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Broadcasters'
Declaration
World Broadcasting
Unions (WBU), World Summit on the Information Society
December 09, 2003
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Statements
from broadcasters representing the world's main regions:
Peter Matlare,
for Africa (Group Chief Executive, SABC)
Comments on Article 1 of the Broadcasters' Declaration.
I was asked to
comment on the first paragraph of the Broadcasters' declaration, a
section which states that information technology is not an end in
itself, but rather a means to an end. Clearly the secret is in the
content - the information that validates, that brings to life the
technology, and not the other way round. …. I thought about the
business we are in and the range of people we serve. I also thought
about universality and the role that content and technology play in
universality.
The British
historian Arnold Toynbee divided the history of the human race into
three phases. Very briefly and simplistically:
During the first
phase, the growth of knowledge and its dissemination were extremely
slow. Every development and every idea could spread everywhere before
the next phase began. Consequently, societies developed virtually
in tandem and had much in common. The second phase, lasting several
thousands of years. It saw knowledge increasing much faster than
the means of disseminating it. As a result, societies became increasingly
divergent in every area.
In the third,
fairly recent phase, knowledge has advanced rapidly. But communication
has become even faster. The upshot is that societies are becoming
less and less disparate.
Now, in the
21st century, we are subjected to the global, concentrated, uncontrollable
interchange of information. The swift, inescapable transmission
of knowledge has led us increasingly in the direction of universality
or globalisation, causing profound alteration in perceptions and
behaviour. Every distinguishing characteristic of societies, and
the boundaries between them, are coming under pressures aimed at
diminishing and obliterating them. This has had an equally fundamental
effect on how we see ourselves with regard to our personal and national
identity.
We accept some
of these things as inescapable, some as advantageous. But we balk
at threats to crucial elements of our identity: things such as our
language, religion, cultural symbols, and independence. Never have
people everywhere had more in common. Yet never have we been more
motivated to assert our differences. We are faced with the dichotomy
of a desire for universality and a need for identity. Technology
can be, and must be, an enabling factor in this quest.
As residents
of the "global village", we can make a significant contribution,
but only if we maintain our identity as Africans and global citizens.
We have to recognise that 'universality' does not equate with uniformity'.
We should recognise our identity in part as members of the human
community, but without sacrificing our singularity as Africans.
Through visible symbols, we need to make the effort to show that
we identify with what we see around us; that we recognise ourselves
in the images of our countries. We have to show that we are involved
and not merely spectators, watching apprehensively from the sidelines.
The onus on
us as Africans of this generation is not just to have a vision of
our future, but to have practical plans, route maps and signposts
to mark our progress and demonstrate success.
Clearly technology has - and will - play a significant part in allowing
us as Africans as global citizens to take this rich content that
we have developed for centuries and make it relevant to all.
Digital cameras,
digital edit suites and digital playout systems are a means to make
this a reality. The investment in these systems is futile if we
can not tell our stories, if we cannot bring into your homes that
which is relevant. In South Africa right now, more than 100 000
high school pupils are waiting for their end of year results. These
results will be published in the papers and at their schools. However
they will be able to hear it first on an automated phone line set
up by the SABC for this purpose. The pupil dials the phone number,
keys in a unique exam code and instantly finds out her results.
It is great for the system technology works. But it is the results
that count…The content.
Whilst international
agencies will provide news stories about the World Summit for the
Information Society, we have gone to considerable effort to ensure
that our audiences back home will have a picture of the proceedings
and hence its relevance to them. The fact that we are using web
based services to get our pictures would be of little consequence
if we were not convinced of the relevance of the material.
For these reasons,
we feel that Paragraph One of the WSIS Broadcasters' Declaration
correctly emphasises the importance of information and content above
that of technology.
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