Introduction

More than 700 media experts, journalists, environmentalists and others took part in the one-week International Refresher Programme held at Sao Paulo, Brazil from 27 to 31 October 2008. The event analysed the theme “ Environment, Journalism and Edu-Communication” and explored concrete ways to safeguard environment and how journalism and communication initiatives help grassroots as well as the decision-making institutions and individuals.

Church, government, educational institutions and media enterprises both traditional and new took extraordinary initiatives to make this programme a great success. The three keywords in the theme attracted extraordinary attention during the event considering the present state of the world.  The event successfully explored the theme through (1) keynotes, (2) plenary panels, (3) specialised panels and (4) workshops and debates on these four levels.

The event was organised in the context of aggressive and dangerous globalisation, financial crisis, cultural erosion, moral decadence and alarming consumerism. Therefore the participants came from all walks of life; even young mothers with their babies decided to join the event as environment was on the top of their priorities.

Environment

Unimaginable but real imbalances had destroyed the environment. The participants observed with great concern that 15 per cent of the world’ population use more than 85 per cent of the resources especially the energy.

Economy based on consumerism is one of the biggest obstacle to clean and health environment. The seminar participants regretted that the world has to wait for big financial crises to reflect on consumerism, as well as sustainable and durable energy. As the seminar resource persons presented alarming statistics, the participants resolved that the best and most efficient point of regulation with regard to creating and maintaining healthy environment is the individual together with the journalist and then the society with its various institutions.

The participants proposed a great return to innate environmental behaviour, which naturally respects the earth and our neighbours. And such a return to the origins and sources can help us retrieve our own healthy concepts of well-being that is sustained by natural therapies as still used in the oriental nations.

The participants analysed a very concrete case of environment degradation in Brazil: The symbolic river Ipiranga, which is at the heart of Sao Paulo is in the origins of present-day Brazil. It is mentioned in the very first line of the Brazilian national Anthem. This river today is beyond recognition as it is completely polluted and not taken care by any one seriously. Educommunication efforts in these last years had begun to make its impacts on the decision makers to bring back environment as the first priority.

The tragedy of Ipiranga also shows great ideals and values are injected into the young and the old through all means including the national anthem but no one know or are concerned about them.

Bottled water is a sign that we can not drink from nature and the nature is polluted. In this context, how can women give birth to children in the nature or in their own intimacy of homes rather in the hospitals? The babies are supposed to be born into the nature and into the world. As world becomes more and more polluted and our own intimate living spaces gets dirty, even for birth we need hospital rooms. What has happened to us and to our world?

Consumerism

The participants observed that the main obstacle for environment is consumerism and the economy based on consumerism. And there must be a rapid change in this destructive behaviour especially by the 15 percent of the rich who consumes 85 percent of world’s resources.

The keynote speakers and participants observed that though the consumerism is advertised as an agent of happiness, more than 60 percent of the consumerists are depressed.  In many places, shopping centres are called the “temples of consummation” and people buy things without knowing for what; the city of Sao Paulo alone has more cars than the whole of Argentina.
The conference observed with great sadness that as we grill animals to eat, we also began grilling our planet. Wouldn’t we better off, if we had resolved to nature and its fruits rather than aggressively putting down nature and animals declaring everyday war on them.

In Latin America, there are only six percent conscious consumers. 94 per cent are not conscious of what they eat, drink and consume. Consumerism led to holy nations like India to today’s virtual and imbalanced development models. According to latest statistics, the humanity consumes 30 per cent more than it needs.

Solution therefore is not ecological shoes, but no shoes; not organic cake, but no cake; not waste control or management by separating wastes but not having waste. Concentration is mortal. We can find out the damages of consumerism by merely taking a close look at our apartments and homes.

Minority’s consumption of majority resources must be stopped. All persons in the family do not need a car is the right option than proposing that China does not need as many cars as the USA.

One does not reduce poverty or bring happiness by resolving to consumerism. Consumerism led to unjust food price increase. The price of the wheat has increased 300 % in the last two years.

Genetically modified food and mass agriculture using chemicals had increased deadly diseases such as cancer and AIDS at least six times in a short duration of the past 20 years. As one participant put it, in Brazil cancer has become a common disease like flu. 

Excessive use of motorised vehicles is one of the root causes of climate change. And today in the name of ecology, the profit makers propose bio-ethanol but they hide the environmental disaster that one litre of bio-ethanol needs 4000 litres of water.

Genes of Positive Destruction

Recalling the great principles of positive destruction advocated by great religions, the seminar analysed how we have gone away from such great experiences to annihilation of humanity and the world by the misuse of our resources and knowledge.

The seminar upheld the greatest testimony of positive destruction love and the reality of a grain falling into the earth, transforming and destroying itself in order to bring new life and birth.

But humans and others very often amused themselves with conflicts, war and possession especially since the industrial revolution. As we built bigger cities, bigger residences, bigger malls, bigger entertainment parks we moved far away from Mother Nature and our innate wisdoms and freedoms. We welcomed more and more complicated diseases and therefore engaged into interminable researches of details abandoning the wholeness of persons and nature. We built bigger hospitals and bigger apartments for the dead. Today we have even managed to get our elders to the old ages homes that have become waiting rooms before death.

Role of Catholic Journalism

The role of journalism especially Catholic journalism in making the world a better place is irreplaceable. Journalists are catalysts for finding, analysing and remedying problems on national, international, continental and intercontinental levels through concrete and debates at Universities, schools, Church, religious centres.

Everything is interconnected and this is not he time for segregation, distortion and manipulation. As journalists do not represent the State, business people or academics, they can help explore all the issues in a convivial atmosphere. In order to do this efficiently, journalists need to have comprehensive knowledge of all complexities and great concepts such as sustainability and the ability communicate them in simple language.

Journalists should avoid competition, which is aggression by nature. When the governments, businesses and even some religions support competition in the guise of the quest for the “best”, the “chosen” or the “lucky one”, journalists should know to stay above these and interpret for the welfare of all peoples and nature. The participants recalled the Gandhi’s concept: “The earth, the air, the land and the water are not an inheritance from our fore fathers but on loan from our children.” Therefore the journalists should help all sectors of society to handover the nature and environment in a better shape to our children.

Hence the role of the journalist is to help define norms, set standards and help forbid products that are against health and environment. Catholic journalists observed that we all have the responsibility of safeguarding nature and environment as children of the creator who cares most for them.

Journalists and the media have a critical role in analysing advertising and promotion. For example, people must know that though plastic can resist better, it can not be a symbol of sustainability as it is anti-environmental. Even projects that claim transparency and credibility can cover up the dirty work behind. It is important to say that the “top ten” performers can also be “top ten” losers on all fronts.

Educommunication

The seminar participants observed that the educommunication is a new means of journalism that is direct and interactive. And education through journalism, classroom or exposure is always a process. Educommunication redefines the role of the traditional media with new techniques and languages together with the evolving technologies of communication. Thus, the journalists, educators, professors, ecologists, environmentalists and decision makers compliment in informing the public.

As educommunication is education and communication together, educommunicators communicate and educate what they learn. This helps greater comprehension of the issue and better interpretation.

While media education or media literacy is a more study of the media by analysing it, using it in order to better education or he relation between teaching and the media world; the educommunication is political will and decision of organised groups of societies. It is preparing all as citizens to assume their capacity to be the agent of communication through the acknowledgement and exercise of the universal right of expression. It is democratising education; it is empowering all peoples.

Educommunication enhances greater cooperation among governments, NGOs, universities and so on. It helps educate and communicate by all means and on all levels from grassroots to the highest levels.

And environment is an ideal theme and challenge for using educommunication, as it is the concern for all especially young generations.

Educommunication or Educom is collaboration instead of competition. Scoop is not the objective or priority of Educom. Its overall objective is benefit for all and common welfare.

Educom brings back to the modern world some of the oldest forms communication, learning and informing. For example, it uses the methodology of “Upanishads” (which means “sit or be near or sit with peoples”) or biblical parables (that communicated great values by talking sitting with the people) in order to understand, learn, form, judge and take decisions. And journalism and communication using these old and still highly useful methods can reach and influence peoples worldwide.

Role of the Church

Whatever be the method and topics, Church has one of the best infrastructure to vehicle values and be a monitor. The participants found that Church leaders at local, national, continental or national levels can help realise the aims of human welfare.

And the participants observed that Church was the “refuge” during political, military, financial crises. And they hoped that Church would also lead the way in these days of multi-dimensional crisis especially the environmental one.

Participants noted that the Vatican has recently decided to use solar panels for several of its buildings and hence showing an example in line with the 2015 world environment goals.

The seminar decided to have these concerns in the future meetings especially in the one that will be organised at Port Alegre in July 2009.

Solutions

No one becomes rich without making the other poor. Therefore the ideal is either all become rich or all become poor. And with the resources we have in the world, no one can afford to be poor and therefore all have to become rich.

If everyone is rich in culture, cultivation, economy, social and spiritual life as well as in all other domains, it is of course the ideal environment or ambience we all dream for. Our task therefore is through journalism and educommunication is to achieve an ideal environment where we can all live well together but not survive, decide with and for all than subjugating, and blossom in the garden of countless colours.

One can make a list of things that one can easily eliminate from the world: soft drinks, artificial sugar, cakes and so on. We can invest in clean energy and energy efficiency. In order to understand a flower, we can see it in its wholeness not only by analysing its parts.  In order to understand the secrets of our body and health, we have to consider our wholeness.

Exposures

The participants were exposed to forest, village and city environment projects and initiatives in different parts of Brazil such as in the Amazon, Patanal, Sao Paulo and Rio.

Feedback

Participants and resource persons resolved that this highly useful event must be organised annually as it moves so many people from all walks of life for the common welfare.  And they have given shape to several follow-up programmes. The first one planned is at Porto Alegre, Brazil in July 2009. Another event is planned on the topics related to health for the year 2010 or 2011.