<amarc-3> Introduction to Lanie Goebel

[goebel@cs.ualberta.ca (by way of Elvira Truglia <elv@alcor.concordia.ca>)]

Dear Elivira, and others in AMARC-3,

[This message is being relayed by goebel@cs.ualberta.ca, for Lanie Goebel
(lanie@inaccs.com.bb, lanie@cs.ualberta.ca).]

I wish it was simple to say hello.  By way of introducing myself may I
please say I am participating from Barbados, WI.  I have been reading with
great enthusiasm everyone's comments, as well as the Charters.  First let
me say that, practically speaking, technological issues, implications on
access, content, and distribution is affecting me.  First, I have just
moved, so I am in the long process of waiting three months to get a phone.

Therefore, I must drive to the Airport to access this conference.  Still, I
am much more privileged than most citizens here.  They do not even own the
equipment to take part in these conferences.  It may possibly be that (and
my most dreaded fear) the heat has taken its toll on their equipment, and
it is being repaired.  This, also, takes forever.  Presently, I am
downloading E-mail, when I can, for a friend who spent $3,500 to get a WWW
site, only to have his server breakdown.  We just cannot figure out how to
respond so it appears it is coming from him.  I cannot configure my
software to accept that command.  Then, next I must send my mail back to
Alberta, Canada, as I get a SORRY message each time I try to post my mail.
All of this causes delays in participating.

That brings me to my first thought.  Why am I participating?  I find just
reading, thinking, and participating in this conference gives me
inspiration to form opinions and try to think of solutions.  IMPLEMENTING
change takes energy.  The will to keep motivated, and try new options can
be discouraging.  Just being able to participate in the sharing of
information, ideas, and experiences gives me renewed energy.

Second, this on-line way of communicating is so much easier than traveling
throughout the world.   Here in Barbados, the struggle to communicate is so
different from that which I found living in Tokyo.  When my three children
attended public school in Tokyo, they were introduced to the school via a
student run TV station.

In elementary school in Tokyo the children began in grade four, producing,
editing, and distributing their own TV productions to the rest of the
students.  They learnt to find the ideas they wished to communicate,
utilize the equipment, and technology.  Here, in Barbados, the children do
not have the opportunity in school to make use of media communication.  It
is not available to them.  Even in Canada children can occasionally find
summer camps to learn about media production.  They may have a friend whose
parent works at a TV station, so they can make use of equipment on
weekends, for school projects.  Certainly, the access to media production
varies hugely, from country to country.  This affects the awareness that
people have to their rights to this information sharing.

I have observed that large companies do wish to target children and adults
universally, with cartoons, and advertisement.  They do not seem to have
the same amount of concern for ensuring that what they broadcast is fair,
or educational.  I believe we should be considering a Declaration statement
addressing this issue.  It seems that self governing does not reach to the
moral obligation level of most multinational communication.

I am also concerned about the programs offered for women and children
universally.  These groups seem to be exploited more than men.  Does anyone
else feel that way?  Instead of using media to teach about the abuses of
violence,  drugs, or other topics, it tends to encourage it, by causing
awareness, of the haves and have nots.  When children constantly observe
ads to buy what they cannot afford to buy, it instills feelings of
frustration.

Lanie Goebel
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