Ajin P Chacko - Selected for The Social Hackathon 1.0
Ajin Jovachan is a young Social Volunteer, currently volunteering in the COVID 19 Rapid Response Team. He's currently doing Biomedical Engineering in Model Polytechnic College, Painavu.
SOCIAL ISSUE
Lack of a common platform for the common people in a local area to identify, discuss and find solutions for their own problems.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
The major social information sharing system are in the hands of big giants. Be it a social media or be it a NEWS PLATFORM. We aim to give everyone a space to express their opinions. By promoting Citizen Journalism, we will be able to raise, discuss and resolve the issues of the public. Everyone will get equal space for expressing their views. Initially we started it our own district IDUKKI. We are promoting KILA's Grassroot Journalism culture.
CONCERNS
None of the major medias are not addressing the issues of the common people. Local news are not getting any place in the media. Concerns of general public should be discussed in the public itself. They should come up with the solutions. And they should also get a chance to propose their ideas for development. The best problem solvers of an area is the people of it.
PROJECT: IDUKKI VARTHAKAL
DESCRIPTION
Development is not only about economic resources but also about improving people’s lives, we need to make it sustainable. Yet we keep coming back to the question of how. Before the internet age, our communication system followed the structure of ‘ONE TO MANY’, in which one producer communicated with many people. In this scheme, it was easy to identify who was the producer and who were the consumers – and that explains why journalists became information gatekeepers. Within that model, a handful of companies controlled the production and distribution of information. But in the twenty-first century, information and communications technologies that can be accessed by almost everyone had transformed the media landscape. We have become an information-driven society and our communication system is now ‘MANY TO MANY’. User-generated content is more common today, and lines between producers and audiences are blurred. Thanks to the internet, audiences act as CITIZEN JOURNALISTS. In fact, these active users have websites, blogs and social media accounts that are followed by millions, and they are the main source of information for many people. Citizen journalists’ success is partially due to them bringing information to public attention that is relevant for social discussions. They tend to publish hyper-local information that is usually not in the mainstream of traditional media. Citizen journalists also use daily life situations to produce information, and when they encounter problems they gather information, analyse and publish it. Citizen journalists present and discuss situations that have a direct impact on people’s lives. They continue to report crimes, xenophobia, social protest, etc. In some cases, they even influence conversations and policy-making processes, and they challenge information presented by the state based on their real-life experiences. As a social movement led by youth social volunteers We, at IDUKKI VARTHAKAL puts a small effort to promote the idea of Citizen Journalism in the district of Idukki.
AIM & OBJECTIVE
To ensure LIBERTY of thought and expression of common people.
To provide EQUAL opportunities.
To promote SDGs among the public.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
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