KARACHI, Sept 9: Speakers at a workshop, on Tuesday, stressed the need that the media should project the issues being faced by the poor so that people with authority could make efforts to solve these problems.

They were speaking at an international workshop on “Culture for Social Change”, being organized by a non-governmental organization, Actionaid. Besides, local artists, writers, poets and social activists, delegates from seven countries also participated in the workshop.

They claimed that media had become commercial to a large extent while the problems being faced by the marginalized sections of society should be highlighted. They were of the view that media should focus on the poor even if they were not the consumers and targets of the advertisers.

The participants said that efforts were being made by the Actionaid to work with women in Thar desert, Kachho and other rural areas in the interior of Sindh. They said that the rural women were being taught the skills to make their own documentaries while the required equipment in this regard was being provided to them.

The documentaries prepared by the rural women on the issues of exploitation by the middlemen, problems of water scarcity and low compensation for labour were screened on the occasion. The efforts made by the rural people showed visible improvement in their confidence and ability to communicate that also helped them to overcome their literacy barrier.

The documentaries on various issues, including the threats being faced by the coastal communities, harmful seeds, community responses to interactive theatre, Lyari Expressway project, and problems being faced by Hindu community, were also screened at the workshop.

The participants noted that culture was based on the everyday modes of expressions of people and as such media could influence their attitudes and bring about a social change.

They also spoke about cultural colonization being spread through globalization, which was more concerned with turning people into consumers rather than actualizing their potential. Culture was the basis of people’s identity and distancing people from their heritage contributed to the process that led people to poverty — leaving them voiceless and dreamless, they said.

The foreign delegates talked about the need to revive the South Asian theatrical traditions that integrated story-telling, dancing, singing, miming and spontaneous dialogue. They appreciated the efforts made in certain rural areas of Pakistan to revive the art of folk story-telling by “sughars” (rural elders, who are referred to for advice by all villagers). They suggested that the art of folk story-telling should be strengthened and replicated in other countries also.

The Bangladeshi delegate informed the participants of the tradition of “pot songs” used in his country to address the women’s rights, environmental degradation and conservation concerns.

The delegates from African countries said that they had experimented with cultural tools for raising awareness among children and adults and empowerment of women regarding AIDS and importance of basic education in Ethiopia, on child trafficking and enslavement of girls at shrines and to work against stigmas surrounding widows in Ghana.

Using media of theatres, film, folk songs and stories was an attempt to highlight contributions of culture in development of the collective identity, they added. They said that taking away the means of cultural expression from people was one of the mechanisms usually adopted by the authorities for suppression.

Sarah de Norwall, Alice W. Wilson, Rita Akoto Coker, S.M. Monjur Rashid, Dr Fauzia Saeed, Khalid Ahmad, Farjad Nabi, Munoo Bhai, Samina Ahmad and Kishwar Naheed spoke. Delegates from the United Kingdom, Kenya, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Ghana also participated in workshop.

In the second session, comprising a cultural show, the Bahawalnagar group highlighted the plight of the farmers in Punjab, and the Fisherfolk group highlighted the story of “the net that catches the most”.