Dialogue on Documentaries for Development

Background

We live in an era of rapid change. Societies are moving towards greater democracy, decentralization and market economies. An information revolution is underway as electronic information "super-highways" span the globe. At the same time, poverty is pervasive, especially in rural areas. The gap between the information rich and the information poor is getting wider. And farmers face the difficult challenge of making agriculture more productive, more profitable and more sustainable, all at the same time.

Knowledge and information are essential for people to successfully respond to the opportunities and challenges of social, economic and technological changes. But to be useful, knowledge and information must be communicated to people in ways that can help them participate in and direct their own courses of change. Communication is about the human factor in development -- it gives people a voice, makes them "visible" and helps them to learn and take action. Communication is most useful when it starts by listening to what people already know, what they aspire to become, what they perceive is possible and what they can productively sustain.

But effectively using communication media first requires an understanding of the knowledge and information needs of a particular audience. This means beginning with an understanding of the audience, listening and observing, before selecting media or designing messages. It should facilitate the dialogue between the communities and media, particularly film makers, broadcasters and civil society groups. In the recent time non fiction and documentary films are influencing the policies of the mainstream agencies by highlighting development issues and community aspirations. There is need for a dialogue between media, particularly documentary film makers and civil society groups to exchange their views and perceptions about each other.

The Dialogue on Documentaries for Development focused on the areas such as roles of these films towards development, reaching out to audience, community participation and addressing larger issues of development through this powerful medium. The participants were the Media Professionals, filmmakers, academicians, NGO Professionals.

Programme Schedule