Lalaine Mallari
| Организация | Univeristy of the Philippines Open University / St. Paul University Manila |
|---|---|
| Organization type | University |
| Страна | Philippines |
Prof. Lalaine Vitug-Mallari has a Bachelor's Degree in Communication at St. Paul University Manila. She had a Masters Degree in Speech and communication at San Francisco State University in California, USA. She is currently taking up her PHd in Communication at the University of the Philippines Open University. Currently, she is the Program Chairperson of the Mass Communication Program at St. Paul University Manila.
This member participated in the following Forums
Форум Forum: "ICT and producer organizations" November, 2012
Question 2 (opens 14 Nov.)
Yes I also believe in flexibility and moving in stages from simple to complex.
I beleive that the refinement of organization policies as regards investments will all depend on the thrusts of the organization. Their priorites will all depend on key areas such as vision and mission and organization thrust/focus, and their strenghts. For istance, if the organization's thrust and focus is on research then the organization may be of help in doing research that would contribute to the development of ICT for use in rural development, agriculture and the like.
Other Key Issues and Recommendations http://www.fao.org/sd/Cddirect/CDre0055a.htm 1. Finance/Sustainability: ICTs for rural development are not given sufficient priority in national budgets. Strategies for financial sustainability for the use of ICTs in rural development need to be formulated. Investments in ICTs should be assessed in the context of their contributions to long-term human capital development in areas such as health care, skills development (e.g. for employment), continuing education and environmental management. 2. Design: There is a need to develop ICT strategies for rural areas taking into consideration differences in languages, culture, socio-economic conditions and infrastructure. There is also a need to encourage the private sector to invest in the design of ICTs appropriate for use in rural areas. ICTs should be linked to traditional communication forms to meet identified needs and reach specific groups (e.g. rural radio linked to the Internet). 3. Capacity building: The realisation of the opportunities offered by ICTs for rural development and food security require a culture of information and new skills. The private sector should be encouraged to extend its current involvement in technical training for ICTs to rural areas and efforts should be made to ensure new opportunities for training in open source as well as proprietary software. 4. Content / Applications: There is currently a shortage of content, applications and access to existing data of particular interest to rural development and food security. Beyond physical access, data need to be timely, retrievable and easily applied by a broad range of users. There is now the opportunity for participation by small and decentralised content providers, ensuring that information is available in local languages and reflects local cultures.Rural development institutions should provide support at the local level for rural people to generate their own content and applications. 5. Studies: There is incomplete information about the use and impact of ICTs in rural development.There is a need to extend the monitoring, evaluation and documentation of successful and unsuccessful applications of ICTs for rural development and to develop models for identifying strategic future investments and programmes.Research and pilot projects on the role of ICTs in support of rural development should be extended. http://www.fao.org/sd/Cddirect/CDre0055a.htm
There is a need for broad-based and equitable access to ICTs in rural areas consistent with ongoing processes of decentralisation, democratisation and policy revisions, in the context of global and national governance considerations. There is a further need for the adjustment of policies and awareness-raising with respect to capacity building in the context of emerging ICT opportunities.
Question 1 (opens 12 Nov.)
Dear Dr. Flor,
Honestly, I have no idea and experience whatsoever as regards farmers' organization working together with ICT. What I have shared in my previous response was just my own personal opinion as regards the significance of ICT in agriculture. Although, my orientation in DevComm might help. Meantime, I think, one of my students from years back did a study on the plightof farmers in Nueva Ecija. This I will have to check again and share with your the results.
Based on my experience, the community radio project in Laurel ws very much welcomed, initially. Yes, it became the voice of the frmers, the mothers, the youth, etc. Some of them were even trained, if I am not mistaken, by the KBP to operate a community radio station; some even had the opportunity to be trained as radio broadcasters. It was also fun to have experienced to take part in one of their "Baranggayan". the "Baranggayan" segment's concept is to broadcast via community radio their meeting in the local community with intermission numbers from the kids singing, mother's telling their stories, etc.... By the way, the community radio's "station ID" was DWTL (TL which means "Tining ng Laurel). However, the reason for its "ineffectiveness" (based on research) was that there came a time that DWTL was used for political purposes. the radio station was used by politicians to campaign for themselves.... I also heard that when this happened, the station was transferred to the local parish for operation to avoid "ploticking". Nevertheless, there came a time the the local parish priest seemd to be supporting another local politician....
I have had the opportunity to visit Laurel, Batangas ad take part in the Tambuli Project when I was taking up courses in UP diliman under Dr. Quirante. It was such a wonderful experience bonding with the people of Laurel. This experience became an inspiration to take part in community development projects. It was in this first experience that developed in me my the passion for community involvement/development. Currently, I am involved in a community project (Literacy Program) in Botolan, Zambales with an Aeta community. We train volunteer aeta teachers to teach basic education to young aetas. I look for funding to support this endeavor for the aeta's education, livelihood projects, and the building of school infrastructure. To note, interpersonal communication is my specialization, research is my craft, while development communication is my passion--- this i always tell my students in Mass Communication.
I know Tambuli Project as well..... Nice experience with the people in Laurel.
Any organization should have the responsibility to manage their resources to answer and/or give proposed solutions to the many societal issues which may include climate change. Corporate social responsibility must not only be used to create a good image for the company or organization, but must be utilized as a venue for a more meaningful social participation. ICT, just like rural radio, created an impact in society not just for rural development. The community radio in Laurel, Batangas which I visited years back was commendable (THE TAMBULI PROJECT). Today, ICT is not just community radio anymore; social media is already ICT. And the use of social media as a venue for social change has created a new impact to social development.
Information Communication technology now becomes a vital tool for development. Although Agriculture has been a field since time immemorial we cannot deny the fact that it is still extremely important in today's society. Using ICT for development enhances agriculture and rural development by means of improving the process of communication and even through innovation. Integral in any field, even in agriculture is knowing how to use technology for innovation and information dissemination.