TELEVISION SERIES ON RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT TO BE LAUNCHED BY ESCAP AND WORLDVIEW INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION

HR/4405
REC/37
9 April 1999


BANGKOK, 9 April (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has launched a unique project to promote the right to development in the Asia and Pacific region through a series of 12 animation and 52 television spots.

The one-year project, supported by the Norwegian Government, will be jointly implemented by ESCAP together with Worldview International Foundation, a media NGO based in Sri Lanka. Within ESCAP the project will be implemented by the United Nations Information Service along with the Social Development Division (SDD).

Although ESCAP does not specifically provide technical assistance for its member States on human rights matters, it is committed to the work of the United Nations in this area. The most direct link between ESCAP's activities and human rights is in the field of economic, social and cultural rights. Using ESCAP's long experience and accumulated expertise in these social and economic sectors the television series on the right to development could provide governments and populations throughout the region valuable insights into that dimension of human rights.

As part of an effort to generate ideas and communication strategies from media persons and NGO activists around the region, ESCAP together with the Worldview International Foundation organized a two-day regional workshop on "Promoting the Right to Development", on 31 March and 1 April at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok.

In his opening address to the regional workshop, the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Adrianus Mooy, said that there is a greater need than ever before to promote the concept of the right to development in the Asia-Pacific region due to the ongoing economic crisis. "Indeed one of the important lessons of the crisis is that the rights of citizens to food, clothing, shelter, health, education and work cannot be postponed indefinitely. These are rights that need to be addressed here and now", said Mr. Mooy.

The Executive Secretary said that governments, international bodies and all sections of civil society need to make greater efforts to ensure all human rights, including the right to development and the rights of those most vulnerable to the ongoing crisis.

Arne Fjortoft, Secretary-General of Worldview International Foundation, told participants at the workshop that there was not enough coverage of developmental issues in the mainstream media. "The right to development is the right to survive", he said, pointing out that starvation alone was killing over 40,000 children every day around the globe. He emphasized that the media could play an important role in changing society by
promoting the right to development.

The two-day regional workshop, attended by media and social development experts from the Asia and Pacific region, generated ideas and communication strategies for production of a series of 52 television and 12 animation spots to be broadcast all over the region. These messages and story ideas will be worked upon further by both ESCAP and Worldview International Foundation and form the basis for the production of the television and animation spots.

Speaking at the closing ceremony for the regional workshop, Kayoko Mizuta, Deputy Executive Secretary of ESCAP, said that the task of translating the very fundamental concept of the right to development into tangible messages and story ideas close to the daily life of people for television audiences is not an easy one. "I am sure that the messages and story ideas contributed by participants at this workshop will also help
change the priorities of popular media in favour of developmental themes. They will shape public opinion on development issues, particularly the right to development", Ms. Mizuta said.