ABOUT URAN


The Under-Represented Areas Network (URAN) was established in September 2000, after discussions by communication researchers from Under-Represented Areas (URAs) at the July 2000 International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) meeting in Singapore. A sizeable group of scholars from under-represented regions, including some members of the Executive Board and International Council, agreed to move toward the formation of a network to represent the interests of URAs, within IAMCR and other communication and media research organisations.

Among those involved in the preliminary consultations in Singapore and/or subsequently through e-mail were: Abdulmonam Al-hasani (UK), Mashoed Bailie (North Cyprus), Gita Bamezai (India), Alina Bernstein (Israel),Naren Chitty (Australia), Alfonso Dagron (Guatamala), Mwanwati Whenda-Bhose (Congo), Emmanuel Mbennah (Kenya), Diosnel Centurion (Paraguay), Dipak De (India), Mira Desai (India), Anura Goonasekera (Singapore), Guo Qin (China), Eddie Kuo (Singapore), Hamid Mowlana (USA), Levi Obonyo (Kenya), Manjunath Pendakur (Canada), Eapen (India), Paschal Eze (Gambia), Shelton Gunaratne (USA), Basyouni Hamada (UAE), Mod. Safar Hasim (Malaysia), Hassan Harrafa (Morocco), Youicho Ito (Japan), Keval Kumar (India), J. Kuria (UK), Zahid Hussein (Pakistan), Sripan Rattikalchalakorn (Thailand), K. M. Shrivastava (India), Seon-Gi Baek (S. Korea), Pradip Thomas (London), Yong Zhong (Australia).

The network, under the convenorship of Professor Naren Chitty, immediate past secretary general of IAMCR, commenced a discussion in July 2000, via Internet, on increasing representation in communication and media organisations through creative membership programs and for influencing the life of these organisations.

A list-serv was established for URAN at uranmacr@mq.edu.au in September 2000.


The main points of discussion are summarised below selectively through quotations from contributions from URAN members.

Issue 1: Need for long-term sustainable venture for funding conference participation by URAs.

"This is an excellent, long overdue initiative and I sincerely hope that something good comes out of it. I have been to a couple of IAMCR meetings where there has been the odd discussion on the issue of 'third world scholars' at the IAMCR but not the political will to back it up with real action. I remember that a couple of years ago that we had discussed this issue at the organisation that I work for (....) and we did end up supporting the participation of 2/3 scholars ... However we are aware that this is a temporary solution, a non-sustainable arrangement and that what really is needed is seed money for a long-term, sustainable venture. There are numerous inter-governmental and international ngos who do have a specific interest in communicators and communications from the South - IDRC, UNESCO's IPDC, the Germany-based FES along with numerous others. Perhaps a pitch needs to be made to engage the attention of such institutions" (Member of an international NGO).

" I have been a member of IAMCR for about 4 years. I am very interested to participate the conference of IAMCR, but I have no opportunity to participate [in] it because [of] the financial problem. As I know this is not only my situation, but also most professors of ………… face the same situation. Yes, I have concerns about the under-representation of my region in IAMCR and similar forums. I feel that scholars from under-represented regions should get together and seek funding from appropriate agencies for conference participation themselves very much" [East Asian IAMCR member].



Issue 2: Need to engage communication researchers from non-dominant traditions and contexts.

"… there are larger issues at stake. IAMCR has been home to a tradition of critical scholarship and in a real sense it is this tradition that has set IAMCR apart from other international professional communication bodies. This tradition has of course been contested in recent years. But this contestation has not resulted in a larger engagement of critical scholars from other 'traditions and 'contexts' at IAMCR. Ideally, what is needed is support for communication scholars from the South who are involved in critical research, scholars whose concerns are linked to the larger project of social change. It is not therefore a mere question of representation - although that is in itself a valid concern" (Member of an international NGO).

Issue 3: Need to develop a "comfort zone" for researchers from URAs.

"Your initiative is a rostrum of hope, a window on the future. I urge you not to relent. You have people from disadvantaged regions like us behind you. My membership of IAMCR was short-lived because I felt like a square peg in a round hole" (African Researcher).

Issue 4: Need to develop a scheme for publication of URA research.

"I appreciate your views in this e-mail and congratulate you for the responses you had so far as listed in the other accompanying e-mail. Since I joined academics in 1985 after a rewarding career in [a] profession where I worked for all sort of media: print, broadcasting, feature service, and news agency, I found that the books which were used in India and most of the developing world were basically US and British. ………. The problem in our region is that we do not have any grants to do research or publications. If there is some such grant then there is lot of politics which finally inhibits work. None of the above books had any grant or support………. I feel in the areas where you want to work scholars have to find their own way to struggle and work in their own peculiar circumstances. Networking would help but the basic work has to be done by the scholars themselves. Wishing you best of luck and promising full support for this venture" (South Asian Professor)

Issue 5: Need for a global outlook for URAN.

"I am so impressed with the important call ….. to form a network to represent the interests of under represented areas within IAMCR and other international communication research organizations. It is my belief that the formation of such network is not only for the benefit of those who belong to low income countries but for the high income countries as well". (Arab Professor)

Through an analysis of these and other contributions from all over the world to URANMACR, a statement of aims was developed and published in Arabic, English, Chinese, French and Spanish.


The Aims of the Under Represented Areas Network (URAN) are:


Shape and scope of URAN:

URAN does not see itself in competition with any other group. Existing 'international' media and communication research organisations are unable to draw in the vast majority of media and communication researchers from URAs because of entry costs to conferences and membership and language policies. URAN plans to seek funds to send URAs to conferences organised by existing organisations such as AEJMC, AMIC, IAMCR, and ICA. URAN's strength is that it begins as an URA group, which seeks to be non-exclusionary. The intention is that all URA media and communication researchers will be accepted as members without payment of a membership fee. However, there will be user-pay fees for journals and conferences. URAN will be decentralised with research groups being organised on local and subregional linguistic bases in order to draw in those who do not speak major international languages. Additionally there will be two-way translation (language to language and Internet to other medium) mechanisms, via sub-regional and local coordinators.



THE PROPOSED CONSULTATIVE FORUM:

URAN members also discussed the need for a meeting in 2001 as its first project (URAN-01-C1).

URAN-01-C1 Project Goals:


Related URAN Projects to be discussed under "Ways & Means" at the Consultative Forum.


Description of URAN-O1-C1
URAN-01-C1 will assemble upto 30 media and communication researchers from Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America (URAs) and other areas at a venue in one of these regions for a three day consultation on ways and means to achieve URAN goals.

Venue:

The venues considered were sites either in China or Africa as these are the areas of least representation in most organisations. Guangzhou in South China has been selected for a September meeting.

Duration:

It is proposed that the Consultative Forum will have a duration of 3 days.

Selection of Travel Grant Awardees:

The Convenor of URAN will organise the Consultative Forum in association with other members. Upto ten URAN members will be selected on the basis of region, gender and contribution to URAN discussions, for the award of travel grants to attend the Forum. A committee consisting of Naren Chitty (Convenor), Diosnel Centurion (Latin America), Paschal Eze (Africa), Basyouni Hamada (Middle East), Zahid Hussein (South Asia), and Guo Qin (East Asia) will select these awardees.


Institutions Associated With URAN:

Under-Represented Areas Network c/o The Journal of International Communication.
Contact: Naren Chitty, Convenor.

The Journal of International Communication, Sydney, Australia.
Contact: Naren Chitty, Editor.

Daily Observer, Gambia.
Contact: Paschal Eze, Editor.

Sustainable Research Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Contact: Zahid Hussein, Director.

Concluding Remarks:

URAN members believe this to be a vital project. Support for URAN has come not only from URAN members in developing countries but also from countries like Japan as seen in the following statement. "I strongly support this URAN movement. I think Naren Chitty, Bashoumi Hamada, and others are doing a meaningful job". (Japanese Professor). Moral support has been offered at a personal level from the highest reaches of the international system as seen in the following remark indicates: "Congratulations on the good work you have done. The new project is praiseworthy. There is so much to be done in bridging the gap between the developed and developing" (Leading International Civil Servant).