the television when they watch an Italian soap together. Although this psychological drama has a suffocating atmosphere in giving an insight into family relationships in today’s world, this very visual film is also full of emotions and humour. In the Senegalese short film Oumy et moi, the young director Adams Sie tells his and Oumy’s story. She is a girl with a very strong personality and great appeal, who works hard to pass her exams. But Oumy is an albino. Adams loves her for who she is, at the cost of clashing with the community, starting with his parents. It is a wonderful, honest and also courageous self-portrait of a young couple who break down taboos and live their love despite prejudice. It received a commendation from the SIGNIS jury in Milan. Prix SIGNIS au festival Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Half Nelson by Ryan Fleck Brillant professeur dans un lycée de Brooklyn, Dan enseigne avec passion à des adolescents en difficulté. Cependant dans sa vie privée Dan est au bord du gouffre, il s'enfonce chaque jour un peu plus dans le désespoir et la drogue. Un jour après les cours, une de ses jeunes élèves surprend son professeur en train de fumer du crack. En dépit de leur différence d'âge et de situation, leurs destins se croisent à un moment crucial de leur existence, où tout peut encore basculer d'un côté comme de l'autre. www.festivalcinelaspalmas.com Social realities and complexities of today The prize of the Interreligious jury at the Nyon documentary film festival Visions du Réel went to Welcome Europa, by the French director Bruno Ulmer. In his documentary Ulmer follows a number of young men, Moroccans, Romanians and Kurds who want to find their way to Europe. He shows people who have fled their countries for political reasons or whose social conditions and poverty give them only one way out: leaving home to find a solution and a life elsewhere. But most of them do not find the solution in Europe. They are often lost in bureaucratic structures, dealing with racism and mistrust. Most of them end up at the bottom of society. The agile camera of Ulmer captures the raw existence on the streets of those he depicts. In black-and-white intermezzos, they speak in detail and very candidly about their past and the problems that they face. Their introduction to modern and prosperous Europe is disconcerting to say the least. It is almost impossible to survive on the streets without ending up in 13 DIVERSITÉ CULTURELLE prostitution, but they refuse to give up their dignity just like that. Ulmer has a special film style; he forces the spectator to look at the migrants as individuals in their own story, filming them in close-up and bringing their face and feelings to the screen. The Ecumenical Prize film at the Oberhausen short and animation film festival, Tolya, by Rodeon Brodsky (Israel), also talks about migrants. Brodsky depicts in his short film how on International Women’s Day, when all his fellow foreign workers in Israel call their wives to greet them, the Russian Tolya remains speechless as he calls Natasha, his wife. His toothless mouth can’t pronounce anything but a whistling mumble. But he manages, through a surprising action, to make his wife and himself laugh on the telephone. At the Nyon Film Festival, the John Templeton Foundation gave an award to State Legislature by the American documentary film-maker Frederick Wiseman. He wanted to film the process of the working of democracy, at a time when people doubt the democratic procedures in the US. He shows the day-to-day activities of the Idaho Legislature, including committee meetings, debates of the House and Senate, informal discussions, meetings with lobbyists, constituents, the public and the press. He does it in his own well-known way, namely by observation and letting the images speak. In his film you see no interviews and there is no commentary. A critic said that this makes clear the arduous interpersonal process of democratic decision-making itself. She was also touched by the way Wiseman quite incidentally shows a distillation of white, Christian America, “which for many has lost its attractiveness as a healing exporter of values.” And for her, Wiseman’s observational gesture shows that it is worth taking a closer look to understand complex contexts and to allow for contradictions. Questioning one’s own prejudices then takes care of itself. It is clear that the workings of a democratic government are not of interest solely to Americans, but, because so many countries in the world are currently trying to adopt a democratic form of government, the issues presented have relevance on a global scale. In that sense the documentary is an example of the achievements, values, constraints and limitations of the democratic process. Almost in the tradition of Wiseman, the Brazilian directors Gregorio Graziosi and Thereza Menezes look in their short film Saba at the world of care homes, where old people live in a routine waiting for their end. The film-makers have made an impressive document, respecting the old people they depict. 14 The transformational power of film Films have world-wide influence. The American way, for example, has been seen and heard and often imitated in the most remote places on earth. The Argentinean film Stars (Estrellas), by the Argentinean directors Federico León and Marcos Martínez, depicts another reality. It is a humorous portrait of a shanty town in Buenos Aires where the population offer themselves as actors to film-makers. Julio Arrieta (photo) started a cultural centre, an agency to search for film work for him and his neighbours, and he does this by turning their impoverished appearances into a virtue, getting them jobs as onscreen thieves and crooks. He even had contact with Hollywood director Alan Parker, when he prepared the film Evita in Argentina. He has produced a film about aliens coming to the slum, as a reaction to all the films that take place in middle class areas. The SIGNIS jury justified their choice by stating that the film evokes with humour and realism the stereotypical view of the world of poverty and marginalization. It teaches -according to the jury members- how work reinforces human dignity through the confirmation of the protagonists’ identity. Art not only nourishes the soul but stomachs as well. www.bafici.gov.ar RELATIONS HUMAINES ET DIVERSITÉ CULTURELLE Si l’on analyse les prix qui ont été attribués par les membres SIGNIS lors de jurys SIGNIS, œcuméniques ou interreligieux de festivals internationaux, l’on peut constater que certains thèmes reviennent fréquemment. Certains événements liés au passé ont une influence déterminante sur ces choix, quand pèsent encore dans le présent des souffrances qui perdureront probablement encore longtemps dans les esprits. Un thème souvent abordé est celui de l’esprit de vengeance, la vendetta, dont le résultat est une violence sans fin, qui peut dépasser le cycle des générations, comme dans Daratt ou L’Héritage. Au Chili, en Mauritanie ou en Argentine, les crimes commis lors des régimes militaires pèsent encore sur la démocratie d’aujourd’hui (4 de julio 1976, Le cercle des Noyés et Treinta años). Les slogans du passé, encore aveuglément proclamés actuellement, sont comme des sables mouvants pour l’avenir du régime cubain (Télon de Azúcar). Dans certains pays arabes, des cinéastes ont recours à la psychiatrie pour démasquer les mensonges du passé (Junun). Les esprits du passé touchent ainsi à la fois les individus (The Island) et les collectivités (I Have Nothing To Say To You et Next to be Gone). Un bon nombre de films évoquent également la complexité des relations humaines, comme El Otro et Ficció, traitant de la crise de la quarantaine ou Half Nelson, abordant la relation d’un professeur avec ses élèves. Un troisième groupe de films se centre sur les enfants et leur recherche du bonheur. Dans The Unpolished, une jeune fille tente de fuir les influences négatives de ses parents et dans L’Italien, un petit garçon fait tout pour retrouver sa mère. Dans Oumy et moi, un jeune Africain tombe amoureux d’une fille albinos rejetée par la société et par ses parents. Une dernière catégorie de films aborde des situations sociales difficiles. Welcome Europa suit des immigrés illégaux en Europe et Tolya parle des problèmes relationnels de certains migrants mariés. Un regard sur la démocratie de base aux Etats-Unis est présent dans State Legislature. Vous trouverez plus d’articles sur www.signis.net SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 DIVERSITÉ CULTURELLE RELACIONES HUMANAS Y DIVERSIDAD CULTURAL Si se analiza los premios que los jurados SIGNIS, ecuménicos o interreligiosos han otorgado en los festivales internacionales de los últimos meses, se verá que ciertos temas son recurrentes. Los hechos del pasado tienen una influencia determinante en las elecciones del presente, cuando los sufrimientos han permanecido sin sanarse por largo tiempo en el espíritu. Un tema frecuente es la venganza, que desemboca en una violencia sin fin, que pasa de una generación a otra, como en Daratt o L’Héritage. En Chile, Mauritania o Argentina, los crímenes cometidos por los regímenes militares afectan aún a las democracias de hoy (4 de julio 1976, Le cercle des Noyés y Treinta años). Se ve también como los slogans del pasado -ya vacíos de su contenido originaltodavía se siguen repitiendo hoy en día en medio de la incertitud del futuro del régimen cubano (Télon de Azúcar). En algunos países árabes, los cineastas han recurrido a la psiquiatría para desenmascarar las mentiras del pasado (Junun). Los espíritus del ayer afectan tanto a los individuos (The Island) como a las colectividades (I Have Nothing To Say To You y Next to be Gone). Un buen número de filmes evocan la complejidad de las relaciones humanas, como El Otro y Ficció, que se ocupan de la crisis a los 40s o Half Nelson, que aborda la relación de un profesor con sus alumnos. Un tercer grupo de filmes se centra en la infancia, en la búsqueda de su felicidad. En The Unpolished, una adolescente intenta protegerse de las influencias negativas de sus padres y en L’Italien, un muchacho hace todo lo que puede para encontrar a su madre. En Oumy et moi, un joven africano se enamora de una chica albina que es rechazada por la sociedad y por sus padres. Una última categoría de películas aborda situaciones sociales difíciles. Welcome Europa sigue a los inmigrantes ilegales en el Viejo Continente y Tolya muestra los problemas de relación de algunos inmigrantes casados. Una mirada sobre la democracia de base en los Estados Unidos se ofrece en State Legislature. FESTIVAL DE CINE DE LAS PALMAS Una mirada a las relacionas humanas en culturas diversas Por la primera vez SIGNIS fue invitada al Festival Internacional de Cine de Las Palmas para formar uno de los tres jurados independientes que otorga un galardón. El presidente de SIGNIS-Europa, Jos Horemans (Bélgica); Sergio Perugini (Italia); y Belén Ester Casas (España) conformaron el jurado. Se valoró para el Premio SIGNIS a Half Nelson, un filme norteamericano independiente del novel Ryan Fleck, por aportar una visión positiva sobre las relaciones humanas, y “por apostar por la fuerza de una hermosa amistad entre una niña y su profesor y por abrir las puertas a una vida mejor donde las oportunidades nunca se acaban”, señala el acta. La película trata la relación de amistad que surge entre un profesor de unos 30 años adicto al crack y una de sus alumnas, cuyo hermano está en la cárcel por tráfico de drogas. En el momento en el que la niña de 13 descubre el secreto de su profesor, empieza a entablarse entre ellos una hermosa relación de amistad. Ambos encuentran en el colegio el equilibrio de sus míseras vidas, ambos caen en el abismo más profundo, ambos acaban necesitándose y queriéndose de tal manera, que pese a la historia dura y amarga que relata, el final es positivo, intrínsecamente esperanzador, por lo tanto, cristiano. La verdadera grandeza de la película está en que la maltrecha vida del profesor, un drogadicto solitario, encuentra equilibrio en su alumnado, a quienes trata de enseñar valores tan loables como la justicia o el respeto a los derechos humanos para que no hagan de sus vidas lo que es la suya. Dan Dune es un hombre desgraciado y desesperado que, pese a todo, encuentra un motivo por el que levantarse cada mañana. A ojos de SIGNIS, L’Héritage, un filme franco-georgiano que hace una severa crítica contra la obsesión del mundo occidental con los medios de comunicación y que reflexiona sobre el respeto con que debe mirarse al resto de las culturas, merecía una Mención. En L’Héritage un trío de amigos franceses van a Georgia porque uno de ellos ha heredado un castillo en ruinas. Camino de su nueva posesión y con un intérprete al que han contratado para que les acompañe en su viaje y que sobrevive como puede en un país todavía pobre, conocen en un autobús a un anciano y su nieto que acuden a la montaña con un ataúd vacío. No tardan en descubrir que ese viejo posee otra herencia: la del odio entre dos clanes. El ataúd es para él, le van a matar para poner fin a una contienda que pasa de padres a hijos y de generación en generación. Sin embargo, los occidentales, lejos de querer detener ese sin sentido, lo único que quieren es grabarlo con sus cámaras de video y vender las imágenes. La primera presencia del Jurado SIGNIS en el Festival Internacional de Cine de Las Palmas no ha podido dar mejor fruto, pues ha distinguido dos películas duras, amargas, tristes, de las que puede hacerse una lectura positiva y de pasión por la vida. Dos miradas distintas ante un problema similar, el de la desesperación. Con su presencia en este festival, SIGNIS da un paso más en diálogo con el mundo de la cultura. El artículo completo se puede leer en www.signis.net www.festivalcinelaspalmas.com L’héritage by Gela and Temur Babluani Para ver más acerca de festivales y películas, visitar www.signis.net SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 15 NEWS FROM EVERYWHERE Video, Radio, TV, Film and Cyberspace secured a postgraduate diploma in French. He has been the Public Relations Officer of the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Conference for the past ten years. For over seven and a half years, he has been publishing and editing a Catholic Tamil Weekly titled Nam Vazhvu (Our Life). Currently he is the Secretary of the Commission for Social Communication of the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Conference, besides being the Director of Santhome Communications Centre, a prestigious regional communication centre of the Bishops Conference. INDIA Interreligious communication For the first time in the history of SIGNIS India, one of its members, Fr. Vincent Chinnadurai, the Director of Santhome Communication Centre and the President of SIGNIS Tamil Nadu has been appointed as the Chairman of the Minority Rights and Welfare Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu, India. The role of the commission is to safeguard the rights of the minorities and introduce a series of initiatives for their welfare. One of its specific activities is to provide skills training for young people from minorities throughout the state. The new portfolio brings new challenges and tasks for Fr. Vincent Chinnadurai, who is an able administrator and an expert in public relations. The new position will also help Fr. Vincent highlight the issues of religious minorities in decision-making bodies to influence policies. Fr. Chinnadurai holds several Masters degrees to his credit in the fields of English literature, political science, sociology, public administration and journalism. He has also 16 Fr. Vincent is also a writer with nine books to his credit. One of his popular books on the life of Mother Teresa titled Boomiyin Devathai (The Goddess of the Earth) was released by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr. M. Karunanidhi. During a public function, the Chief Minister, whole-heartedly commended Fr. Vincent for his extraordinary proficiency in Tamil. His contribution in the field of education, pastoral care, public relations, etc. is well known. He receives hundreds of requests from the members of minority communities to resolve their issues. Acknowledging his untiring efforts and meritorious services, the World University of the United States has conferred a Doctorate on him. He was also awarded as Man of the Year 2004 by the International Biographical Association, USA. Parzania an anti-hate film boycotted The film Parzania based on the Godhra carnage (in February 2002 a train was set on fire, in which 59 people were burnt to death) will not be screened in Gujarat. Giving in to pressure from the Bajrang Dal, the multiplex owners announced that the film was too sensitive and will not be shown in any of the multiplexes in Gujarat. Though the police have promised protection to multiplexes we don’t want to take any chances,” Munabhai Patel, the cinema group’s president said, while announcing their decision not to screen Parzania, directed by Rahul Dholakia. Jesuit Priest and activist Fr. Cedric Prakash was not surprised by the development. “I was sure it is not going to release. But Rahul being a good friend, we tried our best. We were with him all these days,” he said. “This is apparently because certain fascist and fundamental forces have warned film distributors and theatre owners of dire consequences if the film is screened. Rahul Dholakia, very categorically states that the film is about “antihate and compassion” of a tragedy that should not visit anyone, anytime, anywhere,” Fr. Cedric said. Challenging the people of Gujarat the Jesuit priest urged citizens from all walks of life to protest openly against the fundamentalists of the Bajrang Dal organisation (an extremist Hindu-nationalist party). The movie was released in other parts of the country on January 26 and it was expected to be released in Gujarat on 6th February 2007. While the fear of cinemas being vandalized by Bajrang Dal elements, if the film is screened, is being cited as the reason behind the decision, Dholakia sees a “hidden agenda” behind the whole controversy. “I am surprised that multiplex owners are so shaken by a threat from one person,” Dholakia said. He was referring to the Bajrang Dal leader, Babu Bajrangi, who had said that the film had the potential “to disrupt the communal harmony” in the state. Dholakia added,” if the government does not want its screening, it should have the guts to formally impose a ban on the film.” He added, “if Amu, a film based on anti-Sikh riots of 1984 or Black Friday on Mumbai serial blasts of 1993 could be screened, then why not Parzania?” MALTA Radio RTK 15 year of broadcasting On March 14th 2007, Malta’s Radio RTK entered its 15th year of broadcasting. RTK’s mission statement clearly defines it as being a national station based on general interest that focuses on all aspects of life in the modern world in the light of Christian values. In his Anniversary message, Victor Formosa, RTK’s Chairman quotes the late Pope John SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 NEWS FROM EVERYWHERE Paul II from his Apostolic Letter The Rapid Development addressed to those responsible for communications: “In the communications media, the Church finds a precious aid for spreading the Gospel and religious values, for promoting dialogue, ecumenical and interreligious cooperation, and also for defending those solid principles which are indispensable for building a society which respects the dignity of the human person and is attentive to the common good.” Certainly not an easy mission in an age such as ours. Most of the programmes of Radio RTK are, in different ways and different formats, meant to help the person become more human and to live a more humane environment. They are not only accessible but also open to scrutiny through discussion and dialogue. The radio continuously keeps a balance between being a Church station with a mission and also being a commercial station. USA Backlash Against Sikh Americans In the days following the September 11th terrorist attacks, images of the burning World Trade Center towers and a bearded and turbaned Osama bin Laden flashed across TV screens. President Bush spoke of the kindness that Americans of all backgrounds were showing one another in a time of grief. But the messages filling Valarie Kaur’s e-mail inbox spoke of something else. The 20-year-old Stanford University student heard of fellow Sikhs who were harassed, beaten and even murdered. With a video camera and the help of her 18-yearold cousin, Amandeep Singh Gill, Kaur drove across the country to capture the stories of Sikhs, Muslims, Arabs and others who were victims of a post-9/11 backlash. What was intended to be a one-hour video to accompany Kaur’s thesis turned into an independent feature-length documentary film, Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath. Joanna Corman FILM The Jesus Project Originally released in 1979, Jesus followed the 1977 release of Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth. With a considerably smaller budget and starring British actor Brian Deacon, the film was gradually released and SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 Catholic interest are shown, both for a little relaxation and as spark for some lively cultural conversation. re-released around the world. It was translated into a great number of languages, including several Indian languages. For twenty years it circulated everywhere, a more direct Gospel film, using texts from Luke (and from John) as the basic screenplay. It received a major cinema re-release in the late 1990s and VHS copies in many languages were distributed to pilgrims to Rome for the Jubilee of 2000. Some of these versions were edited with episode omissions (for example, the temptations in the desert from the English language version). With DVD, the film has been distributed even more widely. It is sometimes referred to as The Jesus Project. In fact, it is still a work in progress. In the early years of the decade, it was edited to 42 minutes and a 20-minute segment added which showed life in Palestine at the time of Jesus through children’s eyes. It was distributed as The Story of Jesus for Children. In 2007, some sequences were edited into Jesus, showing him and his actions from a women’s point of view. Produced in English, it was translated into Arabic for women’s audiences in the Middle East (screened in Nazareth, March 14th, 2007). This version is Jesus as seen by Mary Magdalene. (This also serves as a counterbalance to the picture of Mary Magdalene from The Da Vinci Code). The project was financed by Campus Crusade for Christ International. (For more information and seeing the evangelical dimensions of the Crusade, especially using the film, see the Life Agape website, also Come and See, The Christian Website from Nazareth). www.jesusfilm.org UK Students enjoy film and Faith Crowds of young people have been gathering in the Catholic Chaplaincy Centre, at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church on South Parade, to watch movies. Films of Bath universities' Catholic Chaplain, Fr Bill McLoughlin OSM, organized on May 13th the showing of Romero- the true story of the Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador during the political unrest in the 1980s. "The film reflects on the government having launched a 'terror campaign' against the guerrillas in an attempt to crush them. Romero's protests against the government's actions are perceived as disloyalty. As an example to others, the government begins to destroy churches and murder priests. Despite persecution, Romero continues to speak out against the atrocities the government is committing against the people of El Salvador, until his untimely death", explained McLoughlin. PAPUA GUINEA Trinity FM Catholic Radio Station The Catholic Radio Station of the Archdiocese of Mt. Hagen, Trinity FM 98.1, celebrated its 4th anniversary in March 2007 at Rebiamul. Its Director Fr. Victor Roche SVD, announced that Trinity FM has seen a lot of changes within the last 12 months. He outlined changes such as live transmission of programmes, the increase in number of staff, and better programmes. With the ongoing fundraising programme, there are plans to further develop and improve the station. In the last Catholic Bishops’ Conference meeting, there were plans to take on a recently established Radio Maria. Trinity FM plans to relay some programmes from Radio Maria and also relay news from the BBC. There are plans for setting-up more repeater stations and installing broadband. BELGIUM Students Award Son of Man For the first time a jury of students of the Catholic University of Leuven participated in 12th Afrika Film Festival, from April 20 to May 5th 2007 in Leuven (Belgium). Son of Man stimulates viewers to think and does not leave them feeling indifferent. The organizers of the festival had asked the student magazine Veto to select seven students from the different faculties to judge new films which have not yet been distributed in Benelux. These students were confronted 17 NEWS FROM EVERYWHERE by films from Africa for the first time. They discovered in Another Man’s Garden the realities of Mozambique, in Barakat some aspects of the current political situation in Algeria, in Bunny Chow a trendy road movie from South Africa and in La tendresse du Loup views on urban violence in Tunisia. It was Son of Man, a south African perspective on the life of Jesus, directed by Mark Dornford-May, who had won the Golden Bear at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival with UCarmen eKhayelitsha ,which won the first Veto-students award. The director dramatised the story of the life of Jesus in the situation of contemporary Africa and asks what would be happen today, if someone in Africa came forward with the same message as Jesus. The students gave the reasons for their award: "We selected a film which stimulates viewers to think and which does not leave them feeling indifferent. Musical beat, rapid rhythms, alternation of several styles and original shots ensure that the film is always stimulating. It is a film of a ’bestseller’, but nothing is obvious in it; the story as we know it is turned upside down". The Veto jury gave a special commendation to Africa Paradis, directed by Sylvestre Amoussou (Benin). The jury members were touched by the revolutionary aspect of the story which they didn’t find in the other films of the competition. Amoussou confronts the viewer with the theme of migration, situating the story in an imaginary future where Europeans have to fly their impoverished continent to find a safe haven in Africa, where there is prosperity and peace. G.C. BURUNDI Radio “La voix de la paix” Début mars 2007, le Président de la République du Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, a visité la station de radio Ijwi ry’amahoro (“La Voix de la Paix” en kirundi). Cette radio, appartenant à la Conférence des évêques catholiques du Burundi et agréée le 6 octobre 2005 par le Conseil national de la communication (CNC), est la onzième station agréée au Burundi et la deuxième station de l’Eglise catholique du Burundi (la première, Radio Maria, appartient à l’archidiocèse de Gitega, au centre du Burundi). L’objectif de cette visite du Président était de se rendre compte du fonctionnement de la station et des problèmes auxquels elle fait face. Le directeur de la radio a profité de l’occasion pour solliciter son soutien. Le Président a réaffirmé que son gouverne- 18 ment ne ménagerait aucun effort pour épauler les organes de presse. Il a aussi exprimé sa satisfaction quant au travail fourni par la radio et a rappelé que les médias burundais avaient un grand rôle à jouer dans cette période d’après conflit, entre autres pour la consolidation de la paix et le développement économique. TOGO 10e anniversaire Radio Maria Togo Radio Maria Togo (RMT) a 10 ans. A cette occasion, une messe solennelle d’action de grâce a été dite à la Grotte “Notre Dame des Victoires” de la paroisse de Lomé. Lors de la célébration, on notait la présence du Père Faustin Yigbé, directeur des programmes de RMT Lomé, du Père Abey Rodolphe Folly, directeur de Radio Maria Station de Kpalimé et de René d’Almedia, président de l’Association Radio Maria Togo. Durant le sermon, les difficultés de Radio Maria Togo ont été évoquées : vols de matériel de transmission, problèmes financiers, suspension ou interdiction d’émettre… Le Père Kété a enfin exhorté les fidèles et tous les auditeurs à soutenir moralement, financièrement et matériellement la station mariale dans la poursuite de sa mission d’évangélisation. Créée en mars 1997 à Lomé, Radio Maria Togo compte aujourd’hui 5 stations basées à Dapaong, Kpalimé, Kara, Sotouboua et Lomé. RDC Information et communication “L’introduction des nouvelles techniques de l’information et de la communication va transformer notre système éducatif (.)” Les mots sont lancés par Gaston Nkuyu, président du Conseil d’administration des instituts supérieurs privés à Kinshasa, en RDC. Le 21 avril 2007, au collège Saint Etienne, ce cadre précise que ce jour marque d’une pierre blanche la naissance d’une des œuvres des Missionnaires du Sacré Cœur en RDC, le Caentic, Centre d’appui à l’enseignement des nouvelles technologies de l’information et des communications. Le président du Conseil d’administration des instituts supérieurs privés a signalé qu’Olivier Misimi, technicien supérieur en maintenance électro-informatique, avait constaté un manque cruel de cette nouvelle technique dans les écoles. Nkuyu a signalé dans ce contexte la décision de créer le Caentic, qui, a-t-il précisé, n’est pas une Ong, mais un cadre de formation et d’acquisition des connaissances nouvelles dans le domaine de l’informatique. (DIA) PORTUGAL Radio Renascença & Prix de la Tolérance RDC Radio Kaoze Le diocèse de Kalemie-Kirungu, au Katanga, RDC, a inauguré sa station radiophonique “Radio Kaoze”, baptisée ainsi en souvenir du premier prêtre congolais du diocèse et du pays. Le président de la radio est Mgr Isidore Katele, vicaire général du diocèse de Kalemie-Kirungu. Dans la ville de Kalemie, qui compte 50.000 habitants, cette station diocésaine ne laisse personne indifférent. Les habitants non catholiques de Kalemie suivent eux aussi de près le lancement de la radio. Ils déplorent le silence de plomb qui s’abat régulièrement sur la diffusion des réalités socio-politiques de leur milieu, faute de moyens de communication sociale sur place. Pour mettre fin à ce silence, les émissions de Radio Kaoze ciblent la méditation et la parole de Dieu, la culture, la santé et les droits humains. La théologie, la philosophie, le développement et les nouvelles du diocèse ne sont pas en reste. Le reportage de la journaliste Anabela Góis de la Radio Renascença a été primé par le prix 2006 "Journalisme pour la Tolérance catégorie Radio", une initiative du Haut Commissariat pour l'Immigration et les Minorités Ethniques. Le reportage était consacré au service pour l'aide aux immigrés (Linha SOS Imigrante). GC SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 NEWS FROM EVERYWHERE UNESCO Une bibliothèque numérique pour le Sahel Une bibliothèque numérique portant sur une cinquantaine d’années d’archives audiovisuelles sahéliennes va être mise en place au terme d’un partenariat entre l’Unesco, une université américaine et un organisme ouest-africain. Des bandes audio, des enregistrements musicaux, des films et des photographies seront numérisés afin de «privilégier la préservation du contenu culturel et du savoir local présentant un intérêt particulier». La future bibliothèque numérique sera ensuite accessible sur le Web. Ce projet résulte d’un partenariat entre le “Programme Information pour Tous” (PIPT) de l’Unesco et la Kent State University (Ohio), qui elle-même formera des chercheurs du Centre de recherche ouest-africain (Croa/Warc) de Dakar et leur fournira les ordinateurs nécessaires au travail de numérisation. www.unesco.org NOUVELLE CALÉDONIE L’Église et les communications Chaque dimanche sur RFO, vers 6h45, les croyants peuvent suivre une émission catholique réalisée par une équipe de bénévoles. Les thèmes sont divers et essaient de prendre en compte la vie de l’Eglise, à la fois locale et universelle. Une fois par mois, l’émission est construite sur base des textes de la liturgie du jour pour permettre à ceux qui n’ont pas la possibilité de participer à la messe du dimanche de rejoindre, par la prière et la méditation, l’ensemble des chrétiens. Les messes radiodiffusées à partir de la Cathédrale St Joseph de Nouméa ont lieu tous les 15 jours à 9h sur RNC. Depuis le début de l’année, l’émission “Jour du Seigneur” est diffusée chaque semaine sur Télé Nouvelle-Calédonie, le dimanche vers 7h45. Cette émission religieuse, qui existe depuis 57 ans, est l’émission de télévision la plus ancienne de Nouméa. Elle est programmée par le CFRT (Centre Français de Radio-Télévision) qui se trouve à Paris. Sept magazines, tels que ceux de Noël, Pâques, Ascension, Pentecôte, Assomption, Toussaint sont réalisés à tour de rôle par les huit diocèses des Départements et Territoires d’Outre-Mer. Lors d’événements spéciaux dans les diocèses, comme le 200ème anniversaire de la naissance de St Pierre Chanel en 2003 pour la Nouvelle SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 Calédonie, l’émission est coproduite par le CFRT, RFO et France 2. Le reste de la grille est complété par la rediffusion de programmes du Jour du Seigneur coproduits par le CFRT et France 2. Il faut aussi noter que la Messe de Noël est diffusée chaque année à partir d’une paroisse de Nouméa avec la participation de RFO Nouvelle Calédonie. Chaque année depuis 2002, les huit Délégués Episcopaux pour l’Information se réunissent au CFRT à l’invitation du Père Noël CHOUX, producteur délégué JdS sur RFO, pour faire le calendrier des émissions réalisées par les diocèses d’Outre-Mer et apprendre les techniques pour leur programmation et leur réalisation. Le site du diocèse de Nouméa www.ddec.nc/diocese est régulièrement mis à jour. Il contient des informations intéressantes et diverses en texte et en images. Une rubrique spéciale “média” vient d’être installée pour informer des programmes TV et Radio du mois en cours. Le site Internet de “Jour du Seigneur” www.lejourduseigneur.com est un des premiers sites chrétiens français mis en ligne en 1996. Le CFRT a lancé en avril 2006 www.jds.tv, première plate-forme vidéo à la demande spécialisée dans le domaine religieux sur Internet. Il permet de choisir puis de regarder des vidéos sur son ordinateur. Tout au long de l’année, de nouveaux contenus viendront enrichir JDS.TV en fonction de l’actualité. Ces émissions aident à approfondir la foi et à avoir une meilleure connaissance de l’Evangile, ce qui aide le croyant à ne pas se laisser déstabiliser par les “faux prophètes”, ceux qui proclament avec aplomb des contre-vérités. Le site du diocèse contient plus d’informations et les programmes des émissions catholiques en radio et en télévision. www.ddec.nc/diocese/media/media.htm S. Danielle LE MOULLEC smsm SENEGAL Enfant et information dans les médias Le Bureau régional pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest de Save the Children / Suède appelle les médias africains à se pencher davantage sur les questions liées aux droits des enfants. Cette préoccupation de l’Ong internationale découle de son étude intitulée «Enfant et information dans les médias», menée au Sénégal entre janvier et mars 2006. Elle révèle que seuls 10 % des informations traitées par les médias concernent les enfants. Les résultats de l’étude ont été partagés avec les journalistes sénégalais au cours d’un atelier organisé le 20 décembre 2006. Selon Save the Children / Suède, ces constats faits au Sénégal pourraient être les mêmes dans la presse africaine en général. L’étude citée montre que les médias consacrent plus de place aux thèmes de l’éducation et de la formation (25 % environ) qu’à ceux relatifs aux manquements aux droits des enfants tels que l’exploitation, les violences et les abus sexuels (13 %). FRANCE Création de SIGNIS France Nouveau membre national de SIGNIS en France, SIGNIS France a été créé ce 15 mars 2007, par une association loi 1901 dont les statuts ont été déposés à la préfecture de Paris. Philippe Harrouard, journaliste de la chaîne nationale France 2, a été nommé Président de SIGNIS France. Arnaud de Coral, producteur du Jour du Seigneur, en est le trésorier et Magali Van Reeth, journaliste et attachée de presse du jury oecuménique au Festival de Cannes, la secrétaire générale. SIGNIS France regroupe des professionnels de radio, télévision, cinéma, vidéo, éducation aux médias, Internet et nouvelles technologies qui souhaitent soutenir et contribuer à la richesse du réseau mondial de SIGNIS, notamment à travers : - l’éducation aux médias - la promotion d’émissions de qualité dans les réseaux des radios et télévisions chrétiennes - l’attribution du Prix du Jury oecuménique au Festival de Cannes et d’un Prix SIGNIS aux festivals du film d’Amiens et de Toulouse - constituer un support pour les journalistes et réalisateurs chrétiens engagés dans les stations et programmes grand public laïcs. Contact : Magali Van Reeth + 33 (0)6 88 30 36 62 19 NOTICIAS DE TODAS PARTES ECUADOR SIGNIS-Ecuador renueva directorio El jueves 17 de mayo 2007, en Quito, la Asociación Católica de Comunicación SIGNIS-Ecuador realizó su asamblea ordinaria para consensuar las líneas de acción y elegir el nuevo Directorio para el periodo 2007-2010. Los miembros establecieron 4 líneas de acción: capacitación y formación, festivales y premios, fortalecimiento institucional y fortalecimiento de la imagen de SIGNIS en el contexto nacional y mundial. La nueva Comisión Directiva de SIGNIS-Argentina: Agustín Neifert, Adrián Baccaro, Richard Noseda, María Laura Paz, Graciela Garzelli y Marcelo Fernández. ARGENTINA SIGNIS-Argentina con nuevos directivos Al fin de abril 2007, en Buenos Aires, tuvo lugar la asamblea anual de SIGNISArgentina. Durante la mañana, los integrantes de la Comisión Directiva saliente (Carlos Ferraro, Graciela Garzelli, María Laura Paz, Adrián Baccaro y Daniel Sotelo) presentaron un informe de lo realizado los últimos tres años. Tras lo cual se pasó a las elecciones de los integrantes de la nueva Comisión Directiva y los fiscales de cuenta. Fueron electos: Richard Noseda (presidente, Santa Fe), Graciela Garzelli (secretaria y vicepresidenta 1ª, Buenos Aires), María Laura Paz (tesorera y vicepresidenta 2ª, Buenos Aires), Adrián Baccaro, (director del Departamento de Educomunicación y 1er vocal, Quilmes), Agustín Neifert (director del Departamento de Crítica e Investigación y 2° vocal, Bahía Blanca), Martín Bernal (director del Departamento de Espiritualidad y 1er vocal suplente, Morón) y Marcelo Fernández (director del Departamento de Producción y 2° vocal suplente, Bahía Blanca). Los fiscales de cuenta electos fueron: Juan Miguel Bestani (Buenos Aires), Gabriela Valinoti (Ramos Mejía) y Rocco Oppedisano (Buenos Aires). Los treinta miembros presentes, se reunieron en los cuatro departamentos para realizar aportes al Plan 2007-2010 que la nueva Comisión Directiva terminará de diseñar en los próximos meses. www.signis.org.ar 20 Los derechos humanos y el audiovisual El Festival Internacional de Cine de Derechos Humanos de América Latina y el Caribe (Derhumalc) se originó a partir de la plena convicción de que "cada mujer, hombre, niña y niño, para materializar su pleno potencial humano debe ser consciente de todos sus derechos humanos, civiles, culturales, económicos, políticos y sociales". Su finalidad es promover la reflexión y el debate que lleve a primer plano la cuestión de los Derechos Humanos en el mundo a través de la representación artística contenida en la realización de filmes y videos de producción independiente. En el 9º Derhumalc, el Jurado SIGNIS, decidió otorgar su premio al documental L'orchestra di Piazza Vittorio (Italia) dirigido por Agostino Ferrente. "Por hacer realidad un sueño donde 'la unidad en la diversidad' es un hecho que se concreta a través de la música como vehículo de comunicación e integración entre hombres y mujeres pertenecientes a diferentes culturas". El jurado entregó también una mención al documental Semillas (España), dirigido por Cristian Perenyi. "Por la construcción de un excelente documento para recuperar la memoria, otorgándole la voz a sus protagonistas después de 60 años de silencio". El Jurado SIGNIS estuvo integrado por los argentinos Blanca María Monzón (presidente), José Antonio Salas (secretario) y Gabriel Aquino (vocal). www.derhumalc.org.ar El Directorio quedó conformado por personas representantes de varios lugares del país y de acuerdo a diversos perfiles profesionales en comunicación. Fueron electos: Eduardo Guerrero (presidente, Latacunga), Carmita Coronado (vicepresidenta, Quito), Catalina Mier (primer vocal principal, Loja), Marianela Pinto (segundo vocal principal, Quito), Armando Grijalva (tercer vocal principal), José Mármol (primer vocal suplente, Quito), Estevan Segarra (segundo vocal suplente, Cuenca) y Marcelo Mejía (tercer vocal suplente, Quito). Además los asambleístas decidieron conformar el Equipo Asesor Eclesial, cuya misión es la de acompañar el trabajo de la asociación, quedando integrado por los padres: Salvador Calva (Zamora), Jaime Terán (Ibarra) y Rolando Calle (Quito). Los miembros de SIGNISEcuador reafirmaron su compromiso de trabajar conjuntamente con la directiva para generar una comunicación solidaria guiada por los valores del Evangelio. www.signisecuador.org Orlando Mercado Camacho (1965-2007) El domingo 3 de junio, a los 42 años, falleció en la ciudad de Cochabamba (Bolivia) el sociólogo, politólogo y docente de las universidades Orlando "Maqui" Mercado Camacho luego de una excursión realizada con sus alumnos de la Universidad de Aquino Bolivia (Udabol). Formaba parte de la OCIC-SIGNIS en Cochabamba y desde allí impulsó durante años la difusión del cine boliviano y latinoamericano. Desde la tarea periodística promovía la difusión de películas alternativas al cine comercial norteamericano. Publicó también libros y ensayos sobre cine, especialmente sobre el cine boliviano. SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 MEDIA EDUCATION INDIA Media Education A new set of Media Education trainers, fourteen sisters and brothers from different congregations was the outcome of a weeklong workshop organized by Santhome Communications Centre, Chennai, early May 2007. The course was directed by Fr. Vincent Chinnadurai and coordinated by Mr. Magimai Pragasam. A new set of Media Education trainers (fourteen sisters and brothers from different congregations) was the outcome of the workshop organized by Santhome Communications Centre, Chennai, from April 30 to May 5, 2007. The course was directed by Fr. Vincent Chinnadurai and coordinated by Mr. Magimai Pragasam. ‘Imparting skills to critically analyse the media products, enabling them to understand how media messages are constructed, helping them to identify their inner potential and use them creatively” were the three major objectives of the workshop. ‘Learning through doing’ was the methodology adopted with four major exercises, namely, radio programme production, social advertisement production, television spot production and writing letters to editors. As special features of the course were ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions, during which the participants had the opportunity to interact with film directors, actors, editors and journalists to get the inside stories of the media world. The participants were also exposed to a satellite television and a feature film shoot in AVM studios. Film directors Prabhu Solomon and S.S. Stanely, film actress Kaniga, film editor B. Lenin, Namvazhvu weekly editor Fr. Madurai Anand, Director of DBICA Fr. Harris sdb, Director of Culture and Communications Fr. Joe Arun sj, journalist and social activist Joseph Raj, SIGNIS India President Fr. Dominic Emmanuel, experts from Santhome Fr. Thisai Gerry, Rajabukshaw, Edward and Ramesh made the sessions highly interactive. All the productions by the participants such as television spots, radio talks, radio documentaries, dramas and letters to editors were presented during the valedictory function. “The productions by the participants reveal the effectiveness of the workshop” said Fr. Joe Antony sj, Editor of New Leader who presided over the function and awarded the certificates. Media News Santhome Communications Centre SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 Media Education Manifesto The media of communication occupy a most important place in our lives today. They constitute our physical and psychic environment. If you walk around in the open, you will soon find yourselves surrounded by billboards and posters shouting the messages of the corporate world. At home, television is a fixture similar to the water tap. Put the TV on and a flow of audiovisual messages pours in. And then there are radio, newspapers, magazines, CDs and DVDs, and, of course, the Internet. Our physical and psychic environment has been totally appropriated by ‘corporate speech.’ We are told what to know, what to think about, what we have to know, what style of life to adopt, and above all, since we are held as mere consumers, what to desire and ... to buy. Are we, then, totally under the coercive power of the empire of mind? [1] That is the first question towards media self-education. What do I know, what do I think, what do I desire, what do I like…and what do I buy that has not been prompted into me by the media? Step number two. A study of the media as institutions and as disseminators of the ‘corporate speech’ [2] is required. Who owns the media? Who controls the media? Scholars in Asia have discussed the “Murdochization” of the media in this part of the world and even beyond.[3] The media are an integral part of the power complex – military, economic and cultural. While George Bush wields military and economic power, Rupert Murdoch, with his TV channels and the 175 editors of his multifarious press empire are his cheerleaders. For instance, if Bush attacks Iraq, Murdoch and his media orchestra exult in a paean to the economic prospects the war will bring about.[4] If one disagrees with Bush’s action and if one dislikes Murdoch’s media ‘music’, then what can one do? Answer: wake up to the fact that thanks to the very media that can have such a negative influence, one also has, for the first time in the history of humankind, the possibility of voicing dissent and of uniting with millions of like-minded brothers and sisters the world over to engage in anti-capitalist action. [5] The Internet is used freely to voice dissent in a variety of ways. One way is to subvert the dominant discourse, by transforming, for instance, McDonald’s into McDeath, or profaning ‘holy’ icons, by showing, for instance, a ‘dancing Bush.’ [6] And there is collective action too. When the war on Iraq was declared a new crusade, over ten million people took to the streets to express their disapproval.[7] And when the French Government passed a law unfavourable to young people under 26, French students paralyzed the universities for over a month; the Villepin Government had to withdraw that law. Action is possible and efficient.[8] Media Education is self-education for liberation and revolution.[9] Gaston Roberge Notes [1] Strangelove, Michael: The Empire of Mind: Digital Piracy and the Anti-Capitalist Movement. Toronto, 2005. [2] Strangelove, op. cit., passim. [3] Thussu, Daya: ‘Taming the Dragon and the Elephant: Murdoch’s Media in Asia’. In Media Development, 2004, No. 4. Quarterly Journal of the World Association of Christian Communication (WACC). Strangelove, op. cit. p. 77. [4] Thussu, id. [5] Strangelove, op.cit. p. 77. [6] http://www.dancingbush.com. [7] Strangelove, op. cit. p. 214. [8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precarity. [9] Manifesto published January 2007. 21 TV PRODUCERS Les télévisions catholiques Initiatives nouvelles S i, dans le monde particulier des médias catholiques, on observe aujourd'hui la multiplication d'initiatives nouvelles, c'est bien dans le domaine de la télévision. Plusieurs conférences épiscopales d'Afrique ont obtenu de leurs gouvernements les autorisations pour lancer leur propre station de télévision. C'est le cas au Togo, qui prépare une télévision catholique nommée "SPES". Mais d'autres pays rêvent d'en faire autant, au Kenya, en République Démocratique du Congo, par exemple. En Zambie, le studio de production télévisuelle Yatsani se présente désormais sous le label "CMSTV" pour "Catholic Media Services TV" et continue à produire un magazine Lumen 2000 pour la chaîne nationale de télévision. Ce même studio assure sa survie économique en produisant des spots publicitaires pour la télévision. Internet : l'avenir de la télévision ? Nombreux sont ceux qui pensent que l'avenir de la télévision passe par Internet et l'interactivité qu'offre ce media. C'est en tous cas la conviction de Niklas Zennström et Janus Friis, les cofondateurs de Kazaa et de Skype, qui se lancent dans un vaste projet de télévision gratuite via Internet, sous le nom de "Joost". Sur le site www.joost.com les internautes peuvent découvrir un large choix de programmes de télévision pour fabriquer leur propre programmation. Cette "VoD" (vidéo à la demande) est appliquée par la télévision catholique de France "Le Jour du Seigneur" via un site spécialisé : www.jds.tv. Là aussi, l'internaute fait ses choix et peut même acheter des programmes en ligne. La télévision catholique du Brésil, Canção Nova, a également lancé un site www.webtvcn.fr en six langues (portuguais, français, anglais, italien, espagnol et allemand… cette dernière langue n'étant pas encore développée). En Autriche, K-TV propose des programmes en streaming sur le site http://streaming.ecclesia.tv/ktv2.html. Au Canada, Sel & Lumière propose une webémission quotidienne que vous pourrez découvrir sur www.seletlumieretv.org. Cette émission existe en langue française et en anglais sur www.saltandlighttv.org. Aux Etats-Unis, Faith and Values propose sur Internet un espace interreligieux où vous pouvez découvrir de nombreux programmes à la demande. Rendez-vous à www.faiths- 22 treams.com. Nous ne donnons ici que quelques exemples de sites qui offrent des programmes en ligne. Sites dédiés aux télévisions catholiques Depuis plusieurs années, SIGNIS a cherché à soutenir les télévisions catholiques et leurs producteurs de programmes. Ce fut d'abord en apportant son appui à l'initiative de CRTN (Catholic Radio and Television Network), à Königstein. Cette institution vient d'ailleurs de réorganiser son site web : www.crtn.org offrant aux internautes de nombreuses ressources d'information. Dès 2003, le "tvdesk" de SIGNIS réunissait des responsables de télévisions catholiques et des producteurs afin de susciter les collaborations. Un premier séminaire eût lieu au Cap (Afrique du Sud). D'autres séminaires eurent lieu à Strasbourg, Prague, Lyon et Madrid. Le sixième séminaire aura lieu en novembre 2007, à Bucarest, à l'occasion d'un festival international de cinéma et de télévision portant sur le thème des droits des enfants. Plusieurs initiatives sont nées de ces séminaires. Vous pourrez les découvrir en visitant le site www.catholictv.tv que SIGNIS prépare actuellement et qui offre déjà plusieurs programmes en streaming vidéo, dont le pilote du magazine Signs. Nous invitons donc tous ceux qui sont actifs dans les domaines de la production ou des télévisions catholiques à visiter ce site www.catholictv.tv et à rejoindre le réseau du "tvdesk" de SIGNIS. Robert Molhant ([email protected]) Good Religious TV Vitally Important, European Broadcasters told The traditional historic world religions are still hugely important in shaping the Europe of today and religious broadcasting should reflect that fact, argued Michael Wakelin, the Head of the BBC’s Religion and Ethics department. He was giving the opening speech at the WACC/SIGNIS European TV Festival of Religious Programmes, held at the Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication in Kristiansand, Norway from May 16-20, 2007. The term ‘religion’ should not be replaced by words such as ‘spirituality’ and ‘vague faith’, he said. At the heart of religious broadcasting, “ there has to be a solid body of content and expertise that deals with the main religious traditions, celebrating them, exploring them, interrogating them, reflecting themthat is our foundation. And the beauty of the word “religion” is that it is big enough to then cover all the individualistic beliefs, superstitions and vague spiritual longings that are undoubtedly out there.” Religious broadcasters had a vital role to play in reflecting the continuing importance of religion in people’s lives. The former Prime Minister of Norway, Kjell Magne Bondevik, now President of the Oslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights, also spoke. The Centre, he said, aims to “promote peace and reconciliation, with strong emphasis on interfaith dialogue.” He challenged the participants “to consider if and how you can use the media for the same purpose. News programmes in the media are often conflict oriented. But other programmes, which I know you are working on, open up more room for going deeper, for example by facilitating dialogues in television programmes.” Broadcasters from France, Semeur de Gospel (Présence Protestante) the Netherlands, Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (IKON), Great Britain, Every Parent’s SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 TV PRODUCERS Nightmare (BBC) (which also won the audience prize, chosen by the festival participants), and Ireland, Last Judgement (RTE),were the prize winners at the Festival. Commendations were given to two programmes : Words of Wisdom (NCRV, the Netherlands) and The TV Pastor (TV Inter, Norway). For the first time there was a special prize for the best website linked to a programme in the competition. This was awarded to Faith, Sex and Hope(lessness) from the Dutch broadcaster, IKON by a jury of members of the European Christian Internet Conference (ECIC). Also for the first time Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist channels participated in the Festival. Sixty programmes from 14 countries were originally submitted to the competition, and of these, 19 were chosen for screening in Kristiansand. The Festival was organized by the European regions of WACC and SIGNIS in collaboration with the Gimlekollen Mediehøgskolen, Kristiansand and with the support of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, NRK. Jim McDonnell http://waccsignis.mediehogskolen.no/ AMÉRICA LATINA CRTN promueve el intercambio La Red Católica de Radio y Televisión (CRTN), promueve el intercambio entre 163 productoras de TV católicas, 137 cadenas de televisión y más de 1.300 emisoras de radio. Ante el surgimiento de nuevos canales de televisión católicos en el mundo, ha relanzado su servicio en Internet, a través del cual los productores católicos puedan presentar su programación y los canales católicos puedan encontrar esos contenidos. El director gerente de CRTN, Mark Riedemann, explica: "los canales católicos saben que los productores con programación católica de calidad están allí, pero como las estrellas en el cielo, puedes verlas pero no sabes como alcanzarlas". "Esto es particularmente cierto en América Latina continúa Riedemann- donde hoy en día se encuentran más de la mitad de los canales católicos del mundo". Para responder a esta necesitad, CRTN ha puesto en marcha la versión actualizada de su servicio en Internet www.crtn.org para facilitar la presentación, negociación y distribución de programación católica a nivel SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 Award winners at the WACC and SIGNIS European Festival of Religious TV in Norway: From left to right: Piet Halma, IKON, the Netherlands, Séverine Boudier-Daude, Présence Protestante, France, Roger Childs, BBC, England, Ida Overdijk, IKON, the Netherlands, and Mike Peelo, RTE, Ireland. The award was a piece of art by well known Norwegian artist Else Marie Jakobsen. (Photo by Marie-Therese Kreidy). mundial. "Nosotros comenzamos un servicio básico de intercambio en Internet en 1998, porque comprendimos que había una necesidad creciente. Sin embargo, en ese momento, solo considerábamos el mundo de habla inglesa", explica Riedemann. "Es interesante, pero no inesperado, que el crecimiento más fuerte haya sido el de América Latina. Pronto tomamos conciencia de que nuestro servicio presentaba una carencia con respecto al idioma castellano y que necesitaba una actualización", añade. "Al principio consideramos la posibilidad de dividir el sistema en dos: un servicio en inglés y otro en castellano para el mundo de habla hispana. Pero a través de contactos con colegas de América Latina comprendimos que, para ellos, estar encerrados en su propio mercado era un riesgo y tendría como consecuencia una escasa comunicación y oportunidad de presentación fuera de sus fronteras". "Consecuentemente, con la ayuda de la productora BNC (Rosario, Argentina) desarrollamos un motor de búsqueda en el cual aparecen todos los programas en todos los idiomas relacionados a una temática determinada. Esto permitirá a las estaciones católicas seleccionar dentro de un amplio espectro de programación disponible", aclara el encargado del servicio. El sitio de CRTN en Internet es un servicio no comercial, alentado por SIGNIS y apoyado económicamente por la agencia de Ayuda a la Iglesia Necesitada. COLOMBIA Capacitación de productores audiovisuales Trece países: Bolivia, Brasil, Perú, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, República Dominicana, México, Honduras, El Salvador, y la anfitriona Colombia, participaron del Seminario Taller Latinoamericano de Producción de Argumentales y Documentales de Televisión, que se realizó desde el 16 al 27 de abril en la ciudad de Bogotá, Colombia. Este encuentro tuvo como objetivo desarrollar, en los participantes, habilidades y destrezas en los principios básicos de la producción y expresión televisiva con fines educativos y pastorales acordes con el lenguaje y la estética narrativa audiovisual y multimedia. Este evento fue organizado por el Centro de Comunicación Educativa (CEDAL), dirigido por Gladys Daza Hernández, Asociada Individual de SIGNIS, y con la asistencia de P. Jorge Luis Rodríguez, Secretario Ejecutivo del Departamento de Comunicación del CELAM (Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano) y un equipo de docentes conformado por reconocidos especialistas en el campo del cine, guión, sonido, y con titulares en la cátedra universitaria. TIC 23 RADIO Radio comunitaria en América Latina para servir a campesinos e indios E n este tiempo de globalización, la riqueza de Latinoamérica está cada vez más en las manos de pequeños grupos con contactos internacionales o a menudo accionistas internacionales en el caso de las multinacionales. Esos “pocos afortunados” controlan también los grandes medios internacionales y gracias a la ola privatizadora también se hicieron propietarios de las radios comerciales locales. Para estos grupos económico-políticos, la concientización cultural y política, y la educación para la comunicación no son prioridad, muy por el contrario. Desean maximizar sus ganancias y controlar los medios. Las pequeñas comunidades, los pueblos originarios, los campesinos sin tierra y otros grupos usan en forma creciente la radio como herramienta cultural y política para la defensa de sus derechos y para desarrollar su comunidad. En estas redes, la Iglesia Católica ha jugado y juega un rol fundamental. Se presentan a continuación dos ejemplos -el primero en Costa Rica y el siguiente en Bolivia- de cómo la radio está al servicio de las poblaciones locales. COSTA RICA Treinta años de radio cultural por los campesinos Desde 1977, la Junta Directiva del Instituto Costarricense de Enseñanza Radiofónica (ICER) quería que “el oyente se convierta en sujeto de sus propias experiencias de comunicación por medio de la instalación de radioemisoras regionales que estén a su alcance”. Por tal razón se hicieron gestiones para que, en 1980, el Movimiento de Hombres Católicos de Austria financiara un estudio sobre la factibilidad técnica y económica del proyecto. El estudio lo realizó la empresa Austroconsult y lo concluyó en agosto 1981. Esto permite al ICER concretar la idea de las radioemisoras culturales. El ICER nació en 1973 gracias a la visión de su fundador el P. Franz Tattenbach, sj. El detectó que los campesinos de esta región centroamericana solicitaban que se 24 les ofreciera la oportunidad de aprender a leer, escribir y, en general, aprender más para poder entender los acontecimientos y las actividades que enfrentaban día a día. Fue así como se concibió un sistema de educación a distancia que permitiera a los campesinos y a los indígenas capacitarse en un ambiente propio, sin tener que abandonar su comunidad para hacerlo y se le llamó: “El Maestro en Casa”. La idea de instalar pequeñas radioemisoras culturales, quería favorecer a la población costarricense que se encuentra alejada o no puede ser atendida por los centros educativos y culturales existentes. De hecho, dos terceras partes de la población total vive fuera del Valle Central, y no puede integrarse de lleno al desarrollo social, cultural y económico del país. De esta manera, el ICER con este programa viene a llenar un vacío, una necesidad urgente de los campesinos e indígenas de solucionar el problema de la alfabetización. Ellos son lo que el Padre Tattenbach llamó los “culturalmente marginados”. El proyecto indica que las emisoras culturales deben ser administradas por asociaciones no lucrativas, dedicadas exclusivamente a satisfacer las necesidades de las comunidades de la región; su funcionamiento está a cargo de Asociaciones Radiofónicas Regionales constituidas de acuerdo a los estatutos elaborados para definir las labores y las responsabilidades de cada radio regional. El punto de partida de las pequeñas radioemisoras culturales, se da en 1979 con el proyecto piloto La Voz de Talamanca, en Amubri, lo que aportó valiosas experiencias. En abril 1982, se instala la segunda estación de radio en Turrialba y ese mismo año se inauguran cuatro, ubicadas en Buenos Aires, Boruca, Pital de San Carlos y Nicoya. En 1983, funcionan cuatro más en Los Santos, Upala, Tonjibe de Guatuso y Los Chiles. En febrero de 1985, se establecen otras dos radioemisoras, una en La Cruz (Guanacaste) y otra en Ciudad Neilly (Puntarenas), para sumar un total de 12. El ICER ha podido aprovechar las experiencias de muchos años de la Asociación Latinoamericana de Educación Radiofónica (ALER) y de las instituciones que la forman. Se ha recibido bastante asesoría y capacitación de parte de Radio Nederland Training Centre (RNTC), que actualmente tiene su sede en Costa Rica. También, ha ayudado en la capacitación el Centro de Producciones Alternativas (PROA) con sede en Alemania. BOLIVIA 50 años de Radio Pío XII o el Indio-radio En los 80s, 90s y parte del siglo XXI, algunos predicaron que “la historia había llegado a su fin”. La Radio Pío XII no se creyó el cuento, nadó contra corriente. Se aferró a su fe y dijo: es posible ser diferente, construir una comunidad y una sociedad justa para todos y diferente. La Red Pío XII decidió nadar, arar, sembrar y cosechar junto a los marginados: Por ello, la Red Pío XII siembra desarrollo en los áridos terrenos de los municipios en las provincias y los barrios marginales del norte de Potosí, Oruro y Cochabamba. Promueve el fortalecimiento de organizaciones populares, vecinales o naturales para que impulsen su propio desarrollo. Los Consejos de Desarrollo Municipal, los Comités de Vigilancia, las organizaciones campesinas naturales y/o sindicales, organizaciones vecinales y cívicas son espacios participati- SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 RADIO In this time of globalisation... vos donde el pueblo y la comunidad debaten y deciden en democracia participativa. En varios municipios del Norte de Potosí, provincias de Oruro y Cochabamba, los padres de familia junto a maestros protagonizaron seminarios pedagógicos, elaboraron planes de estudio diversificados, apoyan el trabajo de los profesores, vigilan la buena calidad educativa y escribieron sus propios reglamentos internos de Juntas Escolares. La capacitación es el abono que se echa en los líderes de las organizaciones populares para que sean actores del desarrollo. Los y las líderes serán así capaces de promover la mejora de sus calles, orientar a sus vecinos de base, controlar a sus autoridades, vigilar la buena ejecución de obras y practicar valores humanos como la solidaridad y la democracia en sus organizaciones. La comunicación para el desarrollo promueve la participación ciudadana en los municipios. Cinco Programas radiales están dedicados a promover el desarrollo: Manos a la Obra en el Norte de Potosí, Manos a la obra en los municipios de Oruro, Municipios somos todos en la población de Llallagua (Potosí) y Desde mi Barrio en Cochabamba. Radio Pío XII camina por montañas, ríos y pueblos junto a los indígenas aymaras y quechuas, pero también de otras nacionalidades y regiones del país. Los quechuas y aymaras han tomado el micrófono para participar, elegir a sus diputados uninominales en la circunscripciones 40 y 41, a Subprefectos, a Consejeros Departamentales; y luego escribieron planes y agendas de trabajo para que sus representantes hagan lo que el pueblo manda SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 hacer. Con sus luchas sociales, han logrado cargos que antes les estaban prohibidos: ahora son Alcaldes, Concejales Municipales, Consejeros Departamentales, Parlamentarios. Los indígenas “han tomado” los micrófonos de la Red Pío XII para hacerse escuchar con otros sectores sociales, para hablar entre ellos, para enviar su mensaje o su saludo. No es extraño escuchar comentarios de algunas personas que califican a Pío XII como “indio-radio”. La Red Pío XII, con sus FMs en Cochabamba y Oruro, sus ondas media y corta de Siglo XX, tiene programas en red dedicados a los indígenas quechuas y aymaras. Los mineros, los jóvenes, los niños, las mujeres, los emigrantes hablan y se intercomunican en la Red Pío XII. La Pío XII ayudó a organizar ERBOL (Escuelas Radiofónicas de Bolivia) y es coproductora de los noticieros Encuentro Nacional de esa cadena que es hasta hoy el miembro nacional de SIGNIS en Bolivia. En América Latina la Radio Pío XII es parte de la Asociación Latinoamericana de Educación Radiofónica (ALER). Cada madrugada y cada noche, las redes quechua y aymara desenvainan el lenguaje para comunicarse con su país y el mundo. La Red Pío XII es responsable de la producción de programas de la red quechua boliviana y la red quechua de Latinoamérica. En esos programas los quechuas de Bolivia, Perú y Ecuador se reconocen como hermanos de una sola nación y se intercomunican. Los programas de las radios de Oruro y Cochabamba se escuchan en el real audio, en la página www.radiopioxii.com In this time of globalisation, the wealth of Latin America is ever more concentrated in the hands of a small group with international links, or often foreign shareholders, in the case of multinationals. These 'happy few' also control the mainstream media and with the liberalisation of the media, they have also penetrated society with local commercial radio. For these economic-political groups, cultural and political awareness and media education is no priority, on the contrary. They want to make money and control the media. Local communities, indigenous peoples, landless farmers and others use radio more and more as a cultural and political tool to defend their rights and to develop their community. In these networks the Catholic Church is a significant presence. In this article we present two examples of how radio is being used for the benefit of the local population, one in Costa Rica and the other in Bolivia. Dans cette période de mondialisation... Dans cette période de mondialisation, la richesse de l'Amérique latine est plus que jamais entre les mains de petits groupes ayant des liens internationaux ou étant actionnaires de multinationales. Ces "élus" contrôlent aussi les médias traditionnels, surtout depuis la libéralisation des médias dans les années 1990. Ils ont également envahi la société avec des radios locales commerciales. Pour ces groupes économico-politiques, la conscientisation et l'éducation culturelle et politique par les médias ne sont pas une priorité, au contraire. Ils veulent faire de l'argent et contrôler les médias pour leur bienêtre uniquement. Actuellement, les communautés locales, le peuple autochtone, comme les fermiers sans terre ou les ouvriers, utilisent de plus en plus souvent la radio comme un outil culturel et politique afin de défendre leurs droits et de développer leur communauté. L'église catholique a une présence significative au sein de ces réseaux. Notre article présente deux exemples illustrant l'utilisation de la radio au profit de la population locale, d'une part au Costa Rica et d'autre part en Bolivie. 25 BOOKS Des films qui donnent envie de vivre El cine en Bahía Blanca. Memoria y homenaje es un libro apasionante no sólo para los habitantes de Bahía Blanca pero también para los amantes del cine en general. El autor habla de la relación de la ciudad con la producción, distribución, exhibición y conservación. Al mismo tiempo, describe, analiza y comenta la vida cotidiana de los diferentes actores sociales. Así se describe el importante papel de los cinebares en los años del cine mudo. Le cinéma, invitation à la spiritualité, de Michèle Debidour. Éditions de l’Atelier Il n’est pas toujours simple d’aller au cinéma “en tant que chrétien”. Comprenez : de voir un film avec le goût d’y trouver une histoire qui donne à penser, un montage qui ouvre des horizons, un jeu d’acteurs qui dessine des profils humains “habités”, une mise en scène inspirée… Et l’on ne dispose pas forcément non plus, ensuite, des outils pour porter sur ce film un regard ni naïf ni froid, préservant sa force d’émotion tout en suscitant la réflexion. Si vous avez ce désir de lecture “croyante” d’une œuvre cinématographique, soit pour votre compte personnel, soit pour en faire profiter d’autres (famille, amis, ciné-club…), le livre de Michèle Debidour est pour vous. Cette enseignante de l’Université catholique de Lyon – qui s’était déjà signalée avec La quête spirituelle dans le cinéma contemporain (Profac, 1996) - propose des outils simples et efficaces pour relire un film en lui faisant donner tout son fruit quant au sens qu’il véhicule. L’essentiel, dès lors, n’est pas qu’un film traite d’un sujet explicitement religieux, ni même qu’il se veuille une démarche à label spirituel. Quant à trouver des critères univoques selon lesquels un message filmique pourra être qualifié de “chrétien”, rien n’est moins simple, comme on le voit ici à partir d’un retour très éclairant sur Breaking the waves, de Lars von Trier. Les dizaines d’exemples pris en compte dans ce livre montrent bien cette complexité, des Ailes du désir à Witness, en passant par Le festin de Babette ou La Strada. Bien sûr, nul n’est tenu de partager toujours l’analyse de l’auteur, même si on la suit sans peine dans sa prédilection pour des réalisateurs comme Bresson, les frères Dardenne, Kieslowski et surtout Tarkovski. L’enjeu, en tous les cas, est qu’un film mette en scène des valeurs disposant d’un pouvoir symbolique digne de ce nom. Ce que Michèle Debidour appelle des films “qui donnent envie de vivre” ! Son propos est largement convaincant. Michel Kubler The Media and the Rwanda Genocide Edited by Allan Thompson The news media played a crucial role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide: local media fuelled the killings, while the international media either ignored or seriously misconstrued 26 what was happening. This is the first book to explore both sides of that media equation. The book examines how local radio and print media were used as tools of hate, encouraging neighbours to turn against each other. It also presents a critique of international media coverage of the cataclysmic events in Rwanda. Bringing together local reporters and commentators from Rwanda, high-profile Western journalists, and leading media theorists, this is the only book to identify and probe the extent of the media's accountability. It also examines deliberations by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on the role of the media in the genocide. This book is a startling record of the dangerous influence that the media can have when used as a political tool or when news organizations and journalists fail to live up to their responsibilities. The authors put forward suggestions for the future by outlining how we can avoid censorship and propaganda, and by arguing for a new responsibility in media reporting. The book includes an opening statement from Kofi Annan and an introduction by Senator Roméo Dallaire. An important part is dedicated to the role of hate programmes on radio. This study closes with an important bibliography. La obra se ocupa también del papel que jugaron los católicos en la comunidad del cine de esa ciudad. Por iniciativa del Círculo Católico de Obreros se construyó en 1909 el cine-teatro Colón. Finalmente, veinte años después, la sala fue adquirida por la congregación salesiana. Después de una renovación, en 1962, y con la bendición del obispo José Borgatti la sala cambió su denominación por cine-teatro Don Bosco. Es interesante indicar que entre las primeras películas realizadas en esta ciudad se encuentra la filmación de la procesión del 24 de septiembre 1904, con la imagen de Nuestra Señora de la Merced, patrona de Bahía Blanca. Si bien la histórica visita a Bahía Blanca de Juan Pablo II, el 7 de abril 1987, fue documentada en el film El Papa entre nosotros (35 minutos) que con mucho público se presentó en el cine Don Bosco (1988), no hay muchas películas que se ocupen de la religiosidad de la ciudad. El autor de esta obra necesaria es Agustín Neifert. Quien es miembro activo de la Asociación de Cronistas Cinematográficos de Argentina, confundador del Centro de Estudios de Cine de Bahía Blanca y Director del Departamento de Crítica e Investigación de SIGNIS-Argentina. G.C. This book can be downloaded for free at w w w. i d r c . c a / f r / e v - 7 1 3 1 3 - 2 0 1 - 1 - D O _ TOPIC.html or bought at Pluto Press/Fountain Publishers/IDRC 2007 ISBN 978-1-55250-338-6 - 480 pp. El cine en Bahía Blanca. Memoria y homenaje de Agustín Neifert Se publica un libro que investiga la llegada y el establecimiento del cine en la ciudad de Bahía Blanca (Argentina). Un estudio interesante que permite descubrir el impacto del cine en esa comunidad del sur bonaerense. SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 NEWS EGYPTE Festival de la Centrale Catholique de Cinéma Un éclat : La 55ème édition du Festival de la Centrale Catholique de Cinéma (Le Caire) a récompensé le film Malek wala Ketaba (Pile ou Face) de Kamla Abou Zikri qui a raflé à lui seul cinq prix, dont celui du meilleur film, malgré le fait que le film n'ait pas connu de succès populaire lors de sa projection en salle. Ce deuxième long métrage de la très prometteuse Kamla était en étroite compétition avec quatre autres films sélectionnés parmi les 40 films projetés en salle en 2006. Il n'a pourtant pas séduit le public de la centrale, qui a donné son prix à Mattab sénaï de Waël Ehsan, une comédie légère sans prétention, très bien menée. un nouveau court métrage sur l'importance de la spiritualité pour l'homme Awqatt faghar (Temps perdu) de Mohamed Mostapha méritait plus d'attention. C'est une histoire de tous les jours, celle de jeunes désœuvrés, qui vivent sans repères. Bien que matériellement bien lotis, ils sont perdus dans la vie. Le jeu des jeunes comédiens était remarquable, comme le film dans son ensemble. Il a quand même reçu un prix d'appréciation. Tout comme El Abaa El Seghar de Derid Lahham. Une très belle histoire simple et très bien rendue par le jeu de quatre enfants qui sont les vedettes du film. Tradition oblige, cette année encore la Centrale, en marge du festival, a rendu hommage à des vétérans du cinéma dont l'actrice Lébléba, qui a fait ses premiers pas au cinéma dès son plus jeune âge surtout dans les comédies musicales. L'acteur comique Wahid Seif a aussi reçu un hommage pour l'ensemble de sa carrière. Tout comme l'actrice Zizi El-Badrawi et le comédien Saïd Saleh. Un prix spécial de la Centrale a été remis au fils de l'écrivain et scénariste Abdel Hay Adib. L'acteur Hicham Sélim et l'actrice Maali Zayed ont reçu des prix pour leurs rôles respectifs dans des feuilletons télévisés. Un grand nombre de comédiens étaient présents à la soirée car le festival de cinéma de la Centrale conserve un cachet spécial. Malgré sa simplicité, il reste le festival " fétiche " des grandes vedettes du cinéma qui y ont toutes, un jour ou l'autre, été récompensées. La jeune génération apprécie également ce festival et ses prix, car, ils ne récompensent pas seulement leur travail artistique, mais également les valeurs dont les œuvres sont porteuses : respect de la dignité humaine, des droits de l'homme, des valeurs morales, humaines et sociales. Ainsi donc, ce festival demeure un événement culturel et artistique pour les familles, toutes confessions confondues. Ida Ghali De gauche a droite : Youssef Amin, supérieur des Franciscains; Mgr. Antonios Naguib, patriarche Copte Catholique, Mamdouh Al Leisi, producteur, les acteurs Ahmed Helmi, Ména, Maali Zayed, Wahid Seif et Saïd Saleh. Pierre Lumens, la cinquantaine, est un homme brisé. Depuis son veuvage, il est fermé au monde, aux hommes, aigre et nihiliste. Il n'a dans la vie d'autre passion que son travail : restaurateur d'œuvres d'art. On lui confie un jour la restauration d'un vieux crucifix. Une étrange et paradoxale relation (d'attirance répulsion) s'installe entre l'objet et lui, et va, après bien des résistances inconscientes, ramener Lumens dans l'humanité, la pitié et peut-être la piété. Le cinéaste français Rodolphe Viémont souhaitait montrer avec ce film le dénuement d'une époque aux sens avachis au travers du personnage de Lumens, un restaurateur d'art incapable de percevoir la fonction magique des objets dont il a la charge. Par le biais de sa profession, Viémont a voulu raconter l'histoire d'une double restauration. Celle de l'œuvre à laquelle - par la patience de son regard - il rend vie. Et la sienne : Lumens à son tour est réparé par l'objet qui, lui tendant le miroir de ses propres craintes, lui permet de les exorciser. Un éclat est donc l'histoire d'une rencontre improbable entre deux ensembles très éloignés, un solitaire abîmé en lui-même et un objet égaré dans le temps. Ce film TV de 25 minutes est produit par Fée Clochette Production en coproduction avec Soleil Cherche Futur et Le Pèlerin Magazine, avec le soutien du CFRT. Teaser visible sur http://uneclat.free.fr/teaser.html Contact : Rodolphe Viémont Tél.: 233 674 49 69 42 Email : [email protected] www.uneclat-lefilm.com SIGNIS Media N°2/2007 27