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New Media Brain Trust
“New Media & Africa: Making It Work in the 21st Century”
Zanzibar, July 15-17, 2008: A panel of distinguished guests from USA and Africa will gather to participate in a brain trust on the role of new media in Africa’s development in the 21st century , in terms of regulatory systems, and the critical need to deliver content upon a variety of platforms; address the new media production in all its dimensions of art, and business, demystify the challenges of new media in Africa context; how can new media content impact local political perceptions and discussions? How does new media redefine the framework and boundaries of public media? How does new media stimulate economic development through the free flow of ideas and information?
The New Media Brain Trust, a Special event at the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) founded on the principles exemplified in the ZIFF credo, ‘Cultural Crossroads.’ organized by ZIFF, NBPC and other partners will bring together the big thinkers and entrepreneurs, technologists and journalists, and Millennials and NGOs from USA and Africa to talk about delivery and production models for opening up opportunities for an exchange of ideas and open dialogue about new media usage, production and content and its effects on the global perceptions on Africa and in an African context.
The brain trust will be opened by Ambassador Andrew Young a Founder/Chair, GoodWorks Internationaland some of the speakers at the forum include:
1. Lee Hill, NPR webmaster (US)
2. Andrea Taylor, Microsoft (US)
3. New Media representative, Microsoft (US)
4. Representative, Facebook (US)
5. Representative, Google (Africa/US)
6. Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia
7. Frank Schulenburg, Wikipedia
8.Andrew Mwenda, a Ugandan journalist.
9.Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Global Voices President and Founder
10. Jennifer Corriero, Founder/Director, TakeITGlobal
Target audience: by Job Title
CEOs, Directors, Head of Ministries, Managers, Film and TV producers, Cinematographers, Film scholars and academics, Multi-media designers, soft-ware and hard ware engineers and developers, Chief scientific officers, Chief information officers, Project managers, Technical directors, and International NGOs.
NMI: Orientation/Production
In partnership with New York University, the Real Life Documentary Festival, and the National Film & Television Institute in Accra, Ghana, producers will convene in Accra for 5 days of workshops and networking, preparing them for production on their various new media ideas. This networking opportunity will allow for an exchange of ideas in an environment that introduces a young generation of media makers, to a working generation of media professionals who convene at the Real Life Documentary Festival, now in its third year. On conclusion of the orientation, producers will be split into teams and dispersed to their respective countries (Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana) for the production of their content.
Soko Filam
The Soko Filam Program enters its second year at ZIFF. Essentially a film market, the program also allows for marketing of many cultural industries products through the Information Expo.The high profile participants, commercial outputs and potential for sustainability is an attractive feature of the program.
The Soko-Filam components include aForum onRestructuring Film Market Systems, the Product Market, Exhibition and display stalls, and numerous networking sessions. In addition to Forum plenary sessions, which will look at the industry market in general, the Forum will be divided into the following topic areas: Distribution and Marketing, Ownership, Copyright, doing business with the Commercial banks and working with the Governments.
The Film Program
On offer is an exciting program of films as well as performances, Forums, workshops and an outreach program. 6 World Premieres and 12 African Premieres will be on offer at the magnificent Old Fort amphitheatre. The four International Juries The ZIFF Jury, The FIPRESCI Jury, The SIGNIS Jury and the Sembene Ousmane Development Film Jury are now confirmed making ZIFF the most prized festival on the continent. No other festival in Africa has the prestigious international film critics jury (FIPRESCI).
Children and Film Panorama and the Danish Film Institute
ZIFF has been running for 10 years now. Over these years ZIFF has been working very closely with the Danish Film Institute, taking advantage of their immense experience in children and youth film programming and production. The aim of the CHILDREN AND FILM PANORAMA program is to develop and strengthen the children’s section with a more ambitious and wide reaching film program for the audience together with master classes and workshops for the professional industry in East Africa. 21 film viewings and 6 Master Classes are on schedule this year. Included in the program are the exciting films Fighter (Natasha Arthy, 2007) and Asmar et Azur (Michel Ocelot, 2007)
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
The War We Forgot - ongoing photo Exhibition 24 April – 31 May at Rivington Place, UK
A major documentary photographic exhibition of primarily Bangladeshi photographers that focuses on the independence struggle in 1971. The exhibition is produced in partnership with Shahidul Alam, Director of Drik, a media activist and journalist from Bangladesh. This will be the first comprehensive review in the UK of one of the most important conflicts in modern history. It is recognised that over a million people died in 266 days during the struggle for an independent Bangladesh. http://shahidul.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/
Bangladesh 2008, 10 – 18 May at Spectrum Project Space, 221, Beaufort Street, Northbridge, Australia
A photographic exhibition capturing the reality of people living with the direct consequences of global warming by Edith Cowan University School of Communication and Arts Australia’s, Photomedia Students from Summer School 2008, in collaboration with staff and students of Pathshala: South Asian Institute of Photography, supported by Drik Picture Library and University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) http://www.scca.ecu.edu.au/projects/spectrum/
2008 World Photojournalism Festival - Shenyang China (TOPS) June 22 – July 22
Drik enters festival with 5 exhibitions. http://www.topschina.org/
AWARDS
Joop Swart Masterclass
Drik is proud to announce: Majority World and former Pathshala student Andew Biraj, makes it to prestigious Joop Swart Masterclass. In a list dominated by USA and Europe, Biraj is the only photographer selected from the majority world. He is the fourth Pathshala alumni to be selected for this prestigious event. http://shahidul.wordpress.com/current-news
Mainstreaming the Fringe
Drik's upcoming project ‘Mainstreaming the Fringe’, based on the theme ‘Tackling HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination’, became a winner at the South Asia Regional Development Marketplace (SARDM) held in Mumbai on 16 May 2008. SARDM is a World Bank program that uses a competitive and transparent process to support grassroots initiatives with innovative approaches to solving challenging development issues.
PROJECTS IN HAND
‘Jobra to Oslo’
Drik’s Publication and Event Management Department has undertaken the design and construction for a permanent Exhibition titled ‘Jobra to Oslo’ assigned by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Grameen Bank. The exhibit will include a brief history of the inception and progress of the Grameen Bank and its founder Prof. Muhammad Yunus. Both Grameen Bank and Professor Yunus were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. The exhibit which will also include the prize ceremony in Oslo, is to be opened mid July 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunus
Photo competition & Exhibition on Climate Change 5-11 June
Jointly organized by Drik and the Fredskorpset network in Bangladesh, calls for entry to the photo competition has been published. The Exhibition will be opened on 5 June which is also the World Environment Day. The competition will be curated through a nationwide contest. A mobile version of the exhibition will be toured in 5 districts in Bangladesh.
Photo exhibition by underprivileged children – May
In partnership with Save the Children, Australia, a photo exhibition will be be opened in May at the Drik Gallery.
Chobi Mela IV
Entries are flowing in for the festival with the submission deadline at 31 May 2008. With fund raising and logistics taking on a huge component of human resource, Drik is now looking at setting up a Chobi Mela Secretariat for the festival. http://www.chobimela.org/
Other news from DRIK
Sir Arthur C Clarke, 90, died on March 19, 2008, in his home in Colombo, Sri Lanka, leaving behind an unforgettable cultural legacy. The chairman of majorityworld.com, Dr Shahidul Alam, was the last photographer to have taken private pictures of the brilliant and visionary British sci-fi author and futurist. http://shahidul.wordpress.com
Poster for the Zanzibar International Film Festival 2008
The programme of the Children and Film Panorama includes the film Azur & Asmar
Amongst the projects of Drik there is the exhibition The War We Forgot - 24 April – 31 May, UK © Rashid Talukder