🚀 go-pugleaf

>From the EEMEDIA list FYI--Apurba Kundu
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Schools of Agriculture,            Press Associations,
Extension educators,               Research Organizations,
Schools of Journalism,             Press Institutes
Environmental organizations



The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is
interested in
improving the relevance and efficiency of rural print and broadcast
communications media in Third World and former East Bloc countries, in
order
to make better use of these media as vehicles for fostering
environmentally sustainable social and agricultural development and
food
security.
     As Chief Editor of the FAO's flagship publication, CERES
magazine, I've
been authorized to spend the academic year 1995-96 researching the
curriculae
of various teaching institutions and press associations, and to
explore the
possibility of establishing cooperative programs with them for
training
professional journalists in the techniques of agricultural and
environmental
reporting and development communication.
     Any organizations or individuals engaged in such training
programs are
invited to reply, explaining whether:
     --your institution or group offers training courses for Third
World or
former East Bloc journalists;
     --how these might be relevant to rural concerns;
     --what educational philosophy animates these programs;
     --what kind of follow-up they employ to evaluate the effects of
courses;
     --who should be contacted for discussions as to possible future
cooperative efforts.
     The goal of my research is to develop a variety of training
programs for
journalists which will a) sensitize them to the importance of rural
and environmental issues; b) train them in the kinds of participatory
information gathering techniques that permit rural people to find a
voice
through their local media; c) inculcate a respect for the value of
free
inquiry and balanced news coverage; d) raise the technical level of
their
information gathering and writing skills, especially science writing;
e) help
them develop methods for overcoming the obstacles to communication in
their
home countries; f) learn from them about conditions in their
respective
countries and the strategies they have employed to cope with them, in
order
to impart this experience to others.
     A number of international agencies are interested in training
communicators in developing countries, and have instituted some
specialized
training programs for science writers. I'd like to work with others to
build
on such efforts and expand them to include a wider spectrum of the
print and
broadcast media.
     Any details respondents can provide about existing programs will
be
appreciated.

                                           Thomas Pawlick


Replies to:

e-mail: Thomas.Pawlick@FAO.org
Fax: (396)5225.6167