National conference on Media and Human Rights held

 

Minister for Higher Education Dr. V. S. Acharya inaugurating the
National Conference on 'Media and Human Rights: The Global
Scenario' at KSHEC, Bangalore. Prof. S. C. Sharma, Prof. J. V.
Vilanilam, Prof. K. M. Kaveriappa look on.
Photo courtesy: Coastaldigest.com



Finally, it was ‘the mission accomplished’. The National Conference on ‘Media and Human Rights: The Global Scenario’ was a grand success. And the phrase ‘grand success’ is nothing but the ‘grand total’ of the feedback received from the delegates of the conference. Needless to say, they were the proud moments for the Karnataka State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) and the Center for Communication Programmes (CCP), Tumkur University – the organizers of the day-long event.  

Inauguration : Minister for Higher Education Dr. V. S. Acharya, who inaugurated the conference and released the proceedings, emphasized on reframing the education system to create awareness of human rights among students in schools and colleges.  He welcomed the move to include human rights in the curriculum of media education.

“Media, both print and electronic, have emerged so powerful in the recent decades that individual and social life has become almost unimaginable without their presence. Meanwhile, human rights too have emerged the indispensable issues of the coeval social discourse, thanks to the increased awareness and self-esteem among the members of civil society” he said.

Media industry has been witnessing a lot of changes and fluctuations in the recent times. The impact of globalization has not left even the media. In the race for survival, majority of the media industry have embraced commercialization, which has raised various questions and concerns among the conscious citizens, he added.

Dr. Acharya said the competition among the channels perhaps to maintain or increase the TRP ratings has led to the criticism that media are trivializing news. The situation resulted out of ‘survival of the fittest’ scene, has raised concerns among the conscious public that how far the media industry can give justice to human rights during their routine coverage, he observed.

Prof. J. V. Vilanilam, the former Vice Chancellor of University of Kerala, Smt. Latha Krishna Rao, Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department, Vice Chairman of KSHEC and the Vice Chancellor of Tumkur University Dr. S. C. Sharma and Prof. K. M. Kaveriappa, the Executive Director of the KSHEC were present at the inaugural.

Keynote address

Prof. J. V. Vilanilam, the former Vice Chancellor of University of Kerala, delivered an impressive and thought provoking keynote address, following the inaugural. Some of the recommendations made in his address were worth noting:

o   The media should be free from governmental and private proprietorial control that will limit individual rights to express even dissenting views.

o   Media’s independence from governments and vested interests is highly essential if they have to provide high quality information with fairness, objectivity and social relevance, especially while reporting events connected with disarmament, nuclear safey, human rights, ecological threats, sustainable development and environmental protection.

o   Media should not be concentrated in the hands of a few but really autonomous and if necessary small and diachronic instead of monopolizing news gathering and dissemination.

o   The rights of men and women deprived of freedom for so long in the history of the world have to be specially protected.

o   The media of communication should never promote polarization in society; instead they should strive to remove the causes of divisions and promote harmony, in a rational, logical, reasonable and scientific manner.

o   Media should strive for conscientizing citizens and governments to remove the socioeconomic, political and cultural causes of human rights violations.

Sessions

The conference included two technical sessions besides a poster presentations session. The first session featured a lead lecture by Dr. Ronald Anil Fernandes, Principal Correspondent, Deccan Herald, Mangalore on Challenges in Reporting Human Rights Stories – A Local Perspective with Global Outlook, which was followed by paper presentations by Mr. P. Natarajan, Head, Dept. of Communication, SRM Arts and Science College, Chennai (Globalisation, Commercialisation of Media and Human Rights) and Ms. Anuradha Saibaba, Assistant Professor of Law, National Law School of India University, Bangalore (Media and Juvenile Justice: Friends or Foes?).

(From left) KSHEC Vice Chairman and Tumkur University Vice Chancellor
Prof. S. C. Sharma, Kerala University Former Vice Chancellor
Prof. J. V. Vilanilam, Minister for Higher Education and KSHEC Chairman
Dr. V. S. Acharya and KSHEC Executive Director Prof. K. M. Kaveriappa
releasing the proceedings of the conference. Photo courtesy: The Hindu

The second session had a lead lecture by Ms. Puja Awasthi, Special Correspondent, Palnman Media, Lucknow on ‘Dalits, Media and Human Rights’. The paper presenters of the session were Dr. B. P. Mahesh Chandra Guru, Professor, Dept. of Mass Communication and Journalism, University of Mysore (The Role of Media in the Protection of Child Rights: A Perspective); Dr. D. Dominic, Associate Professor, Dept. of Studies in Kannada, BU PG Centre, Kolar (Iyothee Thass’ Contribution Towards Decolonizing Media); Dr. Vani. M. N., Head, Dept. of Journalism, NMKRV College for Women, Bangalore (Human Rights through a Gendered Lens - Media Analysis); Mr. V. Ramakrishna, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Political Science, Tumkur University (Human Rights and Atrocities on Exclusive Sections: Inclusive Response from the State and Civil Society); Dr. Narayana A., Assistant Professor, Dept. of Development Studies, Azim Premiji University, Bangalore (Human Rights Violations as Entertainment: Media’s Complicity); Smt. Nagarathna A., Assistant Professor of Law, National Law School of India University, Bangalore (Media Reporting of Crimes in India - An Assessment in the Light of Human Rights and Global Law); Mr. Rangaswamy D., Research Scholar, Dept. of Studies and Research in Law, University of Mysore (Media, Corruption and Human Rights: An Inter-conceptual Analysis); Mr. Hampesh K. S., Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mass Communication and Journalism, SDM College, Ujire (Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for Dalits in India); Dr. Niranjana Vanalli, Associate Professor in Communication and Journalism, Coordinator, Centre for Proficiency Development and Placement Services, University of Mysore (Integration of Human Rights Education in Media Curriculum).

Best poster

A poster on the topic “Transgenders: Vulnerability to Rights Abuse and Media Coverage” prepared by Mr. Saswat S. R. Mishra (BBA, Rai Business School, New Delhi) and Ms. Rachita Panda (BA Sociology (Hons), Miranda House, University of Delhi) won the Best Poster Award. Prof. K. M. Kaveriappa, Executive Director of the KSHEC honoured Mr. Mishra. Smt. G. Dakshayini (HoD, English, University College of Arts, Tumkur), Ms. Shruthi M. N. and Chitra B. T. (Assistant Professors, Dept. of IEM, RV College of Engineering, Bangalore), Mr. K. Kulasekaran and Dr. P. Rajendran (Dept. of Journalism and Law, Madurai Kamaraj University), Smt. Jyothi S. (Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, University College of Science, Tumkur) and Mr. Srinivas H. R. (Guest faculty, Dept. of Mass Communication and Journalism, Mangalore University) were also appreciated for their posters.

Mr. Padmanabha K. V., the Organizing Secretary of the Conference, proposed a vote of thanks on the conclusion of the day-long event. Dr. R. G. Sharath Chandra (Dept. of Microbiology, TU), Mr. Ashwin Kumar (Dept. of English, TU) and Dr. Ravindra Kumar B. (Dept. of Economics, TU) compered different sessions. Dr. M. U. Lokesh (Dept. of Social Work, TU), Mr. Rupesh Kumar A. (Dept. of Library and Information Science, TU) and Dr. Sunitha V. Ganiger (Dept. of Sociology, TU) were the rapporteurs.