Mai / May 2001 - Global Perspectives

Kommunikation Global . Communicating Globally . Mai / May 2001________________________________________________________________________________________________NACHLESE / GLEANINGSShe said the series of films would also tackle the various social and traditional issues that are hinderingthe progress of AIDS education in the region. "For example in certain communities there is the beliefthat women spread the virus. This results in men shedding all responsibility and women being tormented.Also the horrible belief that having sex with a child will cure one of AIDS - it is these negativeand untrue beliefs that we intend to tackle through this project," she adds.In the words of Eyakamma, Khoisan Warrior, "It is better to die for an idea that will live than to live foran idea that will die."Edkins agrees. "Our series of films will become part of a history that will never die and most of the participantswill become immortal through their stories being recorded and documented. So the idea ofSteps for the Future will become immortal long after the participants, like Phephe, have died," he adds.- Copyright © Kommunikation GlobalShehnilla Mohamed is a Zimbabwean journalist who began her career in 1985 as a cadet reporteron the daily The Zimbabwe Herald. She joined Agence France Press (AFP) three yearslater in a posting that covered the entire southern African region. In 1990 she left Zimbabwe forthe United Arab Emirates (UAE) where she joined one of the largest English dailies in the region,The Gulf News. She covered major events like the Gulf War and worked her way up to bureauchief of the Northern Emirates for the Gulf News. In 1996 she returned to Zimbabwe where after asix-month of stint in public relations and marketing she was appointed assistant Editor of a regionalfeature service called Africa Information Afrique (AIA). A year later, she was appointed Editor.She also worked as a consultant with the Environment Resource Centre, producing booksand factsheets on environmental law and related issues. In 1999 Shehnilla joined Inter PressService (IPS) as the Europe/Middle East and Africa Editor. She is presently working as the AdministrativeEditor for the Southern African Broadcasting Association. (SABANEWS).The Art of Storytelling Comes AliveBy Shehnilla MohamedMuriel Rukeyser, the American poet, once wrote; "The universe is made up of stories, not atoms."Nowhere was this more evident than at the 24th International Public Television Screening Conference,INPUT 2001, held in the sparkling and breathtakingly beautiful city of Cape Town, South Africa fromApril 28-May 5.For almost a quarter of a century the visionaries and creators of television that is in the public interesthave gathered in different cities to debate the most original and provocative programmes from aroundthe world.Over 1 000 of the world's top television directors, producers, network bosses, distributors, writers andjournalists gathered from 60 countries to view, critique and discuss more than 80 television programmesthat have been selected from 350 international submissions.INPUT 2001 had as its theme "storytelling" and for a week audiences were transported throughout theworld of storytelling and exposed to a myriad of different styles. Some of the stories were gentle andsoft and others were harsh and brutal leaving the viewer chilled.Storytelling is as old as mankind. It was here on the southern tip of Africa that the original people, theKhoi and the San, painted their stories on the walls of their caves and planted them deep in the memoriesof their children. """- -20____________________________________________________________________________________________________________A PUBLICATION OF THE IPS-CIC COMMUNICATION PROJECT IN GERMAN AND ENGLISH !" EINE BILINGUALE PUBLIKATION DES IPS-CIC-KOMMUNIKATIONSPROJEKTES