http://www.cyberstation.net/~meme/cman/z/newdelhi.htm



/* Written  6:49 am  Feb 26, 1994 by jagdish@igc.apc.org in igc:gen.media */
/* ---------- "Delhi Symposium Declaration" ---------- */

From: Jagdish Parikh



Declaration  of the New Delhi Symposium on New  Technologies  and
       the Democratisation of Audiovisual Communications



                   New Delhi, 12 February 1994 Considering:



-  that  the communication and information sector  has  become

   central in establishing the direction of social and  political

   change at a global level;



-  that information and communications are dominated by corporate

   and military interests;



-  that the control of information represents a serious threat to

   democracy,  cultural  diversity, and the  evolution  of  civil

   society;



-  that an increasing number of people have come to recognise the

   considerable  potential social and political benefits  of  the

   new  technologies  and are opposing the  corporate  and  state

   control of information and communications;



We, the participants of the Fourth International Symposium on New

Technologies and the Democratisation of Audiovisual Communications,

convened by Videazimut and CENDIT, meeting in New Delhi on February 12,

1994, are media producers, us ers and distributors, communications

researchers and teachers and representatives of many community-based and

national organisations.  We have come from Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil,

Burkina Faso, Canada, Denmark, France, HongKong, India, Italy, Japan,

Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Mozambique, Palestine, Phillipines, Peru, Russia,

Singapore, Taiwan, U.K. and U.S.A. 



We, recognise and lend our support to the principles expressed by inter

alia, the UN Declaration on the Right to Development;  the UN Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights; the UN Declaration on Human Rights; the

declarations from the MacBride Round Table; the Quito Declaration. 



We clearly observe that economic development in Asia and around the world

is leading to less equal distribution of resources and wealth, and

continues to exacerbate the rapid advance of ecological devastation. 

We are witness to increasing monopolisation and commercialisation of

information and the expansion of a global economy which has led to a

subversion of democratic processes and reduced popular participation.  The

inability of a large part of hu mankind, particularly women and indigenous

cultures to exercise control has meant their subordination to global

corporate and other vested interests. 

In this context it is further apparent that as new technologies are

introduced, human dignity is diminished. 

We believe in the pressing need for global democracy, not a global

supermarket, and affirm our unity in support of the following; 



1.  All  peoples  and  individuals  shall  have  the  right   to

    communicate  freely, to utilise the tools  of  communication

    and to inform themselves and others.



2.  Airwaves and satellite paths are a global peoples resource to

    be  administered  equitably,  with  a  significant  portion

    devoted to serving the public interest and for community use.



3.  We  oppose the militarisation of space and the  exploitation

    of  space  for  corporate  interests.  Any  exploitation   of

    airwaves  transmission  channels and earth orbits  should  be

    subject  to  a  public  levy to  be  used  to  support  local

    community  expression, facilitate non-commercial  information

    exchange,  and  to contribute to  equitable  distribution  of

    information technologies.



4.  Communication and information technologies must be  used  to

    facilitate  participatory  democracy and the  development  of

    civil society, not to limit democratic rights.



5.  Information systems exhibit great potential for real  popular

    participation  and  should  be  organised  according  to  the

    principles of decentralisation in order to nurture and sustain

    cultural diversity and humanitarian values.



Individuals are not born consumers;  information is not a commodity, but

rather a utility to be shared.  The Symposium brought many people who have

been creatively using new technologies from the simple video camera to

computer networks and satellite transmissions to enhance democratic

participation. 



Such examples show that it is possible and necessary to appropriate and

liberate technology to defend ecological struggles, to empower the

disenfranchised, to express cultural diversity, and to strengthen popular

participation in g enuinely democratic processes. 



In this struggle, we align ourselves with the growing movement of local

and international organisations who have spoken out in favour of

democratic communications and lend our support to the principles expressed

by them. They include Videazimut, CENDIT, Alternative Media Asia, World

Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), the MacBride Round

Table, the Union of Democratic Communications, the Alliance for Community

Media, the Telecommunications Policy Round Table, Computer Professionals

for Social Responsibility. 

================================================================ 

From: cendit@unv.ernet.in (CENDIT)

Date: Wed, 23 Feb 94 14:15:28 IST

Organization: IndiaLink - UNV Experimental System - New Delhi 

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