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 Role of media and communication
New possibilities for local content distribution
It is important to understand the dominant socio-economic and cultural patterns underlying the creation and distribution of the entertainment and information content, mass-produced to feed the different traditional and new media.
“Culture takes diverse forms across time and space. This diversity is embodied in the uniqueness and plurality of the identities of the groups and societies making up humankind. As a source of exchange, innovation and creativity, cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature. In this sense, it is the common heritage of humanity and should be recognised and affirmed for the benefit of present and future generations.”
These words come from Article 1 of UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural
Diversity and express very eloquently the need for diversity in all aspects of
human activity.
With the tremendous development of the communication and information sectors, particular attention has been paid in recent years to the need for cultural diversity in the media as a way of preserving concepts of identity and social bonds within communities and cultures while promoting local cultural expression and local languages.
There is no doubt that today’s media environment increases choices, provides
opportunities for cultural expression and dialogue, and facilitates the flow
of information at the planetary level. But during the last decades we have also
witnessed a concentration of ownership and a limitation of access and content
sources.
One of the main lines of the plan of
action of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity clearly stresses the importance of encouraging the production, safeguarding and dissemination of diversified contents in the media and global information networks and, to that end, promoting the role of public radio and television services in the development of audiovisual productions of good quality, in particular by fostering the establishment of cooperative mechanisms to facilitate their distribution.
The importance of creating and distributing culturally diversified and local content for the new and traditional media is therefore formally recognised as a crucial factor in the promotion of cultural and linguistic expression.
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