Roping Adivasis into Media – Interactive Session with Shubhranshu Choudhary- February 1 2016

CGNet Swara is seen as an experiment to hear citizens who tell their stories in the absence of popular media. The Internet has the calibre to create a democratic forum of responsible journalists. CGNet Swara has reported many sensitive stories which the main stream media failed to cover. Its “ Bultoo Radio” ( Bluetooth Radio as referred to by Adivasis) in central India is an amazing tool that connects mobile phones to the internet. A CG Net Swara Team trains young Adivasis to use this tool to report on what is happening in their localities, in their own mother tongue. The trained Adivasis use mobile phones efficiently for recording inputs and songs and to appeal for help from the authorities in emergency . Certain CGNet Swara stories also include contact numbers of authorities who could offer timely assistance after reading reports on the web portal. Thanks to the impact of CG Net Swara blog , many urban viewers have been encouraged to inform the government officials of the problems stated by the citizens in the Blog post. CG Net Swara emphasizes the need to study such experiments held in the undeveloped areas with innovative models of communication.