Global Media Forum - June 3-5, 2009

While I have yet to make it to a conference that addresses the media's role in peace (they seem to get canceled a lot), the Global Media Forum is one I'm hoping to attend. It's main objective is to examine how new media technology (hello my thesis!!) can aid in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

In their first conference (2008) they addressed the following questions:
What is the relation between the media and violent conflict? Do the media have a responsibility to prevent the outbreak of violence? Moreover, can they contribute to peace-building activities? And if so: how?

Here's a video from last year's conference:

This years follow up conference will be held from June 3-5th in Bonn, Germany.
Taking a look through their website and their lineup of talks, it's clear that they are aware of how these new medias- Youtube, blogging, and social networking- are changing the face of not only traditional media but its outreach to newer audiences.

Out of the questions/issues that this conference aims to address these are the following that particularly interest me:
• Do the changes in technology and user profiles influence the way in which the media report on conflicts – or do they directly influence the way in which a war is fought?
• What about the impact on peace-building processes and conflict-prevention strategies?
• What are the main challenges for the international media during this technological revolution?
• How have the expectations of viewers, listeners and users changed, and what is the best way to reach them in the digital age?
• The multimedia revolution and its impact on conventional media YouTube & Co.: Generating new audiences or excluding even more people?
• Blogging for peace or hate as a way to bypass censorship?

I hope that this conference will prove to be an opportunity to learn in greater detail from those already working in this field of how both content and the way it is served can reach the largest amount of individuals and have the greatest impact possible.

Hometown Baghdad on the Sundance Channel this Thursday night

Hometown Baghdad, the web-based documentary series that I wrote my thesis on, will be making its debut on the Sundance Channel on Thursday March 19 at 11:30pm. It's airing coincides with an important date--the 6th anniversary of the war in Iraq. Let's take this opportunity to re-reflect on the costs of war. For international viewers, look for it listed on the National Geographic International channel. I hope to catch it there!

From Chat the Planet's email blast:
"Hometown Baghdad follows three Iraqi college students based in Baghdad as they try to maintain a semblance of normal existence amidst the escalating violence and chaos around them. The online version of Hometown Baghdad drew over 3 million viewers worldwide when it launched in March 2007. The series won three 2008 Webby Awards, and in the categories News and Politics Series, Public Service and Activism, and Reality. In an article about the online series for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, pop culture critic Cary Darling wrote that the series' scenes of ordinary lives "offer a glimpse into a society few knew existed: young Iraqis who are clinging to a global, middle-class identity while the world around them crumbles into chaos."

NYC: Barefoot Workshop Event on Sun 28th.

Back when I was exploring different organizations to write my thesis on, I came across Barefoot Workshops which trains  video production skills to youth and women in developing countries. This upcoming Sunday, the 28th, BW will be holding a seminar at B & H. 

I'm going do my best to make and hopefully will be writing a follow report.  love, M

Details: 

Sunday, September 28, 2008

B & H Photo

34th & 9th Ave
Media Empowerment & The Developing World Presented by Barefoot Workshops
Speaker: Chandler Griffin
Event Type: Video
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Barefoot Workshops is a New York City and Los Angeles based not-for-profit, founded by Chandler Griffin in 2004, that offers short, intensive workshops around the world in narrative and documentary filmmaking. In this two-hour session, Chandler Griffin will provide an overview of Barefoot’s role in using media in the developing world to help Civil Society Organizations, Non-Governmental & Governmental Organizations, and individuals make change where it is needed the most. Chandler will discuss the media tools and formats used on the ground, how to conceptualize a workshop and ways to get involved. The goal of this session is to demystify the “how can I do this?” and give individuals a chance to learn how Barefoot Workshops does it, ask all the questions and get involved. You will learn that through Barefoot’s international workshops, they offer field placements for international students to assist organizations on the ground with media projects that help them to address challenges in their communities. These “hybrid” workshops result in dynamic learning environments, and open the way for international students to gain valuable field experience, and to learn about issues firsthand. If you are interested in discovering how you can change the world through the power of digital media, come find out how Barefoot can train anyone from vastly different backgrounds and skill levels, how to blend the technical and artistic aspects of storytelling, beginning with the basics of image-making all the way through to post-production to create a “symphony” of images and sound. Barefoot Workshops hopes that by sharing “how they do it”, they will mobilize individuals to get involved and help make a difference with media.

New York: 2008 HMF International Film/Media Festival & Conference

Hey looks like a great conference and festival that I full intend on attending and presenting at!
2008 HMF International Film/Media Festival & Conference

10 to 14 December 2008
New York City, United States

SNAPSHOT:

The 2008 Festival & Conference will act as a conduit through
which media (web, print, television, and photojournalism),
narrative and documentary film, NGO's, and international policy
may meet to discuss issues of humanitarian importance.

The deadline for abstracts/proposals is 01 August 2008.

________

Call for Papers for the 2008 HMF International Film/Media
Festival & Conference

The 2008 HMF International Film/Media Conference will be
taking place concurrently with the 2008 HMF International Film
Festival and the associated 2008 HMF International Art/Photo
Exhibition.

The 2008 HMF International Film/Media Conference will be an
integral part of the overall Festival & Conference, and will
include Panels, Conference Papers, Debates, and Discussions
relevant to the Media's Role in issues of international
humanitarian importance.

Issues which the Conference will cover:

1) The media's role in humanitarian histories, events, issues and
crises – past and present - in the context of examples of such
coverage, including as a lesson for what should – or in certain
select cases - should not be done;

2) The role that the media has played and perhaps should play in
the work of the UN, NGO's and other agencies who help to
support populations in need and are affected by certain issues
or crises;

3) The future role of the media with the advent of new
technologies, the possibilities inherent in the web, among other
means of information and media dissemination, and how these
new possibilities can be utilized by those seeking to bring
further attention to the public sphere regarding issues of
humanitarian importance;

4) The role of the artistic media (film, art, photogrpahy, music)
in revealing the nuances of issues of humanitarian importance
and the significance of "celebrity" involvement in such media
and issues of humanitarian importance;

5) The role of print, television, web, and photojournalism and its
importance in the humanitarian sphere – including issues of the
bias of coverage, the preeminence or lack of coverage, the role
journalists do or should play, and the responsibilities of
journalism in humanitarian crises even despite the profit motive
of for-profit corporate parents, such as in the United States, of
news agencies, networks, newspapers, magazines, etc.
Other subjects are welcome, provided they merge the idea of
the media—in any form—and issues and subject matter of
humanitarian importance.

SPECIAL SECTION:

A special section, which also may be chosen, will be called
"Never Again" : The Media's Role in Past, Present, and Future
Humanitarian Crises with a Focus on Genocide. This will also
take place concurrently with a focused Sidebar series during the
Film Festival portion of the 2008 HMF International Festival &
Conference.

For further information, please contact us at
pr@humanitarianmedia.org.

SUBMISSIONS FOR PRESENTATION CONSIDERATION

Abstract Deadline: August 1, 2008;
Submit to
conferencepaper@humanitarianmedia.org.

Submit a 200-word abstract. Early submissions are greatly
appreciated. All submissions must be in Acrobat PDF format.

Please include the following information on the first page of the
document:

1. Name(s) of author(s)
2. Address / Phone number
3. E-mail address
4. Institution or Organization
5. Title of Abstract/Paper

By submitting an abstract, and subsequently a paper for the
Conference, you are agreeing that all submitted ideas and work
are your own, and materials which may be used, if not in the
public domain or are under permissable purpose allowances,
shall have all necessary clearances provided to the HMF prior to
the Paper being presented.

The HMF may disqualify any paper from presentation or
publication for any reason, at its sole descretion. At no time will
the HMF be held liable for any difficulties presented by the
authorship, subject(s), and presentation of the Paper at the
Conference.

The author(s), by virtue of submitting his/her abstract(s) and
paper(s), agree that he/she will be solely responsible for the
content of such abstract(s) and paper(s), the substance involved,
and all necessary references necessary for the content
submitted.

You will receive an email containing an acceptance or rejection
letter by August 31, 2008. The letter will contain a submission
number that you should include in all further correspondences.
Directions will be provided for submitting your paper to the
conference proceedings and for award consideration along with
your acceptance letter.

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING THE CONFERENCE:

The HMF provides the academic community with an opportunity
to share their research, ideas, and discuss administrative issues.
it also offers a great opportunity for networking and placement.

- To publish an abstract of your paper in our refereed
conference proceedings online (via
http://www.humanitarianmedia.org and associated HMF
websites);

- To present your research at an international conference;

- To receive feedback on your research;

- To compete for the Conference Award;

- To have your paper considered for publication in a peer
reviewed journal, or in book form, with all presented papers
being eligible for publication in a book of conference papers via
the Humanitarian Media Foundation (HMF) and its partner
publishing house;

- To network with potential employers and employees.

SHARE THIS
CALL

We would warmly welcome you sharing this Call for Papers, and
otherwise the Call for Entries in film (beginning June 25, 2008),
or the Call for Entries in Art/Photography (began May 25, 2008)
with your colleagues.

Further information on each may be found at
http://www.humanitarianmedia.org.

To subscribe to our mailing list, please send an email to
pr@humanitarianmedia.org with “Subscribe” in the subject
header, or sign up via the form on the HMF home page.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

- Call for Papers begins June 16, 2008
- Deadline for Abstracts: August 1, 2008
- Deadline for Accepted Papers, with any A/V requirements:
November 1, 2008
- Deadline for all Conference sign-ups: December 1, 2008
- Event dates December 10-14, 2008


CONFERENCE FEES:

Deadline: December 1, 2008
Conference registration is US$420
(early registration is $350) with the
authors of accepted papers
not being required to submit a fee. The registration fee for full-
time students is $295 (documentation of full-time student
status is required, sent via .pdf to pr@humanitarianmedia.org).

Conference fees may be paid via secured server via this link:

http://2008hmfconference.eventbrite.com/

Summer plans 2008

Is it possible? Have I completed a 100 page thesis on media and peace? Have I defended my thesis in front a panel of professors? Am I graduating with an MA in peace and conflict studies at the end of June? Is my Rotary World Peace Fellowship coming to an end?


What's next, what's on the horizon, what are you plans? you ask.

Here are some concrete and not so concrete plans for the summer of 2008:

June 7th- Annual Seminar
Each year at the beginning of June, the graduating class of Rotary World Peace Fellows at ICU presents their research over the past two years to the Rotarians. What's exciting about this is 1) for many moons we fellows have all respectively locked ourselves to our computers and have not seen the light of day, so it will be nice to all be together again. 2) While all of us are in the business of peace our interests are far and wide, so I am looking forward to hearing the details of our various research.

June 25- Refusenik, the documentary film I worked on while living in LA, will be making its Japan premier at Refugee Film Festival. I will be speaking at the Q & A after the screening.

June 30th- graduation. I didn't go to my undergraduate and I'm not so keen on making it to my graduate graduation... I don't know why I get so anti- about these sorts of things... My mom still feels guilty about not going to my undergrad, so I may be posting photos from it a month from now.

Month of July- It is still unconfirmed but I am tentatively shooting footage for Rotary International over the summer. The footage will show Rotary World Peace Fellows in action in Geneva, Israel and East Timor. If this happens, this will be an exciting opportunity to further challenge myself as a filmmaker. I never really thought of myself as a camera woman before last year, but I am quickly falling in love with trying to capture the best image possible. Last year, Rotary sent me to Cambodia to film the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Field Study Trip to Cambodia.

August- I intend on attending the Power of Peace Network forum at the University of Waterloo this summer. I blogged about it here.

Regardless if the two last points happen, this summer I plan to keep myself busy by working on my reel, build a website through drupal, and making a short documentary on Article 9. Then by the fall I will most likely be moving back to the US. While looking for work, I hope to volunteer for the democratic national campaign.

Thesis Summary: How new media contributes to peacebuilding

For those of you who have expressed an interest in reading my thesis, instead of making you suffer through 111 pages, I suggest reading this summary:

New Media Technology: The Next Platform in Peacebuildling Dialgoue

ニュ－メディア・テクノロジー：平和構築における次の対話のプラットフォーム

Nishikura, Megumi
西倉めぐみ

In today's modern industrialized world, it is nearly impossible for one to go through the day with out watching television, hearing the radio, or getting an email with latest viral video attached from a friend. Media is pervasive; people today live in a society where they are plugged and receiving information seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. With the development of global news media giants such as CNN over the last twenty years, news reports are up to the minute and can be delivered to your latest mobile device. Since the development of the Internet, more and more people are tuning to it for their sources of information. With the click of a button one has thousands of sources of information on the same topic. The Internet also allows anyone to participate in public discourse on issues and influence policies and political decisions.

Media is ultimately a tool that conveys information. It can be used both for good and for ill. It can fan the flames of the conflict or aid in conflict prevention and resolution. Radio transmitters and television stations have been used to induce conflict. The most famous example of this is the “Hate Radio” in Rwanda in 1994. Radio Mille Collines ignited the Rwanda Genocide- nearly a million people were killed in the span of 100 days. However, media has been used to bring people together instead of dividing them. In the 1980's a new form of communication emerged. It brought people together from across the globe and allowed them to exchange their feelings, concerns and thoughts. This technology was the satellite television exchange called Spacebridges. During the height of the Cold War, Spacebridges brought everyday Americans and Soviets together, bypassing their heads of state, to have a conversation with the "other" side.

Today's technology, the Internet and the increasingly ease of posting videos on-line is allowing for a new break through in communication. The social networking aspect of web 2.0 is allowing more people to interact and dialogue with each other than ever before. Add peacebuilding media that addresses some of humanity's most pressing global issues, and people gain knowledge, begin to question and dialogue—the basis of any significant social change. The growth of Internet has also allowed for alternative media to contribute and increase the diversity and perspectives of information.

Media for conflict resolution and peacebuilding is a relatively new field. Much of the research that has been done thus far has focused on media democracy, information communication technology, peace journalism, and peace-building media in developing nations. The focus of my thesis is a case study on a media organization that is taking advantage of this new media technology to dialogue between people from opposite sides of a conflict.

Chat the Planet, a New York based media organization, has being using media as tool to bring young people from around the world together. The programs Chat the Planet produces connects young people to talk about “everything from politics, prejudices and war to sex, music and life in general” (Chattheplanet.com, 2008). Since its beginning in 2002, Chat has evolved along with new media technology to provide the latest cutting-edge way of communication and dialogue between youth beyond the borders of nations, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. Using satellite and ISDN video link-up technology, Chat the Planet connected groups of young people in studio settings from opposite sides of the world to have conversations with each other.

Their latest project, Hometown Baghdad is a documentary web-series which follows the lives of three 20-some-year-old Iraqis, capturing their every day lives intimately as they live under the US occupation in Baghdad, Iraq. Originally, Chat the Planet aimed to have the Hometown Baghdad air as a television program and approached the major networks for funding and distribution. However, they were turned down time and time again. The networks reasoned that the American public was over-saturated with news from Iraq and that audiences would find the show boring. With limited budget and time constraints, Chat the Planet began uploading the documentary videos to YouTube on the fourth anniversary of the War on Iraq.

Hometown Baghdad succeeded in building bridges between youth of the opposite sides of the US- Iraq war by providing a virtual space where they could dialogue, debate and build friendships with each other. Chat the Planet choose upper-middle class English speaking non-devout Muslims to resonate with US viewers. The participants selected for Hometown Baghdad were Adel, an aspiring rock star, Ausama, a 20 year old medical student, and Saif, a 23 year old recent college graduate in dentistry. The stories of these three young men were told through webisodes-short vignettes of about two to three minutes.

Chat the Planet's objectives for Hometown Baghdad were to: Humanize the people of Iraq for a global young adult audience ages 18-34, thereby changing attitudes and stereotypes of negativity and fear; educate through storytelling of what young people are all about in Iraq; demonstrate through storytelling that we all have far more in common than different; leverage media and technology to foster dialogue amongst young adults around the world, showcasing the topic of everyday life in a war zone. The videos were uploaded three times a week to Youtube.com and various other video-sharing sites. Chat discovered that by creating weekly compelling video content they were able to build a dedicated viewership. The video-sharing websites provided a count the number of views. The comments function of Youtube allowed the audience to give feedback on the content of the show and provided qualitative data of the show's impact. The results show that the Hometown Baghdad videos have been viewed about 3 Million times and hundreds of comments left on the Hometown Baghdad blog and various websites.

Through the 38 episodes, Hometown Baghdad addressed hard topics such as US troops, safety and security, and democracy and liberation. The day to day challenges such as lack of electricity, garbage disposal, and transportation were also shown. Chat the Planet, knowing how to best reach young people, also covered issues such as dating, student life, and smoking shisha. The two to three minute length of each webisode played a key role in getting viewers to leave comments and participate in dialogue with the cast as viewers are more likely to leave comments after watching a two to three minute video than getting bored watching a longer video and moving on to something else.

Through analyzing the comments left on hometownbaghdad.com, I found that Chat the Planet was able to reach its objectives. It generated conversations in the mainstream media as well as in the blogosphere. Viewers began to dialogue with each other on the blog by writing comments and asking questions. The three cast members, Adel, Ausama and Saif and other Iraqi participants responded to their inquiries. As a result, friendships, new understanding, and changes in attitudes occurred. The success Chat the Planet received both quantitatively and qualitatively resulted in television networks knocking on their door. After distributing their content online for free, they successfully sold a one-hour version of Hometown Baghdad to the Sundance Channel and National Geographic Channel. Hometown Baghdad has also recently won three Webby Awards- the Academy Awards equivalent of the Internet awards. Chat is planning to continue this dialogue and distribution model in upcoming productions of Hometown Tehran and Hometown Jerusalem.

So how does new media technology contribute to peacebuilding? Through the tools of new media- blogging, streaming-video, and social networking- people are connecting around common interests regardless of geographic location. When applied to the context of people from opposite sides of conflict, several things occur. First, alternative perspective and new information unavailable in mainstream media is presented. Second, previously held stereotypes are broken down and the parties are humanized. Thirdly, transformation in attitudes can occur. Fourthly, in some cases apologies and condolences are offered- a vital step in reconciliation of conflict. And finally, through ongoing conversations between the two sides friendships are formed.

New media does not offer a panacea to conflict. Once again it is merely a tool that can be use for good or for ill. It also is not with out its limitations- this particular case can not replace face to face mediated dialogue between two parties and is only beneficiary to those who speak English and have a fast internet connection. However, it is incredibly encouraging to see the potential that it holds. It is my hope that Hometown Baghdad will serve as model for future opportunities to connect people around the world in the name of peace.

Pangaea Day

Last night at two in the morning, fifty people gathered at the United Nations University's Media Lab to participate in Pangaea Day. Pangaea Day was a world-wide internet-streaming film event in which 24 films were shared over the course of four hours in the name of global awareness and cultural understanding. Broadcast live across the globe, Japan had the lucky fortune of receiving the internet stream at 3 am and I came fully prepared with a sleeping bag to enjoy the cinematic spectacle.

The brains behind this event, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim (producer of the documentary film Control Room) won the TED Prize of $100,000 for her idea that would change the world. The idea, Pangaea day, was a mix of films, music, and speakers who focused on our common humanity while celebrating our diversities. I particularly liked that the event started with planetary scientist Carolyn Porco, reminding us of the wonder and amazement that we as human beings have come to be on a tiny pale blue dot in the vast sea of the universe. Some of the other highlights included an Israeli mother,whose son was killed by a Palestinian sniper, read a letter of reconciliation she wrote to the sniper's mother; artist and computer scientist Jonathan Harris who created the website "We feel fine" which aggregates human emotions by scanning people's blogs and photos for how they are feeling; and former child soldier Ishmael Beah.

While it's certainly possible to call elements of the event bordering on cheesy and not one particular film stood out in my mind in being outstanding (I admit I did nap a little, so I may have missed somethings), what is incredible about this event is how many of us were able to come together to simultaneous share this movie-going experience. Thousands if not millions of people gathered in front of their computers or attended one of the major event spaces in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro.

Here we see technology as the grand facilitator of this global gathering. While using satellite television is not new, (ie. Spacebridges during the Height of the Cold War), today's streaming video capabilities brought this event into our internet-equipped private homes at an unprecedented scale. When the Laughter Yoga founder, Dr Madan Kataria asked everyone to stand and join him in laughter, all of us at the UNU media lab stood up and laughed. Can you visualize thousands of people around the world standing and laughing together at the same time? This is the power of technology. As I have witnessed over the past year through the cases of Dropping Knowledge and Hometown Baghdad, I see this event as just one more example of how technology can connects us in new and deeper ways, creating awareness of our unity as one world, and allowing us to join in conversation with one another.

It's not too late to watch the event and to continue the conversation online. Just go to Pangeaday.org .


Here's a clip of our Tokyo event:

Hometown Baghdad wins 3 Webby awards!

Hey, I just found out the exciting news that Hometown Baghdad, the case study for my thesis, has just won three Webby awards! The Webbys are considered the Oscars of the Internet, so this is a huge recognition of a show that used the web as platform to create dialogue between young Iraqis and the rest of the world! HB won in the categories of Best Reality, Best News and Politics: Series and Best Public Service and Activism.

Congrats to the Chat the Planet the producers of Hometown Baghdad!

Forum: The Power of Peace Network

(courtesy of http://ppn.uwaterloo.ca/index.html)

This August, from the 7th through the 9th, The Power of Peace Network will be holding an international forum at the University of Waterloo. The Power of Peace Network is about utilizing the power of media- traditional TV and radio to online digital media- to influence and support peacebuilding.

The first Power of Peace forum was held in Bali, Indonesia in January 2007. There, "Recognized thinkers and practitioners from the public and private sectors met to strategize how best to harness the power of the media and ICTs in a practical and effective way for the purpose of building awareness, dialogue, harmony, and peace." (Power of Peace Report)

The 2008 forum will focus on : "the potential of new media as a means of encouraging cultural engagement and interaction, issues of education as it fits into the digital world, where the world of digital technology is going, how universities might participate in the creation of a global peace network."

Sounds a lot like my thesis, doesn't it? (Oh by the way which is due in a week!)

I'm very keen to attend this event and I've sent in my application, so wish me luck so that I get accepted.
xox, Megumi

Colloquia Series at Columbia University

Oh, I so wish I could attend this event in New York, since it is very applicable to my thesis. Hopefully, I'll be giving presentations such as these one day.
My film March 22 was included in Deep Dish TV's compilation Shocking and Awful which was exhibited at the Whitney Museum as part of the 2006 Whitney Biannual.

The Peace Education Center
Teachers College, Columbia University
Colloquia Series Spring 2008
21st Century Peace Education:
Discourses, Dilemmas, Practices

“Bullets into Blogs,

Swords into Power Points:

Old & New Media in the Quests for Peace”

Dr. Dee Dee Halleck

Co-Founder of Paper Tiger Television and the Deep Dish Satellite Network

Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication, University of San Diego

Thursday, March 27. 7-9pm Location: Room 363 GDH

(Teachers College, Columbia University – 525 West 120^th Street)

* Free and Open to the Public *

DVD Showing: World Tribunal on Iraq

Upcoming 21^st Century Peace Education events at www.tc.edu/PeaceEd

Applying for grants and fellowships

Hello~! I am back in Tokyo and have been working diligently on my thesis. I feel very positive about the progress that I am making and believe that the less than two months I have left will prove to be a smooth experience. Otherwise, I am also in the process of applying for grants and fellowships.

It is my belief that there is an abundance of money in this world- money that people put aside to do good with- and money that is channeled through the form of grants and fellowships, and money that will support me in my endeavors to use the power of media for peace, human rights and development.
Here are some of the ones that I am looking at:

International Reporting Fellowship- Due April 1, 2008- "The International Reporting Project will offer up to four IRP Fellowships to U.S. journalists to carry out a project reporting from any country in the world outside of the United States. One of these Fellowships will be the “IRP/FRONTLINE World Fellowship” for video journalists, which will offer additional support through the PBS program FRONTLINE/World and a chance for the Fellow’s story to appear on that program’s web site and broadcast."

New Media Women Entrepreneurs- Due May 1, 2008- "NMWE is a unique initiative addressing opportunity and innovation, recruitment and retention for women in journalism by spotlighting their ingenuity and entrepreneurial abilities. Pilot projects will show what can be done. Research will tell us what more to do. And an awards program and summit will showcase women’s creative ideas. NMWE is supported by the McCormick Tribune Foundation."

Media and Peace links

Hi everyone,

I'm in New York and things are going superb with my thesis research. I feel that I have collected more than an adequate amount of information to write a 70 page thesis paper and I am now coming away from this feeling committed to get what I will be writing published in an academic journal. Chat the Planet and their show Hometown Baghdad has gotten quite a bit of mainstream media press and I think it's now time for them to get academic press.

I wanted to share with you some links (having to do with media, technology, journalism and peace) that I have come across in my research.

Have a great day,
Megumi

ICT4Peace - Weblog dedicated to exploring information and communication technology for peacebuilding.

ICT for Peace Foundation - A foundation which aims to enhance the performance of the international community and crisis management through the application of information communication technology.

DigiDave-a weblog about the people, the technology, the theory and practice of citizen journalism

Ugo Trade - a weblog dedicated to virtual realities in "web 2.0" that cross digital divides.

Blogflict - weblog dedicated to empowering people to share information and discuss conflicts and crises.

Global Voices - a site which aggregates, curates and amplifies the global conversations online.

Global Media - a global network of communication scholars which produces the academic Global Media Journal

Media, Conflict and and Society- links resource of various organizations and institutions in the field of communications and conflict.

Better media, less conflict - An article by the European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation

Case Studies of Conflict Resolution Media- links resource

War Journalism vs. Peace Journalism

I completed my Transcend Peace University's online Peace Journalism course over a month ago (see previous blog here), but I wanted to share with you my final assignment in which we had to take a form of war journalism and convert it into peace journalism.

So this assignment was to re-write an existing piece of journalism (war journalism) and transform it into Peace Journalism. Honestly, it's not the type of article that I would ever want to write again- my interests in peace are on a more human to human level and not on the geo-political level but it alas it was the completing assignment for the course. I received good feedback, so I hope it's helpful in showing the difference between traditional journalism and peace journalism.

The original article:

America pumps billions into space-age weapons

Alex Spillius in Washington
November 15, 2007

THE Pentagon is spending billions of dollars on new forms of space warfare in order to counter the growing risk of missile attack from rogue states and the anti-satellite capabilities of China.

The US Congress has allocated funds to develop futuristic weapons and intelligence systems that operate beyond the Earth's atmosphere as America looks past Iraq and Afghanistan to the wars of the future.

The most ambitious project in a $US459 billion ($516 billion) defence spending bill is the Falcon, a reusable hypersonic vehicle that could fly at six times the speed of sound and deliver nearly 5500 kilograms of bombs anywhere in the world within minutes.

The bombs' destructive power would be multiplied by the Earth's gravitational pull as they travelled at up to 25 times the speed of sound towards their target.

The cost of the vehicle has not been revealed but a spokesman for the Pentagon's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency said the first test flight was scheduled for next year.

Loren Thompson, a leading military analyst in Washington, said the focus of the project was attacking "time-sensitive targets" in states such as North Korea and Iran, which have either developed nuclear weapons without international approval or are suspected of doing so.

"If we received intelligence that a strike was about to happen on South Korea, or on Israel, we would want to destroy that within minutes, and not hours. But from most current US bases that is not feasible."

In a 621-page report on the Defence Appropriations Bill, congressmen from Republican and Democratic parties said: "Enhancing these capabilities is crucial, particularly following the Chinese anti-satellite weapons demonstration last January."

In China's first successful test of an anti-satellite system, a ground-based missile fired into space shattered a weather satellite in low Earth orbit.

Telegraph, London

Now, here's my Peace Journalism version of the article:

PJ Final exercise

Megumi Nishikura

Jan 18, 2007

The Pentagon continues to spend billions of dollars on building new forms of space weaponry as a precautionary response to potential threats from countries it deems as rogue.

They are particularly concerned with the new missile capabilities of China which in January of 2007 successfully tested a direct ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon.

Congress has now approved new funding to further develop intelligence systems and weapons capabilities to ensure its security and superpower status beyond the conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan. As of now the defense budget stands at $US 459 billion, a 7-percent increase over 2006 and a 48-percent increase over 2001.

The Falcon, the Pentagon’s most ambitious project, is a reusable hypersonic vehicle capable of flying six times the speed of sound and delivering 5500 kg of explosives within minutes.

The cost of the Falcon project has not yet been announced but a spokesman from the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said the first test flight was scheduled for next year.

However, one expert said the Pentagon’s continuing arms build-up could be explained in light of a fifteen-year-old strategy document, Defense Planning Guidance, drawn up by three officials who later went on to become leading lights in the so-called Project for a New American Century.

Associate Professor Jake Lynch, Director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney, said the note had proved highly influential in setting strategic military and foreign policies under the administration of George W Bush, with its three authors, Lewis Libby, Zalmay Khalilzad and Paul Wolfowitz, appointed to senior posts.

“Defense Planning Guidance sets America the task of preventing the emergence of a strategic rival in three key areas of the globe – Europe, the Middle East and East Asia”, Prof Lynch said. “For China to acquire the capability of weaponising space would be seen, under this doctrine, as a potential threat to US full spectrum dominance – and would demand a pre-emptive response”.

Tensions over the weaponization of space have existed between China and the US for over a decade. Tensions were particularly heightened when the US and Japan began developing a missile defense system which China views as threatening its national interests, especially over the military conflict in Taiwan.

While China has called for controls on space weaponization for some time, the US has done little in response. Now, some international analysts say that China's ASAT test is a direct challenge to the US, even though Chinese officials have assured the international community that their ASAT test was not “aimed” at anyone

Both Republican and Democratic congressmen approved the new funding as a reaction to China's ASAT tests. The 621-page Defense Appropriations Bill report states: “Enhancing these capabilities is crucial, particularly following the Chinese anti-satellite weapons demonstration last January.”

If both countries continue to increase their space weapon stockpiles, relations between may echo the Cold War strategy of Mutually Assured Destruction that existed between the US and Soviet Union .

The Center for Nuclear proliferation Studies (CNS) and other academics asses that there are many economic and technical limitations to China's program and that at this stage their ASAT tests cannot be taken seriously. They suggest that the major powers in space—the US, Russia and the EU—can take the "initiative and push for a moratorium on the development and testing of anti-satellite weaponry."

Joan Johnson-Freese, the Department Chair of National Security Studies, suggests that a renewed approach to strategic communication is necessary to enhance mutual understanding and address the issues that exists between the two nations.

Communication strategies between the US and China should be “ aimed to understand global attitudes and cultures, engage in a dialogue of ideas between people and institutions, advise policymakers, diplomats, and military leaders on the public opinion implications of policy choices, and influence attitudes and behavior through communications strategies,” as stated by the 2004 report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Strategic Communications.

It is very likely that the US cannot sustain its sole dominance over the weaponization of space, instead the two nation must build trust through dialogue to tackle the issues which is in the best interest of both nations.

Thesis update: Chat the Planet

Alright, there's a little over four months to go before I complete my 100 page thesis and turn it in. AHHHHHH!!!! Scary at the same time but incredibly exciting, as I will able to compile all that I have learnt and thought about for the past year and half. I've also just switched advisers (the previous one is retiring so I had to get a new one anyways) and I feel good about getting guided down a path of successful thesis writing.

My larger topic is media and peace but that as you can imagine is a pretty broad subject. I've seemed to have successfully ordered every book on Amazon.com that came up while searching for those keywords. Media and peace includes: peace journalism or sometimes called conflict-sensitive journalism; the role news media plays in peace processes; hate and propaganda media; radio-drama peace building media; information communication technology; citizen journalism and so and so on.

And while there is important information to be taken from all the above areas, I'm particularly interested in an uncharted area of media and peace. And that is, how does new media technology contribute to a culture of peace?

What do I mean by that exactly? Well, I'm interested in understanding first what is peace building media. What are the theories behind it? What has to be considered when making media that will effectively contribute to peacebuilding? and then how is the Internet or Web 2.0 being used to distribute this peacebuilding media (ie. through Youtube etc)? and because of the internet acceptability, does it allow for more interactivity and dialog between people (possibly people from opposite sides of conflict)?

My main case study for this thesis will be an organization called Chat the Planet. They are a youth media dialog organization based in New York and for sometime now they have been making media that brings youth together to dialog about issues that are important to them. Right before the war on Iraq began, Chat the Planet organized a two-way satellite TV show that brought young Americans and young Iraqis to talk with each other.

Their latest project is Hometown Baghdad is a webisode about three young Iraqis living under the US Occupation. Originally, they sought funding and distribution from the major US Networks but when they were turned down with reasons such as, "No one is interested in Iraq anymore," and "By the time this airs, the war will be over." They then privately raised money to hire an Iraqi crew to capture these every day stories and distribute it through Youtube. Well, their show was widely popular, so much so that they got a distribution deal with NBC later on.

Anyways, here is the first episode of their series which aired on the 4th anniversary of the war.




I'll be posting more thoughts on media, web 2.0 and peace over the next couple of months. Excited to be moving forward on this~!

Good Morning 2008!

There is nothing like the new year to reset your intentions and get clear about what you really want out of life.

I believe that this is the year that I fully step into my power. There are some big changes to be made this year and at times it may seem daunting but I feel that something truly positive is waiting for me.

For the past several years I feel that I have been "in school" and not just literally, as I have been pursuing my Masters degree in Peace and Conflict Studies, but also in that I have been training myself on many levels and gaining life and work experience so that I may step into what I came here to do and that is to use the power of media to create positive social change.

Over the next six months, it is my intention to finish a well-written thesis on new media's role in peacebuilding, to build a website and game plan for my "career," and finish a few more video projects that will be part of my filmmakers reel. I also intend to make the most of time left in Japan by spending as much time with my friends, many who will disperse far and wide to do good in this world.

I ask the Universe for guidance and strength that will pick me up when I am down, give me strength through challenging times, and open the right doors that allows me to do the work that I came to do. I see my biggest spiritual lessons of 2008 are letting go of control, stepping out my own way, staying in the present moment, and having trust in the universe and my purpose.

May your year be filled with many blessings!
love and peace,
Megumi

Thesis update: One step closer

Though most have you know this all along, that my passion is for media and peace, I have only recently decided that this is really what I want to focus my thesis on. So for the next 8 months, that I spend writing this 50-100page essay, I am really hoping to learn from specific media organizations how to make media that creates peace. I have more less being trying to do this with my life since 2003, but here I'm going to get to study and research this in-depth. Will this make me a better filmmaker? Well, I certainly hope so.

So my possible research question is one that I explored earlier this year for a presentation in Peace studies:

How does new media technology contribute to a culture of peace?

Some of the theories I hope to examine in my research are peace journalism and democratic media.

Anyways, to get started on the right track I have enrolled in Johan Galtung's Transcend University's online Peace Journalism course taught by Jake Lynch and Annabel McGoldrick. The course follows the Peace Journalism book written by the two professors, which though I have only read the first few chapters, I already highly recommend.

Since this is the year to write my thesis, I reckon I will be writing several blogs on this process. I hope this doesn't terrible bore you. Hopefully, I will make another film or two over the next year.

Getting focused on my thesis

Hi, so the time has come for me to get serious about my thesis. At the end of the last school year, I had narrowed my interests down to three areas:

1. The Buddhist practice of compassionate listening- After my trip to Vietnam and writing two papers on Buddhism and its relationship to peace, I have fallen deeply in love with the philosophy/religion. While, I don't think I will ever call myself a Buddhist, I do believe that Buddhism offers much wisdom for creating peace in oneself and with the world.
So my thesis idea was to look at the practice of compassionate listening and see the value of it as a conflict resolution tool. There is a Seattle based organization, the Compassionate Listening Project that is doing this work and in particular in Israel/Palestine. My research idea on this was to asses the effectiveness of this practice as a conflict resolution tool.

2. Article 9. I am planning to make a film on the peace movement to protect Article 9 anyways, so why not write a thesis on it? This way for the next year I can be one-pointed focused. However, how would I do this? What angle would my thesis take? I have to be honest I'm not interested in writing about the possible geo-political implications if Article 9 is revoked. I am just not political minded enough to do such a paper. I also am far more passionate about the people, and why or why not they care about Article 9.

3. Media and Peace. Now this obviously makes the most sense. This is what I am trying to do with my life. But once again how do you write a thesis on this? One idea I have is to do a case study on organizations that do media trainings in developing countries. One such organization is called Barefoot Workshops. They train youth and women in video skills in Africa focusing on:

• Empower youth through media, music and the arts
• Bridge communities together to address global issues
• Inspire individuals and communities to transform themselves from within
• Innovate new uses of media to meet development goals internationally (Source: Barefootworkshops.org)
  

Assessing the impact that such a workshop has, is do able and would mean traveling to Africa which is just not a bad idea. An upcoming workshop that I would potentially be interested in participating in is in Jan 2008 in South Africa. My only hesitation with this is that I don't necessarily see this as my path and how I will be doing most of my work in the future. However, maybe it is a good place to start and will open doors to new ideas on how media can help create a culture of peace.

Anyways, if you have a suggestions please send me a mail or leave a comment! All help is very much needed and appreciated!