Written evidence submitted by the BBC
World Service
UPDATE ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS PROJECTS OF BBC
WORLD SERVICE TRUST AND BBC MONITORING
INTRODUCTION
The BBC World Service's work promoting human
rights is detailed in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Human
Rights Annual Report, published in November 2004. This submission
provides an update on information submitted by BBC World Service
to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office earlier this year, and
relates specifically to the projects of the BBC World Service
Trust and BBC Monitoring.
Information included in the Human Rights Annual
Report is italicised.
BBC WORLD SERVICE
TRUST
The BBC World Service Trust is an independent
charity that aims to reduce poverty in developing countries through
the innovative use of media. The Trust works in partnership with
the UK and overseas governments, international organisations and
local NGOs and broadcasters. Its projects cover health, education,
good governance and journalism training, both on the ground—developing
local capacity—and by using the programme formats of radio
and TV to deliver educational messages to mass audiences and provide
a focus for human rights reporting.
MEDIA RECONSTRUCTION
IN IRAQ
The BBC World Service Trust is funded by
DFID for a project to establish independent regional broadcasting
in southern Iraq.
The recent progress of the project has been
slower than hoped due to the serious security threats. Nevertheless,
radio is due to go on-air in May 2005 and television in early
July 2005.
The project now employs an administrative manager,
installation engineers, a project manager and a team of fourteen
journalists/producers and cameramen/editors. Aside from BBC World
Service Trust staff they are all Iraqis, who travelled to Jordan
for training before returning to Basra to manage and co-ordinate
project activities on the ground.
Features produced by the team will be offered
free of charge to existing media outlets until the station goes
on air. This allows some of the project outputs to be visible
and audible in Basra much earlier than the on-air date and encourages
the new production team to build up experience and expertise.
It also complements the overall purpose of the project of encouraging
independent media in Iraq.
The Iraqis will form their own launch team,
but are supported by an international team of trainers, mentors
and advisors, who will build and develop the management team.
Iraqi installation companies (trained in the UK) will be responsible
for installation and maintenance. All Iraqi staff are now contracted
by the "Southern Iraq Company for TV and Radio Broadcasting",
a company wholly owned by the BBC World Service Trust and incorporated
under Iraqi law. It is intended that the Iraqi nature of the project
from the outset will improve its sustainability. The first quarterly
review of activities and finances has been endorsed by DFID.
AFGHANISTAN
The work undertaken throughout 2002 by the
BBC's strategic advisors has helped the Ministry of Information
and Culture to develop a set of policy directions. In January
2004, the Trust was asked by UNESCO to lead a team to draw up
a plan for the development of RTA into a public service broadcaster.
Two proposals were approved by the Afghan government and now form
part of the National Development Plan.
The BBC World Service Trust's Afghan Education
Project's drama, "New Home, New Life", which celebrated
its 10th anniversary in April 2004, has recently been moved to
more prominent broadcast times on the BBC Persian and Pashto Services.
In December 2004, the World Service launched
its first 24 hour English language relay in Kabul on 101.6FM.
This is in addition to short wave availability nationally, and
to programming in Pashto, Persian and Uzbek available on short
wave nationally and on FM in Kabul.
AFGHAN WOMAN'S
HOUR
This project, run by the BBC World Service Trust
and sponsored by the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (joint-funded
by the FCO, DFID and the MoD), will start early in 2005. Broadcasting
in Persian and Pashto, the programmes will bring Afghan women
new ideas, solutions and entertainment, including profiles of
women achievers, advice about health, hygiene and nutrition, story
telling and music. The programmes will also aim to boost literacy
and give the generation of Afghan women who missed out on going
to school the analytical skills to participate more fully in society.
Female Afghan journalists are being recruited and trained.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
The BBC World Service Trust has funding from
the FCO's Global Opportunities Fund to run "My Life",
an Arabic-language series investigating the difficulties faced
by girls in the Arab world in securing access to education. The
programmes will feature debates and discussions involving younger
people and will be broadcast on the BBC and on participating local
stations in Egypt, Syria, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Workshops have been carried out in Egypt, Syria
and Yemen. BBC News Online and BBCArabic.com are showcasing stories
and media portfolios of girls selected by the workshops. The final
workshop will take place at the end of February 2005 at Effat
Girl's College in Jeddah.
THE VOICES
PROJECT
The VOICES project (an extensive national
public education project using radio in Nigeria) was showcased
as part of the Queen's state visit to Nigeria in December 2003
which coincided with the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting
in Abuja. Together with the FCO and DFID, the World Service Trust
organised an event in Karu, near to Abuja which enabled the Queen,
accompanied by the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, to visit a Nigerian
market—the setting for the VOICES drama.
"Story Story", the English language
educational radio drama series written, set and recorded in Nigeria
as part of the VOICES project, is now being broadcast on the East
Africa stream of the BBC World Service, as well as fifteen Nigerian
radio stations. The drama recently won "Best Radio Drama"
and "Best Script for a Radio Drama" at the Nigerian
National Broadcasting Awards.
THABYEGONE YWA—BURMESE
SOAP OPERA
This radio soap opera was pilot-funded by
the FCO, and developed using Burmese actors, writers, directors
and technicians from Burmese refugee groups, with support from
BBC staff. It uses drama to create awareness about democracy and
good governance as well as providing health information and basic
life skills. The programmes are collated and edited in Thailand
and broadcast on the BBC Burmese Service to avoid censorship by
the Burmese authorities.
The Burmese soap opera celebrated its hundredth
episode in October 2004. Using DFID funding the programme is now
in its third year. The World Service Trust is working to increase
the number of Burmese stations carrying the programme, which is
available on Radio Thailand among others. Through the BBC Burmese
Service alone, the programme reaches a potential audience of 10
million adults.
MEDIA CAMPAIGN
ON HIV/AIDS IN
CAMBODIA
In December 2004, "Taste of Life",
Cambodia's first Khmer language television drama, will be launched
on Cambodia's most popular commercial television station, TV5.
It is part of the BBC World Service Trust's ongoing Cambodian
media campaign to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and maternal/child
health issues.
MEDIA CAMPAIGN
ON HIV/AIDS IN
INDIA
The World Service Trust programmes Jasoos
Vijay and Haath se Haath Milaa, as well as an HIV/Aids
public service announcement "spot", received six nominations
at the 2004 Indian Television Awards held in November 2004. The
media campaign on HIV/AIDS in India has now been extended until
March 2007 with further funding from DFID.
SLAVERY TODAY
The BBC World Service Trust is also working
on a new International Labour Organisation-funded project to broadcast
programmes and debates on forced labour. The main focus will be
a broadcast event in May 2005, which will involve a debate to
be broadcast on BBC World Service radio, BBC World television
and the internet, backed up by radio features on BBC World Service's
Outlook programme and The World, the BBC World Service's
co-production with WGBH (Boston). The project will be executed
in conjunction with the Centre for International Studies at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
MEDIA DIALOGUES
The BBC World Service Trust has funding from
the FCO's Global Opportunities Fund to train journalists across
the Middle East and North Africa. Two and three day journalism
workshops with editors, broadcasters and managers from television
and radio, looking at barriers to media freedom, have now taken
place in Beirut, Damascus, Cairo and Casablanca. These are accompanied
by training sessions for younger journalists, some of whom are
brought to London for intensive training.
"TOWARDS 2005—DOES
THE MEDIA
MATTER IN
THE FIGHT
AGAINST GLOBAL
POVERTY?"
In November 2004, the BBC World Service Trust
hosted a major DFID-funded conference in London on the media's
role in tackling global poverty. Policy makers and media from
around the world gathered to take part in the sessions and to
listen to keynote speeches from the Chancellor of the Exchequer
and the Secretary of State for International Development. Other
participants included Paul Mitchell (Chief of the Development
Communications Division of the World Bank), Jeff Sachs (Special
Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Millennium Development
Goals) and representatives from the Commission for Africa.
BBC MONITORING
BBC Monitoring has been working with the
Hate Speech Group of the FCO's Freedom of Expression Panel since
August 2002. Broadcasts in a number of countries are being monitored
for "hate speech"—that is, any content in broadcasts
which could inflame tension, across the spectrum from prejudice
to direct incitement. The four regions currently covered by the
project are the Balkans, West Africa, Middle East/Israel and the
former Soviet Union. The project is set to continue for another
year.
BBC Monitoring has produced a further 11 bulletins
relating to hate speech (actual and reports of) on the former
Soviet Union, Israel and Palestinian areas, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia
and Kosovo.
BBC Monitoring was also part of the FCO delegation
to the OSCE meeting on the relationship between racist, xenophobic
and anti-Semitic propaganda on the internet and hate crimes, which
was held in Paris in June 2004. A presentation on the work of
BBC Monitoring relating to hate speech was given there.
BBC World Service
14 December 2004
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