by SEMAKULA SAIDI

"It's important that parents and citizens really lobby for media literacy to be taught in schools, starting with kindergarten. We're doing our students a real disservice if we don't teach them to become critical consumers of the media." --Jean Kilbourne, quoted in Christian Science Monitor, November 24, 1999.

Information and communication technologies and the media, in whatever mode, are educative, informative and inspirational. Taking the examples of the Internet, television, radio, newspapers, and analyzing their importance, it is reasonable to say the media is vital.

From the industrial to information age and the current intangible economic era, the media and information and communication technologies have performed a great role, and more is imminent.

Individuals have been empowered; they are able to sell their own ideas and services and can access medical information. Their sovereignty has enabled them to access reliable and up-to-date information about government policies and programs .

With the convenience and anonymity provided by the Internet, some use it for emotional and psychological needs. The Internet has become a means and method both for business and reaching people on a social and personal level thereby improving social relations.

Individuals build networks online and offline based on their interests, values and affinities. A communication union is developing in societies, bringing together both the physical and virtual space hence creating a 'global village'.

The Internet offers great opportunities by enabling people, even the disabled, to organize teamwork, establish contacts with others and get jobs, helping them to earn a living, get accepted for their accomplishments and participate in an important part of life in society.

For the disabled with challenges in living, the Internet is there to help as it ensures the transmission of information as text. Shopping on the Internet and online banking from home both offer greater independence to those physically afflicted and unable to travel to "brick and mortar" businesses..

"Television may well be one of the most important innovations in communication since the printing press.  TV communicates in images that are both visual and aural offering erbal: learning of the vocabularies of the arts, including the media arts.  This capability offers an essential tool for understanding, and perhaps one day communicating, in the medium of television." [sic] --1988 National Endowment for the Arts report Toward Civilization.

Basing on the variety of programmes, the valuable content it offers and its purposes in daily life, television is not just an object. The viewer can watch a weather report to prepare for the day, sport for relaxation and fun, school programmes, documentaries, the news while advertisements provide information about products and new ideas. As television combines moving, colour images and sound, it resembles real life. Today with the state-of-the-art technology, even the latest content is broadcast from all over the world at any time.

People enjoy creativity, and television gives us that in the work of the people involved in creating clever film scripts, effective scenery, witty dialogues or magnificent camera shots.

The radio is a 'salvation' for many because it is a cheap way to stay aware of what is going on. It is informative and entertaining due to the news programs and music. It delivers a number of important psychological benefits to the listeners.

The media should continue to spread information and knowledge about health and sustainability so that people can know the importance of healthcare and sustainable development.

Communication technologies should engage more in rural development programmes to alleviate poverty. New opportunities should be presented for individuals and communities to be not only consumers but also producers of information.

The media and communication technologies should disseminate valuable information to the public considering the differences in languages, culture and socio-economic conditions. Information should not only be physically accessible but it needs to be timely, retrievable and easily applied, consistent with people's languages and values.

Keeping in mind that it is not the technologies but the information carried by the communication technologies, I would mobilize my local population, women, youth and deprived groups into training groups to promote a culture of information and skills as I monitor, evaluate and document successful applications of communication technologies.

In order to fight poverty, I would use the media to avail people with information regarding entrepreneurship and business management to increase with proper application of the acquired skills.

My voice would rise in favour of rural populations as government and communication technology departments formulate policies. This would make equitable access to communication technologies, consistent with the ongoing decentralization and policy revisions among countries.

The role and importance of the media and communication technologies cannot be overestimated in terms of its importance for the personal development of all citizens, as has been elucidated. It is a matter of choosing which areas suit personal interests at a given point in time.

The contributions abound:  Their part in political and social change; their function as promoters of commercialism; their importance for information and entertainment; and their use of language -- all justify the means to helping the world become better.