Research and Development

Community Cultural Development

Presentation at the 1st Taiwan International Children's TV and Film Festival (January 9-13, 2004)
By Vahid Vahed

(Global Community Cultural Development and Screen Culture activities utilizing Information Technology)

COMMUNITY CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Australia is a mini world that has citizens, which formed communities from diverse cultural backgrounds and is also a fertile testing ground to implement Community Cultural Development initiatives and strategies. Nearly 15 years ago, Australia Council for the Arts initiated a 10 years policy entitled 'Multicultural Arts for Multicultural Australia' in order to establish links between culturally diverse communities. This policy was a way to confirm and preserve the heritage of each culture re-presented in Australia as oppose to White Australia policy practiced since the colonization by Anglo Europeans nearly 200 years ago.

Community Cultural Development is a process to recognize the diversity and complexity of ideas and cultures as an integral part of establishing links between communities and individuals locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. The outcome of Community Cultural Development practices is often hybrid and embedded in the process as an expression and/or exchange of ideas through various artistic and cultural forms, which ultimately creates a universal language.

The communication gap between countries, states, cities, communities and individuals is disappearing since Information Technology is shaping the world to be a closer community devoid of borders. This 21 century technological revelation allows diverse ideas and cultures to transcend their originalities to the rest of the globe by only pressing a button on a laptop, mobile phone or a finger touch computer screen refrigerator's door.

Since New Technology has abolished the concept of space and time in communication process, the Community Cultural Development initiatives and strategies have been implemented globally to establish greater understanding of the world's unique social, cultural, political and economical position. The main facet of New Technology is its cost effectiveness for many economically disadvantaged communities and individuals that have no adequate budget to access information and exchange ideas.

SCREEN CULTURE AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
Since the invention of moving images over 100 years ago, Screen Culture Development strategies have been struggling to reach wider communities globally due to political and economical as well as technological limitations. Screen Culture Development has been implementing strategies to develop diverse audiences to appreciate moving images not only from the Hollywood apparatus but also from the community's social, cultural, artistic and political perspectives through non-Hollywood productions.

Traditionally, Screen Culture activities always utilized film festivals as platform to introduce new ideas from around the world to their respective audience but now with the presence of Television, Satellite and digital Technology, audience is allowed to experience and appreciate moving images from various artistic and technological forms. New Technology and multimedia applications provide an alternative root to create moving images not only by professionals but also by communities and individuals that are interested in this field. Therefore, the moving images industry is shifting from being exclusive to inclusive.

Since Information Technology has become a way of communication in the new millennium, it is also bringing about major changes in the way of seeing the world and ultimately creating new ways of being. These changes can occur during a long-term process beginning with children in school and at home that have access to information and multimedia applications that will empower youngsters to create their own unformulated and unrestricted expressions and representations. As a result of this overwhelming freedom through cyber space, many taboo expressions and discourses are equally represented along with already established ideas. Taboos such as amateur and/or unprofessional image-makers are no longer applicable since the quality of images is often enhanced and manipulated through various Digital FX processes by the 21st century image-makers.

Media literacy practices such as forums and workshops are gateways to develop an understanding to differentiate between the saturation of moving images that are already loaded with preconceived definitions and the images that are demanding the audience to contribute by completing the meaning from their own social, cultural, economical and political periphery.
KIDS IN THE PICTURE
Children and young people are among the groups that are not represented in decision-making process and often dependent on the adults' projection to find their identities. In the past decade, children and youth have been utilizing New Technology towards their own advantage and realizing that the real link with the world without being excluded is the Information Highways offered to explore by this revolutionary technology.

Since many organizations are set up to assist children and youth in making representation before the New Technology era such as CIFEJ are finding it very easy to widen their focus and transcend the aims and objectives of the organization via electronic communication tools. On the other hand, many organizations are formed that focus solely on utilizing New Technology to produce, present, promote and distribute works that are about/for or merely made by children and youth globally. New Technology is providing the knowledge and opportunity for many youngsters to manage and represent their own affairs rather than relying on adults and/or professionals to guide them with the adequate information.

ICYMAN (International Children and Youth Multimedia Access Network) is one of the organizations that is administrated and coordinated by young people under 22 years of age utilizing New Technology to promote and present its aims and objectives to wider constituents globally.

ICYMAN is a community cultural development and screen culture initiative in the Western Sydney region supported by the Australia Council for the Arts, Norwegian Film Institute, SAF (School of Animated Films, Croatia) and CIFEJ (International Centre of Films for Children and Young People, Canada) was launched at the 2nd International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults in Buenos Aries during November 2003.

In February 2004, ICYMAN will be launching a virtual database to commence networking between children, youth and relevant organizations locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. ICYMAN focuses on Information Technology and multimedia activities to connect children, youth and relevant organizations globally, and also be utilized as a virtual platform for cultural, artistic and personal development and expressions.

This is an opportunity to present young people from culturally diverse backgrounds in the Western Sydney region as one of the forefronts in networking and implementing new ways of expressions. The gathered information will be available on the project's website for community access, as well as being compiled in a comprehensive booklet by 2005. Also, the multimedia works produced by children and youth in the year 2004-5 will be presented and promoted not only during the 7th and 8th Editions Auburn International Film and Video Festival for Children and Young Adults but in many other national and international film, video and multimedia festivals.

By the year 2005, ICYMAN will become a key organization for cultural and artistic development of children and young people in Western Sydney region with a global perspective, through initiating, devising and presenting projects utilizing New Technology, and audience development strategies. As well as establishing links with communities, children, youth, multimedia centres, festivals, arts and cultural organizations locally, nationally and internationally.

Aims and objectives:

1. To lobby and advocate on behalf of children and youth in Western Sydney to gain access to Information Technology, Multimedia, Film and Video and Electronic art as the 21st Century forms of expression.

2. To initiate and establish an infrastructure entitled ICYMAN 'International Children and Youth Multimedia Access Network', that functions as a platform to address children and youth issues globally, administrated by culturally diverse children and youth of Western Sydney.

3. To initiate and develop CCD and Screen Culture activities through exchange programs locally, regionally, nationally and internationally to reach a greater understanding of the intertexuality and complexities in the social, cultural and political make up of each area, region or country.

Conceptual Workshop
Participants: Children 10-12 years old

Conceptual and practical workshop with primary students to view and vote for best works made by children and youth from Auburn International Film and Video Festival for Children and Young Adults 'winners compilation 2003', as well as writing and presenting own written stories during the workshop and voting for the best script. The duration of the workshop will not exceed 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Child Produced 4-14 years old

A Good Heart Ashden Walker, Live Action 4'30" Australia 2003 (Winner 1st Place)
"An African girl struggles to fit in to her new school in northern part of Queensland, Australia. In a race at school, a white boy who does not like her pushes her off and prevents her from winning. As the result of this incident the teacher will give warning to the boy to not do it again and behave with proper manners and respect for others."

ANTS Children aged 8-13, Animation 2'29" Croatia 2003 (3rd Place)
"Elementary drawing animation of a Story about a Lazy Ant who does not want to do his work like others."

CHOMP William Allsop / Channel Free, Experimental 4' Australia 2002
"An experimental film about a young boy studying at home but instead he begins to draw random lines, which are from Television. But the illuminating television light distorts the image and can only hear unrelated abstract sound."

Flying Pancakes Children aged 7-12, Animation 2'06" Croatia 2003
"Elementary drawing animation about a pancake who decides to make jokes with people and throws itself around in most inconvenient ways obstructing people who are working in the market."

Bully Duster Trinity Catholic Collage, Live Action 5' Australia 2003
"Miss Dust is a new teacher at school and zaps every student with her cane who cannot solve a mathematical problem. Until a bright student solves the problem and she gets zapped and disappears. Then she finds herself in a Rose Garden where she is so happy smelling the flowers and sniffing fresh air."

Sugar and Spice Katerina Lonergan / Channel Free, Experimental 4' Australia 2003
"Life as an adolescent is not all sugar and spice…a freeze frame in the inertia of life at school. An experimental film showing four girls in the school yard, walking in the bush and studying hard for exam."

Winston Gene Alberts / Channel Free, Experimental 4' Australia 2003 (2nd Place)
"To conform to the average life of a male, is to conform to the average thinking in the mind."