Media & Social Engagement
NEW DELHI, August 5, 2015 – After a fruitful programme in Mumbai, the Asia Society India Centre in partnership with the Yes Foundation hosted a panel discussion on the role of media in influencing social change in the country’s capital. In the leafy green surrounds of the India International Centre, Jaco Cilliers, Country Director, UNDP India; Nicholas Dawes, Chief Content & editorial Officer, Hindustan Times; Sruthijith KK, Editor-in-Chief, Huff Post India; Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic and Strategic Affairs Editor of The Hindu; Samanth Subramanian, Author; and Prerana Langa, CEO, Yes Foundation, considered the potential of both traditional and new media to encourage and effect positive change in society.
After a warm welcome from Bunty Chand, Executive Director, Asia Society India Centre, the audience was shown a screening of the Yes Foundation’s Yes I am the Change short-film that summarized the organisation’s commitment to promoting responsible youth citizenship in India. After the film, Subramanian began proceedings by asking the panel what was ultimately the big question of the evening, whether it was the role of the media to narrate social change, or to act as a catalyst for it. Cilliers drew on his experiences working and living in conflict zones such as Bosnia and Rwanda, where he witnessed the immense galvanizing power of media for action both good and bad. Dawes espoused the power of the media by reflecting on his own work covering acid-attacks in India to shift public perception, and also cited The Guardian’s dogged coverage of Edward Snowden as irrefutable evidence of the media’s political power, stating, “in some ways, some of the most successful journalism in the world is activism”. Haidar was reluctant to concede that media was a tool for social good, warning that the role of the media is as a broadcaster and chronicler of change, rather than an effector of it. Still, she emphasized the need to channel the “untapped goodwill in the world” into the right avenues. KK enthusiastically discussed the democratization of technological devices that, “enable anybody to tell a story”, and espoused the social potential of Instagram, Tumblr and other social-media platforms. Langa concluded, “Social media makes all of us producers and consumers”, strongly believing in the boundless power of media to encourage, effect and enable democratic social change.
Subramanian’s insightful questions drew varied responses from the resulting in a broad-ranging conversation that covered issues as diverse as the South African press, women’s rights in the media, grassroots journalism, smart cities and more. Though no definitive conclusion was reached, the panel demonstrated that sometimes the joy is in the asking of the question.
Video: Watch the complete programme (1 hr., 36 min.)
Reported by: Lauren Bettridge, Intern, Asia Society India Centre
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