New media. Promoting alternative views
Giving voice to alternative views in developing countries. That is the purpose of the Hivos media programme. Thanks to new digital media, more and more people and organisations can be heard. This leads to more communication and the availability of more varied information. Greater diversity ultimately leads to more democracy.
The Internet has become an increasingly important tool for free speech, particularly in countries where that freedom is curtailed. If you cannot get people to hear you, you will not be listened to. The Internet is flexible, fast and interactive, and therefore the perfect instrument for citizen journalists in developing countries. Hivos supports citizen journalists because they encourage alternative and independent media and offer a counterpoint to the often one-sided information provided in their own countries.
Educating teenagers and young adults, generating enthusiasm among them and giving them a voice: that was the underlying reason for a small group of young graduates in Kyrgyzstan to set up an interactive web portal for teenagers and young adults. Within the space of months, Kloop had grown into a true blogger community. The bloggers do not avoid difficult issues. To improve the quality of the Kloop, Hivos and the Kloop staff teach young citizen journalists in journalistic and online skills.
Hivos supports websites like Kloop, Zona, KZ, Transitions Online and Neweurasia – all from Central Asia – as well as global portals such as Global Voices Online, an alternative website with over one million unique visitors every month. Such citizen media projects are important to Hivos, as they contribute to freedom of expression. People who have the right to be heard have a greater possibility of taking control of their own lives and of building a better future.
The Hivos approach summarised:
- Hivos supports citizen journalism, both the technical aspects and in terms of journalistic skills and ethics;
- Hivos amplifies the voices of marginalised groups;
- Hivos promotes the possibilities offered by technology among its partner organisations;
- Hivos supports innovative combinations of traditional media, digital media and mobile telephones.
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