Community Media

DHAN Foundation, conscious of the technological change and the poor being left out in the whole process has initiated the theme ICT for poor for making Information Technology accessible to the poor and for impacting their livelihoods. Presently the programme has a reach of 14 Community Colleges and 162 Village Information Centres.

The Village Information Centers (VICs) is a resource centre where an operator and a computer system are available with internet connectivity. They would provide computer experience for the villagers. The VICs help villagers to enhance their livelihood options and empowering them with information tools, goods, and services. The concept of Federation on the theme of ICT for Development is being done for the first time in India or in the World. The Village information Centers are established at the panchayat level. The Community Colleges are established at block level. The Content Development is undertaken both at Village Information Centres and Community Colleges. The Thagavalagam Development Associations are promoted at VIC level with users groups (farmers, fishermen, women, youth, etc) and the Thagavalagam federation is promoted at the district level.

After five years of experimentation, the theme has come out with a Thagavalagam model to take it to the next phase of upsacling. It has identified five major programme components for the next phase. 1) Village Information Centers to take ICT services at grass roots level, presently there are about 30 different ICT based services designed and offered to the communities suiting to their needs and local context. 2) Community Colleges to create ICT based employment opportunity and act as information hub for the VIC activities. These community colleges provide diploma and certificate computer courses to local youths. 3) Developing locally relevant content that have influence over the lives and livelihoods of the local communities. 4) Promoting Thagavalagam People Institutions to bring sustainability and ownership among the primary groups. 5) Fulfilling hardware and software requirements of Peoples Organisations and development institutions.

Community Media Initiative of DHAN Foundation

After the Tsunami devastation, DHAN Foundation started working intensively with the affected fishing and farming communities along the coast with a long term development focus. Empowering the community in all aspects, particularly in building capacity of the community for disaster management was felt as an important area of intervention. Applications of Information and Communication Technology were introduced through the Village Information Centres connected with internet facility setup in all the villages.

To complement the ICT initiatives, DHAN Foundation has supported the local communities to launch a Community Radio Station – Kalanjiam Samuga Vanoli in the Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu. United Nations Development Programme provided needed resources under its Tsunami Recovery Support Programme and VOICES, at Bangalore provided needed technical support. The Station has started to function from October 2006. In addition to Radio and ICT based Village information Centres (Thagavalagam), community video component was added to maximize the impact.

The Vision

The vision of the Kalanjiam Community Media Centre is

• To inform, inspire and empower the vulnerable coastal communities to speak and act on various socio, economic and cultural development issues concerning them.
• To enable the communities to use radio, television and the Internet to create and distribute programs that promote and celebrate individual expression, local achievements, education, cultural exchange, arts appreciation and civic engagement.
• To prepare the communities in the disaster prone coastal areas for managing any kind of disasters and strengthen their livelihoods to cope up with future disasters with a long term conservation focus.

The Centre would take up media literacy as one of its core area of intervention. Media literacy is the practice of turning passive media consumers into critical thinkers and media creators. Its ultimate goal would be “Building Community through Media.” The Centre combines the Audio, Video and internet resources and tools that can empower the communities to be more conscious media consumers.

Community Radio

The Kalanjiam Community Radio station, which currently narrowcasts the audio programmes, would soon go on air once the Community FM license issued by the GoI. The station has been equipped with infrastructure needed for producing audio programmes. A team of trained Volunteers from the local community are involved in programme production. The station is connected with the Thagavalagam VICs through Local Area Network. These VICs narrow cast the programmes produced and sent by the Station through the Public Address Systems fixed over towers.

Presently programmes of 30-minutes duration are presented daily. Also the CR Station has made an arrangement with the AIR – Karaikal FM Station to broadcast selected programmes once in a week for fifteen minutes. Community radio programming addresses local information and community needs that revolve around disaster preparedness, livelihoods, local best practices, women and children, health, education and farming.

Community Video

A team of women volunteers from the local community has been trained on video production tools and techniques. A digital camcorder and accessories have been given to them. They are documenting the socio-economic development issues concerning the women in video. Also materials that are showcasing best practices of women individually and as a group are featured in video format.

These video films are screened to the women members during their SHG and federation meetings. The Centre works with the local television cable channels to screen the video products made by the team at fixed time schedules. Apart from preparing development content, the centre also undertakes commercial video documentation assignments for local commercial and non profit organisations on cost basis.

Thagavalagam VICs

Thagavalagam Village Information Centres (VIC’s) have been set up in 13 villages in the block. These VICs design and deliver a number of e-services to the communities. All these VICs have been networked with the community college, which functions as hub and connects through wireless network. Everyday, information related to weather, potential fish catch zones and other relevant information are displayed in the information board installed in the villages. The VICs also provide Global Positioning System (GPS) on rent to the fishermen along with potential fishing zone information downloaded from the GoI website to enhance their fish catch. The VICs constantly update the number of persons with mobile phones in the village. Early warning alerts, relevant information from the Government departments, and availability of seeds, man power, machineries for sales and rental information are sent as free SMS.

Location, reach & the Community

The Kalanjiam Community Media Centre has been set up at Vizhunthamavadi village of Keelaiyur Block in Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu. Four hamlets located around this village namely PR Puram, Kameswaram, Pudupalli and Vettaikaraniruppu covering a population of about 1700 families have been linked with the Station through narrowcast mode. Once the station start broadcasting radio programmes in FM mode it would reach about 25 villages.

The Centre has so far made about 5000 minutes of audio programme and disseminated through loud speakers fixed over VICs and 32 programmes of fifteen minutes duration each have been made on the community initiatives for rebuilding affected livelihoods and broadcasted through Karaikal FM, a local AIR owned FM station on a weekly basis. Similarly the volunteer who were trained on video production have made about six issue based documentation along with the communities on health, livelihoods, gender and culture. The products have been screened through the local cable network, which covers 16 villages and serves about 6000 families. With the license issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India the Station has got the frequency 90.8 FM to broadcast programmes that reach 25-30 villages within a radius of 10 Kilometers. The centre receives feedbacks from the communities through personal interaction and letters.

The Keelaiyur Vattara Vayalagam, a federation of Vayalagam Farmers’ groups promoted by DHAN Foundation among the Tsunami affected communities owns the Centre. The Foundation works with the federation to set up Governance and Executive Structure for managing the Centre.

Governance & Management

The Board of Governance of the Kalanjiam Community Media Centre has been drawn from the Keelaiyur Vattara Vayalagam. Panchayat level Cluster Development Associations of the federation have nominated representatives for the Board of Governance. A twenty one member Board of Governance works with a professional deputed from DHAN Foundation and a team of local volunteers. Two third of the board members are women. In addition, a small advisory group consists of teachers, health workers, farmers, fishermen, women and children has been set up to advise on content. The Centre has just initiated various income generating activities to make it self reliant in the near future.

Contact

Centre for Development Communication
DHAN Foundation
18 Pillaiyar Koil Street
S. S Colony
Madurai – 625016
Tamil Nadu, INDIA
Tel: 91-452-4353983
Fax: 91-452-2602247
Email: dhancdc@dhan.org
Web: www.dhan.org

Kalanjiam Community Media Centre
Velli Sandhai
Vizhunthamavadi Village (Post)
Pin: 611 112
Nagapattinam District
Tamil Nadu, INDIA
Tel: 91-4365-268606
Email: kalanjiamvanoli@gmail.com