A new global alliance aims to unify television broadcasters worldwide to retain and grow indigenous languages and cultures.
The World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network (WITBN) convened its inaugural Council meeting in Ireland recently. Agenda items included the network and Council structure, capacity and capability building opportunities, the establishment of a WITBN website and the schedule and action plan for future meetings.
The launch of WITBN was a key outcome of the inaugural World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference (WITBC ’08) hosted by Māori Television in New Zealand in March this year. Taiwan’s indigenous broadcaster, TITV – a member of Taiwan’s public broadcasting group, PTS – will host the next conference in 2010.
The WITBN Council foundation members are APTN (Canada); BBC Alba (Scotland); Māori Television (Aotearoa New Zealand); NITV (Australia); NRK Sami Radio and Television (Samiland, Norway); TG4 (Ireland); TITV/PTS (Taiwan); S4C (Wales); and SABC (South Africa).
Māori Television will be the chair organisation of WITBN until WITBC 2010, and the chief executive of Māori Television – Jim Mather – will be the inaugural WITBN chairman. Māori Television will also provide secretariat support to WITBN.
Mr Mather says indigenous broadcasting is an established yet rapidly growing sector, with S4C going to air in Wales in 1982 through to the start of NITV in Australia last year and the pending launch of Scottish Gaelic channel BBC Alba later this month (September).
The main aim of the network is to reach out to all other indigenous television broadcasters and develop collaborative relationships. Training and development activities will initially focus on staff exchange programmes while Māori Television is also developing a weekly indigenous ‘wrap-up’ programme of the major news stories of WITBN member organisations.
“Global indigenous broadcasters share similar organisational visions and purpose – to protect, maintain and strengthen indigenous representation in the media while preserving and developing their indigenous languages, culture, people and stories.
“Thus, the establishment of a worldwide network 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.
“WITBN is proud to be at the forefront of the renaissance of indigenous languages and cultures through the medium of television.”
A report summarising the key decisions of the inaugural Council meeting is available on the website www.witbc.org. The next Council meeting will be hosted by SABC in South Africa early next year followed by APTN in Canada in September 2009.
For more information, contact the WITBN secretariat co-ordinator Vanessa Horan at Māori Television on +64 9 539 7159; fax +64 9 539 7199; mobile +64 21 928 007; or email info@witbn.org.
