Youth and Ethics of New Communication Technologies

Youth are the largest single constituency who get extensively exposed to New Media for information, entertainment, networking and the like.  But being uncritical to New Media will make them unaware of the potential of exercising the critical autonomy as a consumer.  Critical New Media Literacy builds on these approaches, analyzing media culture as products of social production and struggle, and teaching them to be critical of media representations and discourses.  Therefore, in order to enable them to use New Media intelligently, to discriminate and evaluate its content, to critically dissect New Media forms, and to investigate media effects and uses the Church of North India (CNI) conducted a workshop New Media Literacy for its youth in partnership with the Christian Institute for Study of Religion and Society (CISRS), Bangalore .  The workshop brought 20 youth from different Dioceses of CNI to the CNI Centre for Human Potential Development, Nagpur during 5^th to 7^th December 2007.  The workshop was supported by the World Association of Christian Communication (WACC).

Inaugurating the workshop Rev. Dr. John Henry Anand, Chairman of WACC – Asia Pacific Region, called upon the delegates to make use of the new media technologies critically and productively.  The other resource people included Rev. Dr. Sam P. Thomas, Head of the Department of Communications, the United Theological College, Bangalore; Rev. Sa. Paranjyothi, Director of CNI Social Service Institute, Nagpur .  The facilitators for the whole workshop were Mr. Santosh George, Research Associate, (CISRS) Bangalore ; Mr. Anil Verghese, Programme Associate, National Centre for Advocacy Studies, (NCAS) Pune; Mr. Kasta Dip, Coordinator, Youth Concerns, CNI.

Earlier Mr. Sudipta Singh, Director Programmes of CNI welcomed the delegates and facilitators and hailed the partnership of CNI, CISRS and WACC in empowering the youth on information technologies to keep pace with the time and opportunity.  Rev. Raj Bharat Patta, Executive Secretary for Commission on Dalit and Tribal Concerns, National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) delivered the valedictory address to the delegates and sent them off with a challenge to use new media for authentic peace and justice upholding rights of all even those regarded as new media illiterate.  As a result of the workshop the delegates are building a blog and a wiki to discuss various issues concerning youth and the church which will be online soon.