A group of Asia Pacific TV producers and film-makers have called for climate change to be recognised as a 'copyright free zone'.
This would enable audio-visual media content on the subject to move freely across borders and to be used widely for broadcast and narrowcast purposes.
"Prevailing copyright regimes prevent the sharing and wider use of outstanding TV programmes and video films on climate and development issues," participants attending a regional workshop in Tokyo, Japan, noted. "We are deeply concerned that even content developed partly or wholly with public funding (government grants, donor funds or lottery funds) remain unfairly locked into excessive copyright restrictions."
Relaxing copyright restrictions and license fee arrangements would "encourage media organisations and independent producers to share content across borders, and with entities outside the media industry engaged in climate education, advocacy and activism," participants said in a statement.
The Asia Pacific workshop on 'Changing Climate and Moving Images' was held in Tama New Town, Tokyo, on 3 – 4 October 2008. Organised by TVE Japan in collaboration with TVE Asia Pacific, it explored the role of audio-visual media in persuading Asia Pacific societies to adopt more climate friendly practices and lifestyles.
 The meeting, supported by Japan Fund for Global Environment, was joined by media professionals from China, India, Japan, Kiribati and Vietnam. Over two days, they discussed the current state of public understanding of climate issues in their societies, and the particular role audio-visual media can play in promoting greater public discussion and debate on responses to the climate crisis.
With their massive outreach and mass appeal, the audio-visual media -- covering film, television and video distributed using a multitude of methods and platforms -- have the potential to make significant contributions to addressing the climate crisis, the participants noted.
"Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth has demonstrated how moving images, rightly packaged and adequately disseminated, can transform global debate on climate change," they said, adding: "We know it is possible for compelling moving image creations to mobilise societies towards greater climate stewardship and resilience even without the 'star appeal' of Al Gore or other celebrities."
This is the challenge that a growing number of film makers and television journalists in the Asia Pacific are taking up.
"The time has come to recognise and support these initiatives, and to connect these passionate individuals who are trying to harness their media's power and outreach to find solutions to the climate crisis," the statement further said.
| Participants and workshop organisers called for: |
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A more balanced, measured and responsible approach to covering climate issues, avoiding sensationalism, scare-mongering and distortions. |
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Media organisations to share their stories, still images, moving images and other content across borders |
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Journalists, producers and their media organisations in the developed countries of the North to support and encourage the secondary use of their content by media, education and civil society groups in the global South. |
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Media practitioners and gate-keepers to be vigilant of the political economy of their own industry which is prone to commercial pressures from special interest groups. |
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Development donors to invest more resources in strengthening the capacity of all journalists to better understand and cover climate related issues. |
On October 4 afternoon, workshop participants presented a summary of their discussions and recommendations to the public of Tama city, a suburb of Tokyo. They also listened to presentations on local environmental activities undertaken by community groups and companies in the area as part of Japan's response to the climate challenge.
Address our own climate impact, media urged
The Tokyo meeting participants also called upon the media industry to address its own impact on climate "by the many ways in which we produce, distribute and consume our content".
Meeting participants in their statement noted: "The television and film industries, in particular, rely heavily on electronic and digital equipment. Our travel, filming, editing, archiving and transmissions all generate carbon emissions, as does the eventual access of our content on their air and online."
The statement further said: "Modern high definition television screens are significantly more energy intensive; so are the increasingly massive 'server farms' needed to support multimedia applications on the web."
To remain credible with our audiences, the participants emphasized, "we need to adopt more carbon efficient ways of practising our own craft." |
Read the full statement issued by Asia Pacific workshop on 'Changing Climate and Moving Images', Tokyo, 3 – 4 October 2008.
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