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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