The World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network (WITBN) convened its inaugural Council meeting in Ireland in August. The new global alliance aims to unify television broadcasters worldwide to retain and grow indigenous languages and cultures and will create opportunities for increased audiences, better access to resources, enhanced knowledge transfer, improved understanding of indigenous issues by all audiences, strategic international leadership and enhancement of schedules through programme exchange. Click here to read the full Council report summarising the key decisions.
The WITBN Council foundation members are APTN (Canada); BBC Alba (Scotland); Māori Television (Aotearoa New Zealand); NITV (Australia); S4C (Wales); NRK Sami Radio and Television (Samiland, Norway); TG4 (Ireland); TITV/PTS (Taiwan); and SABC (South Africa). Māori Television will be the chair organisation of WITBN until WITBC 2010, and the chief executive of Māori Television will be the inaugural WITBN chairman. Click here to read the publicity release.
Māori Television is developing a weekly indigenous ‘wrap-up’ programme of the major news stories of WITBN Council members. It is envisaged that a pilot – Te Matapihi: The Window to the Indigenous World – will be produced by December 2008. Māori Television’s General Manager of News and Current Affairs, Te Anga Nathan, is currently visiting APTN, NRK Sami Radio and Television, TG4, BBC Alba and TITV/PTS to progress this proposal.
Congratulations to Australia’s National Indigenous Television (NITV) which celebrated its first anniversary in July this year. Australia’s first service devoted to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programming has become a vehicle for reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Click here to read more about NITV.
The world’s newest indigenous broadcaster, BBC Alba in Scotland, will go to air on September 19. The launch of the new Scottish Gaelic digital service is a milestone in broadcasting and the realisation of a long-held ambition of the Gaelic community as well as an achievement for those who have worked so tirelessly to make it happen. Click here to read more about BBC Alba.
Planning for the next World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference – to be hosted by TITV/PTS in Taiwan – is well underway. The theme of the two-day conference will be ‘Facing the Challenge in the Digital Age for Indigenous Media’ and a special feature will be a film festival where indigenous broadcasters will be invited to showcase specially commissioned films. Click here to read more about TITV/PTS.
Indigenous broadcasters or stakeholders can now apply to join WITBN either as Council or Associate members. Council members are indigenous broadcasters with a mandate to revitalise their indigenous languages or cultures or non-indigenous broadcasters able to demonstrate commitment to the retention and development of indigenous languages and cultures. Associate members are organisations that meet the Council membership criteria but do not wish to participate in the leadership of WITBN or are key stakeholders who wish to support the objectives of the network. For more information, email info@witbn.org.