A new media-training project under way in India involves the production of radio and television documentaries with cross-cultural themes.
The London-based Thomson Foundation, which is carrying out the project, reports that the aim of these documentaries is to make more people aware of success in transforming conflicts relevant to both India and Europe. The 14-month project, financed by the European Union, will enable 32 young broadcasters to produce more than 200 cross-cultural documentaries.
The foundation said that the inspiration for the project was Indian journalist Savyasaachi Jain, who has gained widespread recognition for producing films that specialize in conflict, particularly in Kashmir.
The Kashmir region has been a source of conflict between India and Pakistan for more than 50 years. The Indian government is secular, and the population is predominantly Muslim. The armed forces of India and Pakistan maintain a frequently violated truce along what is known as the "Line of Control" dividing the region. Jain, the first Indian to attend a Thomson summer broadcasting course 12 years ago in Cardiff, Wales will be heavily involved in running the program, the foundation said.
Project activities also include research into suitable themes of diversity, conflict transformation, documentary production workshops, skills-development courses, and the distribution and exhibition of completed documentaries.
Other organizations involved in the new project include the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, the University of Tampere in Finland, the Indian Institute of Mass Communications, and the Media Management Group for Literacy and Development in India. This EU-India project is the second of its kind organized by Thomson over the past five years.
