[Sigiii-l] Fwd: The Drum Beat - 175 - Globalisation

Mon Dec 9 05:49:30 EST 2002

I assume SIG/III members know of Comminit and its excellent work
(including innovative use of ICT).
This issue of the Drum Beat being sort of echo to our Plaza event at
the last Annual Meeting, I can't resist forwarding it. Apologies to
those whi have already seen it.
By the way, it has been suggested that the Plaza exercise should be
repeated in 2003.
We can hopefully build upon the first edition and focus the
discussions on some of the themes that have emerged.
Michel J. Menou

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The Drum Beat - Issue 175 - Globalisation
December 9, 2002

from The Communication Initiative...global forces...local choices...critical voices...telling stories...

Partners: The Rockefeller Foundation, BBC World Service Trust, The CHANGE Project, CIDA, The European Union, Exchange, FAO, Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, OneWorld, The Panos Institute, PCI, Soul City, The Synergy Project, UNAIDS, UNICEF, USAID, WHO.

Chair of Partners Group: Denise Gray-Felder, Rockefeller Foundation dgray-felder at rockfound.org
Director: Warren Feek wfeek at comminit.com
Website: http://www.comminit.com

***

The term 'globalisation' has often been defined as a movement towards international forces dictating development.  From a communication perspective, globalisation is frequently paired with the word 'connectivity' and the phrase 'information technology'.  It is, however, a particularly troublesome word to define.  The term means many different things, depending on context, source, and history.  

In this issue of The Drum Beat, we do not endeavor to further define globalisation. Instead, we present herein articles, publications, initiatives and events that attempt to address specific issues related to globalisation, from specific perspectives and contexts.  These have been divided into 5 very loose categories: Examples of the Debate, Culture, Gender, Media & Politics, and Technology.  Please access the URLs included below for further information.

EXAMPLES OF THE DEBATE

1.      David Held and Paul Hirst, authorities on globalisation, engaged in a discussion on the subject in January 2002. OpenDemocracy published daily installments of their exchange, in which they address questions such as: What is globalisation and is it new? Does the WTO work? Is the European Union an alternative? Is global democracy possible?  For the full text of this exchange, please visit the OpenDemocracy site - http://www.opendemocracy.net/themes/article.jsp?id=6&articleId=637#one

2.      Thomas Friedman and Robert Kaplan recently debated issues of globalisation. In the course of this debate, Friedman posited the following:

"Globalisation enables each of us, wherever we live, to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before and at the same time allows the world to reach into each of us farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before."
and
"...the way to succeed in globalisation is to focus on the fundamentals...It’s about reading, writing, and arithmetic. It’s about churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques. It’s about rule of law, good governance, institution building, free press, and a process of democratisation."

For the full text of this debate, please visit the Foreign Policy Magasine site - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/issue_marapr_2002/debate.html

3.      Frank Lechner's Globalisation site, based out of Emory University, seeks to give an overview of the many definitions from publications, journals, articles, web sites, universities, and international NGOs.
http://www.emory.edu/SOC/globalization/issues01.html

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NEW!
Children - http://www.comminit.com/children/

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CULTURE

4.      Globalisation: A Conflict Between Freedom & Tradition
by Carlos Arboleda González
"There is much debate whether terms such as culture and identity can be applied in certain contexts. For example, is it permissible to speak of "the culture of violence"? Can we define anthropologically the identity of gangs, assassins for hire, self defense groups, or any of the other nonofficial factions which exist? This issue highlights a very important part of the study of culture: its reference to language itself..."
http://www.comminit.com/st2002/sld-6601.html

5.      Global Encounters: Media & Cultural Transformation
edited by Gitte Stald & Thomas Tufte
Divided into 2 halves: the first contains predominantly theoretical chapters reflecting upon the relation between globalisation, culture and the transformative role of the media; the second provides case studies, assessing questions of media use, cultural boundaries and identities emanating from these theoretical reflections.
http://www.comminit.com/Materials/sld-5959.html

6.      Indigenous Peoples & Globalisation
"...Why are there strong manifestations of protest against [globalisation] in all parts of the world? Very simply, because all attempts to make human nature uniform deny that its very essence is varied, uncertain and risky. It is the old fight between freedom and order, between law and instinct, between desire and thought. If the world is transformed into a rigid unity by the calculations and operations of banks, it will certainly know the death of creativity, of the creative instinct and of the ultimate hope for freedom..."
http://www.comminit.com/st2002/sld-6610.html

7.      Interview with Daniel Mato
Conducted by Alejandro Jaramillo Hoyos from La Iniciativa de Comunicación during the seminar "Myths & Realities of Globalisation" at the National University of Colombia (Universidad Nacional de Colombia) in Bogota, Colombia, May 2002.
http://www.comminit.com/int2002/sld-6574.html

and...

Images of the World: Globalisation & Cultural Diversity
http://www.comminit.com/Materials/sld-3025.html

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NEW!
Environment - http://www.comminit.com/environment/

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GENDER

8.      Globalisation, Women & Development in Latin American & the Caribbean
By Sahnya Shulterbrandt
"... Globalisation, liberalization of markets and competition require governments and the private sector to have a new business focus. We can see by the dizzying speed of technological change that time is not on the side of developing countries... In order for Latin American women to impact our own national economies we need 2 things: a determination, both individual and collective, to demand our social rights, and a growing and active participation in government and business positions that effect decisions...."
http://www.comminit.com/stla2002/sld-6275.html

9.      A Matter of Rights
A 52-part video series, in 10 packages of 5-minute pieces on the "Right to Development."  Package 3 is on the theme of gender and addresses specifically "globalisation & gender".
http://www.comminit.com/Materials/sld-3026.html

10.     Enda-Synfev
This networking programme aims to help Francophone African women escape poverty, victimisation, and marginilisation by improving their capacities with regard to ICTs. An underlying commitment is to enable these women to retain their personal and cultural identities in the face of globalisation.
http://www.comminit.com/pdskdv62002/sld-4976.html

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South Asia - http://www.comminit.com/south-asia/

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THE PULSE POLL

Development focused organisations should never pay for radio or television air time.
Do you agree or disagree?  Are you not sure?

Please VOTE and COMMENT - http://www.comminit.com/pulse.html

***

MEDIA & POLITICS

11.     Media, Democracy & Renewal in Southern Africa: New Approaches to Political Economy
edited by Keyan Tomaselli & Hopeton Dunn
Provides critical perspectives on media structures, ownership, new regulatory regimes, and the way both nations and local communities within them have engaged with globalisation via localised responses in Southern Africa. Studies detailed in this collection discuss privatisation, black empowerment, liberalisation, traditional communication, democracy and media freedom, the kalahari San, identity and new media.
http://www.comminit.com/Materials/sld-4534.html

12.     The Theory & Practice of Civic Globalism
The International Roundtable on the Theory & Practice of Civic Globalism was held April 19-21, 2001. This report includes an executive summary of the conference and opening remarks, as well as details on the conference sessions.  The papers included identify the asymmetry in globalisation and call for increased efforts to redress its detrimental effects on people living in poverty.
http://www.comminit.com/Materials/sld-4920.html

13.     Globalisation of the Media Industry & Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity
by Dr Maria Teresa la Porte Alfaro and Dr Teresa Sabáda
"The objective of this report is to assess if the new circumstances produced by globalisation in the media industry represent a threat for cultural diversity and, if this is the case, to determine the areas affected and evaluate the consequences for the content distributed by the media. This work also advises on the measures which should be adopted by the European institutions in order to reduce the risks and benefit effectively from the advantages of a globalised society..."
http://www.comminit.com/st2002/sld-5954.html

14.     AIDS in the 21st Century: Disease & Globalisation
By Tony Barnett & Alan Whiteside
Argues that HIV/AIDS is an epidemic of globalisation. Its trajectory can be directly linked to global inequality. Globalisation determines the scale and scope of HIV/AIDS, and HIV/AIDS will shape international political, economic and social relations in the first decades of this century. Above all, HIV/AIDS shows the bankruptcy of national and international public health policy.
http://www.comminit.com/Materials/sld-4135.html

15.     Extending the Information Revolution: A White Paper on Policies for Prosperity & Security
by Dr. Kenan Patrick Jarboe with contributions from Bonnie Bracy, Karen Kornbluh, Samuel Leiken, Erik Pages, Mark Troppe, Ryan Turner, Stockton Williams.
This paper lays out a series of recommendations in a number of areas from a number of experts. It is based on some shared principles:
* the critical importance of inclusion and true participation by all
* technology is, and should be, a tool - the means to an end, not the end itself
* open and competitive economic systems work best
* a more economically prosperous world is a more secure world
http://www.comminit.com/ctrends2002/sld-5005.html

and...

Latin Politics, Global Media
http://www.comminit.com/Materials/sld-3490.html

The Simultaneous Policy - An Insider's Guide to Saving Humanity & the Planet
http://www.comminit.com/Materials/sld-3441.html

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Radio - http://www.comminit.com/radio/

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TECHNOLOGY

16.     Guide to ICTs for Development
by Aditya Dev Sood
"...ICTs represent an unprecedented opportunity to make new knowledge, services, and opportunities available in underserved areas. Both urban and rural citizen consumers may benefit from ICTs... In the long term, rural ICT projects could prove to be the most effective means of driving change in rural areas: socially, by ensuring equal access for disprivileged groups, economically: by creating new kinds of work and financial transactions, and politically: by improving the quality, speed, and sensitivity of the state apparatus to the needs of local citizen-consumers...."
http://www.comminit.com/st2002/sld-6852.html

17.     Networked World: Information Technology & Globalisation Conference - California, USA - April 24-26 2003
Designed to foster the exchange of cutting-edge research and practice on the theme of information technology and globalisation, while also building intellectual community in a workshop setting. It is one of 3 major conferences that will be held as part of a year-long Institute on Globalisation at Santa Clara University. 
http://www.comminit.com/events_cal/2003/1044-event.html

18.     The Internet Bridge on the Great Silk Route for Poor Youth
Involves supplying 3,200 used computers donated in the United States and Sweden to 250 primary and secondary schools with 50,000 students throughout the Republic of Georgia. This project is an effort to reduce the digital divide between Georgia and developed countries.
http://www.comminit.com/pdskdv122002/sld-6862.html

and...

African Connection
http://www.comminit.com/pds02-2002/sld-4229.html

Future Positive: International Cooperation in the 21st century
http://www.comminit.com/Materials/sld-3074.html

***

Health - http://www.comminit.com/healthcomm/
HIV/AIDS - http://www.comminit.com/hivaids/
Immunisations & Vaccines - http://www.comminit.com/immunisation/

***

The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners. 

Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann dheimann at comminit.com

To reproduce any portion of The Drum Beat, see http://www.comminit.com/Helpdocuments/sld-3318.html for our policy.

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