the etuktuk project

A three-day workshop on community broadcasting aimed at developing the capacities of regional and community radio broadcasters in Sri Lanka was recently held in Kothmale Community Radio (KCR).
In a media environment inundated by commercial radio, how can public and community radio broadcasting cope? How can we develop participatory and community based broadcasting methodologies that cater to the needs of our audiences? How can we consistently build and develop our technical and communication skills? These were some of the questions that producers and representatives from seven regional and community based radio services in Sri Lanka discussed and put into practice during the workshop which was organized by KCR and Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) in collaboration with UNESCO.

A series of four workshops has been scheduled through the month of May. The first, on community broadcasting, brought together fourteen participants to learn the concepts/methods of community broadcasting and to share their experiences in the broadcasting field. This process enabled participants to understand the importance of community broadcasting and adapt quality monitoring and control methods to programmes broadcast through national, regional and community radio stations in Sri Lanka. To make content effective the importance of local audience, context and needs were emphasized. (Read more…)

Kosala Keerthirathne, the projects research coordinator, was an invited speaker to the OurMedia 6 conference held in Sydney, Australia where he presented a paper on the activities of the etuktuk and the findings from his research.The OM6 Conference Organizing Committee received close to 200 proposals, from over 35 countries, including academics, activists, community media practitioners, artists, media and social researchers. Participants will represent over 60 universities and research centers worldwide (including 11 from Australia) and over 50 community media organizations, NGO’s and alternative media/arts collectives.

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The time for Community Radio has truly come. The tremendously enthusiastic response that the exhibition on “Community Radio: Innovation, low cost solutions and access” got at the BES Expo -2007 earlier this month in New Delhi, India, demonstrated this loud and clear. The exhibition, organized by UNESCO in collaboration with Plan India, OneWorld South Asia and Care India was an attempt to create awareness about Community Radio and show case low cost technology that can be used to set up radio stations.

The exhibition was held against the backdrop of the new Community Radio policy allowing NGOs and not-for-profit organizations to set up community radio stations for development purposes.

(Read more…)

In recognition of emerging need to harnessing information officers/librarians, for the new developments in the community information field, the Sri Lanka Library Association (SLLA), in collaboration with UNESCO organised a Workshop on ‘Life Long Learning through Community Information Provision in a Digital Environment’. The workshop was held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Colombo, from 6th to 7th December 2006.

The case study of Kothmale Community Radio was presented by Mr. Sunil Wijesinghe. He shared his experiences through a very informative and thought provoking presentation on ‘Community as producers of information’. He explained the history, setting up of the Kothmale Community Radio (KCR) and expansion of services and development of the webpage in detail.  How community information is created by the members of KCR station especially young children was elucidated.

Mr. Kosala Keerthirathna’s vivid illustration on the e-tuktuk via the KCR webpage caught the keen attention of the audience. He also demonstrated how the e-tuktuk is put to fulfill the information needs of citizens in remote villages and also for the provision of ICT training to under-equipped rural school children.
(Read more…)

The etuktuk was presented at the Wireless Cultures and Technologies Workshop at the University of Sydney, Australia. The presentation was made by Ben Grubb and Jo Tacchi from the Queensland University of Technology.

Wireless technologies and cultures could be said to encompass anything from WiFi-enabled laptops and handheld devices to wireless broadband protocols such as Bluetooth and Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) as well as a range of cultural and community movements centring on wireless networks. While these emerging technologies are of great critical and particularly business interest worldwide, there has been little cultural research and analysis accompanying their uptake in Australia. This lack of attention is notable, given the intense discussion of new wireless technologies in Europe and North America.

This ARC Cultural Research Network workshop aims to generate debate about the current and potential uses of wireless technology in Australia. It will draw together a number of speakers from academia and industry to showcase the kind of research and development taking place in relation to wireless use, with a view to understanding the Australian context in relation to international experience. Among other things, it will provide a voice for growing demands for quality wireless provision in public and private settings in this country. It does this by exploring the benefits of established cultural research methods and theories for understanding the rationales and desires behind technology design and adoption.

Click here to read more about the event.

The eTUKTUK will be covering the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) Asia Pacific Round Table discussion in Colombo on May 4th 2006. The topic of discussion is ‘Community Radio & its Social Impact: Removing barriers, increasing effectiveness’. So come on down to BMICH or tune in to KCR on 96.1FM to join in the festivities.

AMARC

The eTUKTUK was displayed at the World Press Freedom Day International conference in Colombo on May 1-3rd 2006. The theme for this years programme is the correlation between media freedom and the eradication of poverty. Unfortunately the live broadcast was not possible due to security concerns.

World Press Freedom Day

The eTUKTUK will be officially launched at the Kothmale Radio Listeners Club get together on Saturday 29th of April at the Kothmale Community Radio Station. For further details on the launch please email info@etuktuk.net or see below.

PRESS RELEASE

The Kothmale Internet Listeners Club in association with UNESCO, the MJF Foundation and Suntel is glad to announce the launch of the eTUKTUK at the Kothmale Community Radio Station on the 29th of April 2006.

(Read more…)