Esta es una invitación para mis alumnos y colegas para que desde hoy comiencen a planear su participación en esta conferencia internacional que se celebrará en 2017 en Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. Para mayores informes contactar a Angélica Barrios: angelica.barrios@uniminuto.edu.

Con perspectivas críticas y debates sobre la colonialidad y la comunicación para el buen vivir, culminó el pasado 18 de septiembre en Ecuador, el Congreso Internacional en Comunicación, Descolonización y Buen Vivir, organizado por CIESPAL (Centro Internacional de Estudios Superiores de Comunicación para América Latina), evento que convocó a los países latinoamericanos representados por universidades, organizaciones sociales y académicos que vienen desarrollando proyectos de investigación con estas categorías.

El congreso inició con la conferencia inaugural de Catherine Walsh, investigadora y militante de movimientos sociales en Estados Unidos y América Latina. Walsh habló de la importancia de seguir debatiendo y reflexionando sobre el paradigma de decolonilidad que no sólo se relaciona con la inclusión de prácticas de comunicación y participación indígena o afrodescendientes sino, urbanas y demás formas de convivencia, resistencia y emancipación.

Así mismo, el congreso contó con la participación de la decana de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Comunicación de UNIMINUTO Amparo Cadavid y la profesora Eliana Herrera de la misma universidad en el panel, “Políticas públicas de Comunicación en el horizonte del buen vivir”, junto con Freddy Ehlers Secretario de Estado del Buen Vivir (Ecuador) y Francisco Sierra, Director de CIESPAL.

En el panel, Ehlers expuso cómo se concibe el Buen vivir en Ecuador desde la decoloniadlidad en las formas de capitalismo, de educación y prácticas de convivencia. La profesora Herrera, habló sobre las formas de comunicación y desarrollo en comunidades indígenas en Colombia y su participación en la creación de una política pública de reconocimiento y buen vivir. Por su parte Amparo Cadavid, centro su discurso sobre la experiencia de la ley de emisoras comunitarias en Colombia como una política pública de comunicación y participación. Finalmente, Francisco Sierra, abordó la importancia de construir una política pública en comunicación, no sólo desde la visión mediática sino desde la formas de interacción y participación política.

El congreso culminó con la conferencia del profesor Eduardo Restrepo, quien problematizó las categorías decolonial, buen vivir y comunicación desde una perspectiva teórica crítica, concluyendo que estos paradigmas hay que comprenderlos desde una mirada holística. También, se realizó el lanzamiento del libro Planificación y Comunicación, de Juan Díaz Bordenave y Horacio Martíns de Carvalho y en el que la decana Amparo Cadavid, fue la encargada de comentar este libro que se constituye en un importante referente para comprender cómo se ha construido el campo de la comunicación y el desarrollo en América Latina. 

Is there anything that could be considered as a Latin American Thought in Communication?

Yes, and this paper explains it.

THE FOUNDERS

• In 1964 Paulo Freire (Brazil) published his Pedagogy of the Oppressed and in 1967The Practice of freedom, which was the starting point of this thought. Both books questioned the main stream education system and its methods of teaching. He deviled the “bank deposit education” pedagogy.
• In 1962 Mario Kaplun (Argentina) produced Uncensored in 1969. Father Vicente: A diary of a neighborhood priest. And in 1971 Jury No. 13. All these radio series joined Freire’s concepts on liberation and alternative vision to mainstream pedagogy and communication.
• In 1960 Antonio Pascuali (Venezuela) published Communication and Mass Culture, in 1973 Sociology of Communication, and in 1974 Understanding Communication. All three books are the basic theory of Latin American communication, analyzing the regional understanding of the concept, opposing Schiller.
• In 1971 Luis Ramiro Beltran started his rich production with Notes for a social communication diagnosis in Latin America: persuasion in favor or status quo. In 1973 Communication Policies in Latin America, and in 1974 Communication Research in Latin America: inquiry in blinkers?
• In 1976 Juan Diaz-Bordenave (Paraguay) published Communication and Rural Development, and in 1978  Communication Planning.
• In  1972  Jose Marques de Mello (Brazil) published Compared Studios in Journalism, and in 1973 Sociology of Brazilian press.
• In 1974 Juan Somavia and Fernando Reyes Matta (Chile) created the ILET – Institute for Transnational Studies with a communication division. In 1980 both were part of the McBride Inform: One world, multiple voices.
• Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, also had important scholars who contribute since the 70s to this process of building a regional thought.

SOME CONTRIBUTIONS

•         Orlando Fals Borda: IAP = Participative Action-Research

•         Eliseo Veron - Semiology

•         Nestor Garcia-Canclini – Cultural Studies

•         Jesus Martin-Barbero – Philosophy, Linguistics

•         Rafael Roncagliolo and Luis Peirano – Sociology

•         Rosa Maria Alfaro – Education and pedagogy

•         Rossana Reguillo – Urban youth studies

•         Rafael Obregon, Jair Vega – Communication and health

•         Clemencia Rodriguez – Citizen media

•         Alfonso Gumucio-Dagron – Social change

•         Immaculata Vasallo – Communication Research

LEGACY

1. Right of communication (as part of Human Rights)
2. National communication policies
3. Communication as part of cultural studies
4. The need for an independent journalism (Citizen’s journalism)
5. Citizens media beyond community media
6. The conceptualization of “from the other” (otredad) as a main epistemological perspective.
7. First comes communication transformations in action. Then follows reflection and theorization.
8. Communication potential for change reality arises from social movements with a political struggle to reach recognition and participation
9. Communication contributes to democratize society when it establishes and maintains intercultural dialogues in societies.
10. Communication is not neutral, it’s always political. When people and cultures are shown or hidden in a particular society, then it’s possible to balance communication or isolation.

What is UNIMINUTO?

It’s the largest private university in Colombia

Some statistics:

85.000 students,- 9 cities – 42 municipalities – 5 Faculties – 32 academic programs – One virtual University – 7 Research Centers –

Faculty of Communication Sciences:

3000 students – 220 professors & researchers – 8 academic programs – Centre for Communications Studies – School for Development Media

How UNIMINUTO has built a university model that combines and connects the academic dimension with the needs and demands of the society/community?

What have we learned?

In what stage are we?

How UNIMINUTO has built a university model that combines and connects the academic dimension with the needs and demands of the society/community?

What have we learned?

In what stage are we?

THE CLUE

UNIVERSIDAD MINUTO DE DIOS

MINUTE OF GOD UNIVERSITY?????

It’s founding story is considered a Colombian patrimony, a model of development and social/economic change

THE PAST

•         In 1953 a priest of the Catholic Congregation of Jesus and Mary started a fundraising campaign through radio (prime time hours) to get money for the refugees and poor people that were victims of the “first violence” 30’s. He got 1 minute time to call “rich audiences” for help. The program was broadcasted every day at 7pm and its name was “The Minute of God”

•         It was very successful and with the money gathered he could help people to get houses and food.

•         In 1957 TV started in Colombia, and Father Rafael Garcia Herreros saw an opportunity. So, as he was well known by then, he got 3 minutes on-air TV (prime time) for his “Minuto de Dios”.

•         In 1960 he started a housing project through his TV segment. Every week he gave a house to a poor family. In 54 years this project has built more houses than any governmental housing project in Colombia.

•         Little by little Minute for God -which was born as a fundraising campaign in the media- became the most prestigious social corporation of Colombia.

•         Is not only very well known, but has built up a whole development model that includes: education, infrastructure, economics, social work, and communication

•         In 1990 was founded a university that represents the ideals of educating a new generation of Colombians:

•         Good citizens – Good professionals

•         High standards of  research and innovation

•         Attitude to serve others

•         Committed to built up a new Colombia, with peace and prosperity

•         In 1994 was created the Faculty of Communication, with emphasis in participatory and community work.

•         In 1996 arose the Communication Research Division

•         In 2000 was created the Media School for Development

•         In 2014 we opened the our first Masters Degree,  in Communication, Development and Social Change. 

LESSONS

University learns from and with communities. It’s in its nature:

1. Knowledge dialogue (diálogo de saberes) as a way to activate participation and to integrate and democratize society. Dialogue among different generations, genders, ethnicities, cultures. Dialogue among scientific knowledge (academia) and everyday common people knowledge.
2. Praxeology the way to materialize Minuto de Dios epistemology. It is a methodology and a pedagogy, which starting point is the praxis shared by two or more people.
3. Social innovation as a strategy to overcome structural limitations. Sometimes means to look at old things with new eyes.
4. The need to systematize and evaluate together our experiences in a participative way with communities and projects, to build a patrimony of knowledge and practice for the present and the future.

CHALLENGES

The post conflict in Colombia

            •         To integrate thousands of young people (former combatants) to the society, including the education and economic                     systems.

•         Prepare the soc

iety (open minds) for process: our students and families, professors and academic community, our partners and the system in general.

•         Shape together new methodologies and practices for reconciliation.

•         Build a participative way with new schooling opportunities appropriate for people joining the education system for the first time

•         Contribute to the post conflict period through C4D capacities of social dialogue and negotiation in an intercultural society as Colombia is.

The strength of capacity building

•         Strength the relationship among the construction of theoretical frameworks for C4D to understand reality, and, the communication practices and initiatives coming from grassroots experiences.

•         Influence and impact national high education policies on how the Colombian universities must accompany, and contribute to community’s proposals and initiatives within a deep participative framework. Not only “using communities” for scientific research.

 

Citizens´ Media against Armend Conflict  es el último libro de Clemencia Rodríguez. Clemencia es una colega colombiana que desde hace cerca de 10 años ha estado muy juiciosamente estudiando el papel que los medios ciudadanos y comunitarios han tenido en el manejo que la violencia y el conflicto armado, han tenido por parte de las comunidades,  en Colombia. Se ha centrado en casos específicos, coherentemente con sus postulados de que estos medios juegan un papel preponderante es en el ámbito de lo local.

En este libro Clemencia profundiza en tres casos que ha estudiado durante largo tiempo: La red de Emisoras Comunitarias del Magdalena Medio, el Colectivo de Comunicaciones Montes de María-Línea 21 y La Escuela Audiovisual Infantil de Belén de los Andaquíes. Ella ya ha escrito sobre estos temas en los últimos años; el gran valor agregado en este libro es que hace una lectura de conjunto, incluyendo algunos otros elementos (como el aporte del Ministerio de Cultura y las Radio Ciudadanas) para centrarse en observar, analizar y narrar la actividad de las comunidades con sus medios frente al conflicto armado que las inunda. Demuestra el papel preponderante que tiene esta actividad comunicativa y la manera como permite la resistencia de la comunidad antes el conflicto armado y la forma coo permite mantener los lazos entre ellos y los imaginarios de identidad y de pertenencia a una cultura y a una historia.

Este libro es un aporte importante tanto para el estudio del papel de los medios ciudadanos, como de éstos en contextos de conflicto armado. Por otro lado muestra y reivindica el papel de cientos de comunicadores activistas locales y sus inmensos esfuerzos y creatividad por aportarle al país formas de convivencia y reconciliación. Es urgente traducirlo pronto a español.