Pipal Tree-Alliance workshop for students of Journalism in Bangalore on ‘Media and Environmental Activism’
Saturday 27th January, 2007
Fireflies Inter-cultural Centre, Bangalore
Pipal Tree invited students from the Bangalore School of Journalism in January 2007 for a one-day workshop on “Media and Environmental Activism” as part of the International Alliance of Journalists program. The goals of the workshop were to introduce the students to the Alliance, explore the possibility of building and supporting a community of journalists locally who could increase the space for social reporting in the mainstream media and to show how Pipal Tree has worked in the areas of culture, environment and media over the years.
Siddhartha began the workshop by telling of his experience in journalism and the feelings of isolation, fatigue and low morale that accompany writing on social issues. This spurred the idea for a support group for journalists who did not want to fall into the trap of infotainment writing. With that in mind, these are the Alliance’s objectives:
- To explore the possibility of journalists and social activists forming informal networks that may lobby politicians and bureaucrats to implement social programs.
- To reflect on the role of the media in creating a vibrant civil society where local groups and organizations play a major role in tackling local issues in a participatory and democratic spirit.
- To see the media as a humanizing and culturally energizing force that can generate hope and initiative among a large number of people.
- To monitor the process of globalization in the interests of the poor and the marginalized peoples.
The students also felt that this type of network for journalists could be a great asset to the overall community of writers.
Noted Journalist Arun Subramaniam of Bangalore, was the keynote speaker for this program. He has worked in both print and television in India and Hong Kong, focusing primarily on business. One of his most successful efforts was an investigation into the causes of the 1984 gas leak from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal in central India, which claimed thousands of lives. His main point to the students was that fair media can help market forces to stay ethical and that media can help in intervene in other areas such as the relatively new bill ‘The Right to Work’ or ‘The Right to Information’ as well as environmental issues.
The second part of the workshop had the students walking through Fireflies Intercultural Center and discovering it as a place with no guru, but one with a deep dedication to the environment and also a place where individuals could come together and discuss the issues that make us who we are. The workshop concluded with talks of creating more communities for journalists who are committed to exploring issues beyond the demands of their politically and entertainment minded newspapers.
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