Community Media/MARAA/Crew/Ramnath Bhat

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Ramnath Bhat- Founding Member- Maraa, a community media collective in Bangalore, India

Essentials

Born in June 1981, New Delhi

MSc in Media and Communication for Development from London School of Economics, 2014-15

B.A in Media Studies from Manipal Institute of Communication, Manipal, 2001-04

Worked as Media Head for B'lore based NGO, VOICES, 2004-08

Founded Maraa, and currently working full time for Maraa

Community Media Experience


 * Worked as an Ethnographic Action Researcher for Namma Dhwani (Our Voices) community radio station in 2004


 * Worked on production and capacity building for using community radio for campaigns like Universal Birth Registration and Legal empowerment


 * Set up Kalanjiam Samuga Vanoli Community Radio station in terms of technical set up, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation


 * Set up community video unit at Kalanjiam Community Radio Station, facilitated technical set up, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation

Other Experience

At VOICES, I have worked in theatre, video and print, although at a minor level, helping others in my team. More of a learning experience for me than anything else.


 * Contracted by UNESCO, New Delhi to conduct ICT and radio training for specific projects in Sri Lanka (Kothmale Community Radio station), Bangladesh (Sitakund Community Multimedia Centre) and some community media projects in India as well.

Advocacy work


 * Acting President of AMARC Asia Pacific (World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters)


 * Vice-President of Community Radio Forum of India, a representative body of community radio stations in India

Current Work

At Maraa, we are a group of people who believe in reclaiming the media space for communities. Monopolized by either government agencies or by the private and commercial sector, we hope to get some of the precious and increasingly lucrative media space back for people, where it rightly belongs! Also, at Maraa, we believe that development communication tends to treat communities as one dimensional cardboard cut outs who only have problems. Therefore all media must only talk about problems and issues. We hope to break these stereotypes and bring out creative aspects of people who have something to say. Creative expression is as important for development as is issue based content, and Maraa is committed to building bridges between these seemingly two distant areas.

Right now, we are involved in documenting and facilitating best practices of Community Radio in India, as a part of the IPDC (International Program for Development of Communication). This has kept us very busy and we are currently bringing out a 200 page publication which will be published in both Hindi and English. Needless to say, we will make the entire publication available on Wikieducator

Among the many other things which we have involved ourselves in, I have personally engaged myself in some gender and public spaces work, as well as helping out with an environmental campaigns, a desperate bid to save Bangalore's trees.

Interests

Media policy, culture studies, postcolonial theory, media anthropology, media archaeology

Coordinates

Send me a line on ram at maraa dot in

Skype at ram_bhat1