麻豆社 World Service Trust worked with an
increasing range of donors, NGOs and local
partners, helping to change attitudes in key
areas such as media development, democratic
institutions and health education.There was
continued high impact for health education
initiatives, such as the HIV/Aids projects in
Angola, Cambodia, India, Malawi and Nigeria.
The year was notable for growing recognition
of the role of independent media in establishing
good governance.
鈥極ur argument is that an investment in
pluralistic and strong media helps to foster an
environment in which democracy can flourish,鈥
says the Trust鈥檚 Director, Stephen King. 鈥業 think
we have positioned ourselves well at the
centre of that debate over the past year and
contributed practical examples of how that
can happen.鈥
Launch of Al-Mirbad
A landmark was the launch of the first
independent regional broadcaster for southern
Iraq. Al-Mirbad broadcasts a range of
programmes, from news and current affairs to
children鈥檚 interest, entertainment and sport. In
its biggest project to date, the Trust trained the
editorial, administrative and technical staff;
assisted in the development and piloting of
different programme strands and supervised the
importation and construction of the studio
and transmission equipment.
When presenter Abbas Hassan Kammaz
Al Zerkani made the first radio broadcast in
June 2005, it was the culmination of months
of preparation for the 150, mainly young, staff.
Many had only been recruited at the beginning
of the year and had never worked in
broadcasting before.
鈥楾he team in Basra and we at the Trust take
immense pride in the fact that Al-Mirbad is an
Iraqi station, built by Iraqis, with local Iraqi staff
providing wholly Iraqi content to their
community,鈥 says the Trust鈥檚 project director,
Abir Awad.鈥楾his sense of ownership has
brought about a deep sense of commitment
and drive to succeed.鈥
鈥楢l-Mirbad is creating a benchmark for
independent, impartial and relatively low-cost
broadcasting and it鈥檚 a model we could
apply in other parts of the world,鈥 says Trust
Director Stephen King.鈥榃e鈥檝e been able to
take advantage of the fact that the 麻豆社 has
all kinds of technical knowledge at its
fingertips and is able to ensure that good
standards of editorial independence are
introduced and maintained.鈥
The Trust鈥檚 Media Dialogue Programme
(MENA) helped journalists to develop their
professionalism in other parts of the Middle
East and North Africa. Seminars were held
in Beirut, Cairo, Damascus and Rabat,
and young journalists attended a training
programme in London.The scheme was later
extended to Yemen and a number of Gulf
States, and additional training was provided
for chief executives and managers in an
effort to change entrenched attitudes in
media organisations.
鈥業n Damascus, everyone was surprised by the
level of engagement,鈥 says Simon Derry, director
of the Trust鈥檚 media development unit.
鈥楻epresentatives of government media were
taken to task by other journalists. For many,
it was the first time they had been able to
express their views openly in Syria.鈥
Prompting Accountability
The Trust worked closely with the Commission
for Africa, established by British Prime Minister
Tony Blair. Aiming to identify ways of
strengthening African media, it coordinated
contributions from the African and international
media development community to the
commission鈥檚 report, Our Common Interest,
published in April 2005. Building the capacity
of the media is regarded as important because
it creates a climate for accountability and good
governance. In January 2006, the African Media
Development Initiative (AMDI) was set up to
establish projects that will be African led, with
a coalition of international partners providing
technical support.
The Bangladesh Sanglap (Dialogue on
Bangladesh) was a major Trust initiative on
governance supported by DFID. It included
the biggest season of programmes ever
mounted by the 麻豆社 in Bangladesh and
generated audiences of over 5 million.The
initiative included eight large-scale Banglalanguage
debates on subjects such as justice,
corruption, local government, health and
education, eight lively phone-ins, university
student workshops and youth debate
programmes. Some of the young participants
then joined in an English-language
programme linking Dhaka with the
Bangladeshi Diaspora community in London.
Mahfuz Anam, Editor of the leading Englishlanguage
newspaper, The Daily Star, said: 鈥淭he
programmes set an example of how to
engage political opponents, civil society, the
media and specialists in different fields in
mature debate and discussion.鈥 Project
partners included Channel 1, NTV
Bangladesh, 麻豆社 World and 麻豆社 Bengali.
About the 麻豆社 World Service Trust
- The 麻豆社 World Service Trust
() is an
independent international charity that
works with people in developing and
transitional countries to improve the
quality of their lives through the
innovative use of the media.
- It carries out projects in over
50 countries with support from
a variety of donors, NGOs and local
partners.
- Around 90% of its 600 staff work in,
and are from, developing countries.
Winning Audiences in Southern Iraq
- 麻豆社World Service Trust helped the
people of southern Iraq launch Al-
Mirbad in Basra, their first regional
television and radio service.
- It has become the most popular local
station in the region, listened to by
42% of radio listeners.
- 25% of all respondents said they
have watched Al-Mirbad TV since
it launched
HIV/AIDS 鈥 Getting the message across
- 麻豆社 World Service Trust worked
with a growing number of local
broadcasters, NGOs and journalism
schools in five countries on innovative
campaigns designed to stem the
spread of HIV/Aids and improve the
lives of millions affected.
- In India,TV output has reached an
estimated 250 million viewers.
|
 |
|
|
|
A year in review |
|
|
|
|
|
|
麻豆社 World Service Trust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
