5TH International Entertainment Conference: Valedictory Address by Dr. S. Y. Quraishi
The following is the text of the speech delivered by Dr S.Y.Quraishi , the Chief Election Commissioner of India at the valedictory function of the 5th International Entertainment Conference here today.
• Happy to be here. Because I believe in the power of education. I believe in the appeal of entertainment. What is life without each of these? On an even more personal note, I have been a bit of educator in my career as I have been a bit of entertainer as well. Hence seriously happy to be here.
• Academic world in our country often turns its back to development issues and development machinery very often do not appreciate the value of information, education & communication now renamed as behaviour change communication with its four wheels of reminder, reassurance, motivation and facilitation. Both of them miss priority and pride of place in the entertainment world, busy in satisfying needs of market.
• Along with edutainment, there is another term called infotainment in currency for some time, as it is now realised that deficit of information is a major reason for poverty and underdevelopment. In my business of conduct of elections, information gap has proved quite costly in terms of citizen participative democracy and also rule of law in democratic electoral process.
• Social learning theory says that people learn by observing others and the consequences of their behaviour, by comparing their experiences to the experiences of others before adopting new behaviour.
• In ancient India education, moral teachings, life skills and entertainment were integrated through stories, parables, fables, folk culture and folk media. It was interactive and effective in the sense that the actors and the audience were participating in the educational exercise together. This edutainment method is simultaneously horizontal, dialogic and participatory used widely for behaviour change.
• I recall the Panchatantra stories, the Jatak stories, the Vikram Vetal Stories, which have entertained children over decades and also taught them moral lessons. The Arabian Nights also provided the same rich mix.
• It is appropriate to quote Einstein when he said” If you want your children to be smart, tell them stories and if you want them to be really smart, tell them more stories and if you want them to be brilliant, tell them even more stories”.
• Recently, I came across a statement of PCI’s new Chairman Justice K. N. Katju “if 90% of media’s coverage is devoted to entertainment and only 10% to all socio-economic issues put together, then the sense of priority of the media has gone haywire.” I would like to say in this context that by engagement of active imagination and creativity, it is possible to make edutainment 100% educational and also 100% entertainment.
• For instance, look at the impact that great super hits and award winning pictures like Mother India, Lagaan, Baghban, Three Idiots, Taare Zameen Par and many others have had on the issues of the day and created supportive social environment for social policy change and have indirectly propagated ideas of patriotism, quality education, deprivation, age care, etc.
• Of course I still hold the view that the huge potential of films as entertainment education remains under-harnessed. While saying so I would not like to be dragged into the debate of art for art’s sake vs. Art for social message. This debate is unwarranted. I am happy that the line between mainstream cinema and the so called art cinema is getting blurred. A number of top class Directors are finding weighty themes as a recipe to successful entertainment and commercial ventures.
• Widely watched popular reality show Big Boss introduced a bit of politics recently by asking its inmates to form two political parties, select their symbols, write manifesto and design campaign strategies for elections. Swami Agnivesh, a social activist working for the bonded labourers, chose to enter the house of Big Boss to place his side of the story and propagate his reformist ideas. Look at Silvio Berlusconi, the longest serving Italian Prime Minister - a media tycoon who combined popular culture with populist politics which enabled him to survive for a long time.
• In 1992, an organisation of youth volunteers called NSS had launched an innovative educational campaign called Universities Talk AIDS to spread awareness among the youth. It was adjudged as one of the best practices in awareness through edutainment. At that time the Youth Ministry had organised a multi media workshop on educational materials development with the help of a variety of folk cultural groups. Although folk is the most expressive aspect of a culture, closest to the people using their language and idiom, some folk artists were still scratching their heads as to how to develop an effective edutainment programme on this highly sensitive subject. Then, one of the folk artists, who was a magician, presented an innovative magic show describing the HIV infection including its sexual dimension in vivid details. He narrated through a pack of cards how HIV spreads and how it could be prevented. This single display enthused the entire group who were quick to discover how education could be presented in the most pleasant, simple and culturally acceptable form. A lot of games were introduced including the wildfire game to put across the message following a game based learning approach.
• You are all aware that the nature of present readers, listeners, and viewers has changed over the last few decades. They are getting younger, have short attention span and are extremely choosy. But then our education system and our entertainment industry have a role in influencing this fastidious audience into positive direction. Even universities and modern schools are now trying to retain the students through infotainment and edutainment using multi media and other gadgets. When students watch the Discovery or National Geographic channels and when they visit zoos, aquariums, historical sites, archives and science museums, it is edutainment only. The times are here when co-curricular schedule based on entertainment would play a larger role in education than the curricular.
• Steve Jobs, whose marketing strategies have come to light and are admired today after his sad and sudden departure from the world, used to say that “customers don’t know what they want until we have shown that”. Today we are living deep inside an information and entertainment age. Even political campaigns to influence voters are now packed with entertainment icons, popular songs and dance, road shows, videos including pop.
• I must tell you some experience from the Election Commission of India. In the landscape of Jharkhand steeped in illiteracy, difficult terrains and Naxal influence, where we decided to unleash our first serious efforts at Voters Education in order to raise the very low levels of Participation in elections, we turned to folk entertainment. Several hundreds of folk artists were organised to song and dance troupes in the most entertaining formats, who travelled the length and breadth of the sate giving performances that carried messages of electoral participation. They attracted the community, received their attention and we got the highest turn out of voters.
• We made even more extensive use of folk groups and street-plays in the Bihar Assembly elections, where these forms of entertainment are still very popular. Smt. Sharda Sinha, a very popular folk singer recorded folk based songs in 3 regional languages motivating women and youth to participate in elections. Entertainers hold sway over people’s minds, whether one admits or not. I do not have hesitation sharing the credit for the major upswing in women’s turnout in Bihar election to Sharadaji.
• Encouraged by our achievements, In the 5 Assembly elections conducted in April-May, this year we used pop singer Zubeen Garg in Assam, Bickram Ghosh the percussionist in West Bengal, several cine stars in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala to advance voters education, not only for turnout, but also for ethical voting, that is to reject inducements and bribes as a consideration. In Kerala, we involved the State’s most celebrated magician Gopinath Muthukad to package our education in his greatly entertaining format. I am happy to inform you that the results were even higher in terms of Voter participation, as evident from the historical voter turnout witnessed in these States.
• Just last month we made use of Jaspal Bhatti’s satire and humour to nudge eligible citizens in Punjab to register in the electoral roll. The results were again quite impressive.
• Our Commission has had its lessons. Having taken up the goal of Greater Participation of Citizens for a Stronger Democracy, entertainment based education is going to be a definite component of our strategies under the newly created SVEEP Division. In the coming series of state elections, we will engage this method to the hilt for enhancing voters’ turnout. We will also use this every time for achieving registration of all eligible citizens on the rolls.
• I consider Edutainment as the best response of our times for making cognitive, physical, emotional and social development faster and smoother. There is a new attitude about leisure in the new knowledge society. People want it for personal enrichment and do not want it to be purposeless. The same citizens would also not like to plough for knowledge in a dreary and dry land; they would like it to be a pleasurable experience. Not only the Election Commission, but all responsible institutions with a mandate need to realise this.
The following is the text of the speech delivered by Dr S.Y.Quraishi , the Chief Election Commissioner of India at the valedictory function of the 5th International Entertainment Conference here today.
• Happy to be here. Because I believe in the power of education. I believe in the appeal of entertainment. What is life without each of these? On an even more personal note, I have been a bit of educator in my career as I have been a bit of entertainer as well. Hence seriously happy to be here.
• Academic world in our country often turns its back to development issues and development machinery very often do not appreciate the value of information, education & communication now renamed as behaviour change communication with its four wheels of reminder, reassurance, motivation and facilitation. Both of them miss priority and pride of place in the entertainment world, busy in satisfying needs of market.
• Along with edutainment, there is another term called infotainment in currency for some time, as it is now realised that deficit of information is a major reason for poverty and underdevelopment. In my business of conduct of elections, information gap has proved quite costly in terms of citizen participative democracy and also rule of law in democratic electoral process.
• Social learning theory says that people learn by observing others and the consequences of their behaviour, by comparing their experiences to the experiences of others before adopting new behaviour.
• In ancient India education, moral teachings, life skills and entertainment were integrated through stories, parables, fables, folk culture and folk media. It was interactive and effective in the sense that the actors and the audience were participating in the educational exercise together. This edutainment method is simultaneously horizontal, dialogic and participatory used widely for behaviour change.
• I recall the Panchatantra stories, the Jatak stories, the Vikram Vetal Stories, which have entertained children over decades and also taught them moral lessons. The Arabian Nights also provided the same rich mix.
• It is appropriate to quote Einstein when he said” If you want your children to be smart, tell them stories and if you want them to be really smart, tell them more stories and if you want them to be brilliant, tell them even more stories”.
• Recently, I came across a statement of PCI’s new Chairman Justice K. N. Katju “if 90% of media’s coverage is devoted to entertainment and only 10% to all socio-economic issues put together, then the sense of priority of the media has gone haywire.” I would like to say in this context that by engagement of active imagination and creativity, it is possible to make edutainment 100% educational and also 100% entertainment.
• For instance, look at the impact that great super hits and award winning pictures like Mother India, Lagaan, Baghban, Three Idiots, Taare Zameen Par and many others have had on the issues of the day and created supportive social environment for social policy change and have indirectly propagated ideas of patriotism, quality education, deprivation, age care, etc.
• Of course I still hold the view that the huge potential of films as entertainment education remains under-harnessed. While saying so I would not like to be dragged into the debate of art for art’s sake vs. Art for social message. This debate is unwarranted. I am happy that the line between mainstream cinema and the so called art cinema is getting blurred. A number of top class Directors are finding weighty themes as a recipe to successful entertainment and commercial ventures.
• Widely watched popular reality show Big Boss introduced a bit of politics recently by asking its inmates to form two political parties, select their symbols, write manifesto and design campaign strategies for elections. Swami Agnivesh, a social activist working for the bonded labourers, chose to enter the house of Big Boss to place his side of the story and propagate his reformist ideas. Look at Silvio Berlusconi, the longest serving Italian Prime Minister - a media tycoon who combined popular culture with populist politics which enabled him to survive for a long time.
• In 1992, an organisation of youth volunteers called NSS had launched an innovative educational campaign called Universities Talk AIDS to spread awareness among the youth. It was adjudged as one of the best practices in awareness through edutainment. At that time the Youth Ministry had organised a multi media workshop on educational materials development with the help of a variety of folk cultural groups. Although folk is the most expressive aspect of a culture, closest to the people using their language and idiom, some folk artists were still scratching their heads as to how to develop an effective edutainment programme on this highly sensitive subject. Then, one of the folk artists, who was a magician, presented an innovative magic show describing the HIV infection including its sexual dimension in vivid details. He narrated through a pack of cards how HIV spreads and how it could be prevented. This single display enthused the entire group who were quick to discover how education could be presented in the most pleasant, simple and culturally acceptable form. A lot of games were introduced including the wildfire game to put across the message following a game based learning approach.
• You are all aware that the nature of present readers, listeners, and viewers has changed over the last few decades. They are getting younger, have short attention span and are extremely choosy. But then our education system and our entertainment industry have a role in influencing this fastidious audience into positive direction. Even universities and modern schools are now trying to retain the students through infotainment and edutainment using multi media and other gadgets. When students watch the Discovery or National Geographic channels and when they visit zoos, aquariums, historical sites, archives and science museums, it is edutainment only. The times are here when co-curricular schedule based on entertainment would play a larger role in education than the curricular.
• Steve Jobs, whose marketing strategies have come to light and are admired today after his sad and sudden departure from the world, used to say that “customers don’t know what they want until we have shown that”. Today we are living deep inside an information and entertainment age. Even political campaigns to influence voters are now packed with entertainment icons, popular songs and dance, road shows, videos including pop.
• I must tell you some experience from the Election Commission of India. In the landscape of Jharkhand steeped in illiteracy, difficult terrains and Naxal influence, where we decided to unleash our first serious efforts at Voters Education in order to raise the very low levels of Participation in elections, we turned to folk entertainment. Several hundreds of folk artists were organised to song and dance troupes in the most entertaining formats, who travelled the length and breadth of the sate giving performances that carried messages of electoral participation. They attracted the community, received their attention and we got the highest turn out of voters.
• We made even more extensive use of folk groups and street-plays in the Bihar Assembly elections, where these forms of entertainment are still very popular. Smt. Sharda Sinha, a very popular folk singer recorded folk based songs in 3 regional languages motivating women and youth to participate in elections. Entertainers hold sway over people’s minds, whether one admits or not. I do not have hesitation sharing the credit for the major upswing in women’s turnout in Bihar election to Sharadaji.
• Encouraged by our achievements, In the 5 Assembly elections conducted in April-May, this year we used pop singer Zubeen Garg in Assam, Bickram Ghosh the percussionist in West Bengal, several cine stars in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala to advance voters education, not only for turnout, but also for ethical voting, that is to reject inducements and bribes as a consideration. In Kerala, we involved the State’s most celebrated magician Gopinath Muthukad to package our education in his greatly entertaining format. I am happy to inform you that the results were even higher in terms of Voter participation, as evident from the historical voter turnout witnessed in these States.
• Just last month we made use of Jaspal Bhatti’s satire and humour to nudge eligible citizens in Punjab to register in the electoral roll. The results were again quite impressive.
• Our Commission has had its lessons. Having taken up the goal of Greater Participation of Citizens for a Stronger Democracy, entertainment based education is going to be a definite component of our strategies under the newly created SVEEP Division. In the coming series of state elections, we will engage this method to the hilt for enhancing voters’ turnout. We will also use this every time for achieving registration of all eligible citizens on the rolls.
• I consider Edutainment as the best response of our times for making cognitive, physical, emotional and social development faster and smoother. There is a new attitude about leisure in the new knowledge society. People want it for personal enrichment and do not want it to be purposeless. The same citizens would also not like to plough for knowledge in a dreary and dry land; they would like it to be a pleasurable experience. Not only the Election Commission, but all responsible institutions with a mandate need to realise this.
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