[Bp_localcontent] Local Content Definition - maybe Locally Relevant Content

[Chris Zielinski]

Thanks for this clarifier, Mike. But I feel it would be a mistake to narrow the
discussion only to locally-produced content. Where it is produced, local content
should be supported and cherished, but historically, content is almost always
adapted. This is just as true of music and film, as it is of development
initiatives and health practices.

In addition to supporting indigenous local content generation, thus,
strengthening local capabilities to adapt and make appropriate content arriving
from elsewhere is surely the dominant need.

This is a form of glocalization (an ugly word, to be sure): glocal content
(content that is developed internationally and applied locally, ideally adapted
for local use) is at least as important as local content.

To give an example from the health field, there is a lengthy list of simple,
effective health practices that could decimate child mortality (a famous series
of Lancet articles enumerated them). However, these practices need to be adapted
for use locally in each country. There is no need to develop original indigenous
responses - it would in fact be wasteful of energy, unlikely to be effective,
and ultimately fatal for many children, to try and come up with completely
original local solutions. What is urgently needed is to adapt the tried and
tested solutions (using locally available medicines, technologies and practices)
and then to apply them.

Best,

Chris
chris at chriszielinski.com

Chris spent over 20 years in WHO and other UN organizations in India, the Middle
East and Africa. He also headed an authors' copyright agency (ALCS), and was on
the boards of various film directors', educational recording, Internet
governance and ethics groupings.

On July 8, 2014 at 11:56 PM Mike Jensen <mike at apc.org> wrote:
>
>
> On 08-07-2014 13:53, Blackler, Ellen M. wrote:
> > We have actually been using the term locally-relevant
> > content in an attempt to capture the idea that it is whatever the user
> > decides is relevant to the communities (either physical or virtual) that
> > they see themselves belonging to.
>
> I think there is a big difference between 'locally relevant content'
> and 'local content'. I thought this discussion was focussing on the
> latter - i.e on how to develop the local content industry.
>
> "Locally relevant content" is not a term I've seen used much. I think it
> causes confusion and for me it doesn't provide a good lens for this
> discussion (assuming we are here to talk about _locally generated_
> content). By implication, of course the user wants 'locally relevant
> content' anything else will be ignored. And that's the beauty of the
> internet vs the broadcast model - you only need get what you want.
>
> And today, a major portion of the content that people consume is user
> generated content - blogs, facebook, youtube, flickr, twitter etc.
>
>
> Mike
>
> _______________________________________________
> Bp_localcontent mailing list
> Bp_localcontent at intgovforum.org
> http://mail.intgovforum.org/mailman/listinfo/bp_localcontent_intgovforum.org
Chris Zielinski
chris at chriszielinski.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://intgovforum.org/pipermail/bp_localcontent_intgovforum.org/attachments/20140709/c191529a/attachment.htm>