Local revitalization and endogenous development with community broadcasting: A case of the Sierra Juarez Region in Oaxaca, Mexico
2003
Kitano, S. (Nihon Univ., Tokyo (Japan))
Abstract In Mexico, since the 1980s, what I refer to as the "new civil movement," involving grassroots self-organization and networking, has been active and visible as civil society's response to globalization and neoliberalism. This article explores the possibility of a community radio station being a tool for endogenous local development. First, I present my viewpoint on Mexico's civil movement and endogenous development, followed by a conceptual account of alternative development communication and small-scale media within that context. I then present the case study of a community radio station project run by a local NGO, Fundacion Communalidad (FC), in the Sierra Juarez Region in Oaxaca. FC has promoted various cultural and artistic activities such as music, photography, and video program shooting, as well as radio broadcasting, among the indigenous youth in the region, and it has encouraged their participation in the station's activities to (re-)build cultural and spiritual self-esteem and empowerment. Based on field interviews with the FC members, I describe their philosophy, history of activities, and current problems. Although the station's scale of activity is small, the case suggests the possibility for modern communication techniques to facilitate local cultural revitalization and endogenous development.
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