Happy International Girls In ICT Day! With focus on Leadership for Girls in ICTs and Strengthening STEM initiatives, I wish to lead focus on the intangible elements that often get overlooked in the considerations of the gaps in tangible technologies which perpetuate entrenched inequalities and inhibit programme and transformation!
Colonial Borrowing and Burrowing
Recent high-profile interviews by old world media with regional leaders, as CARICOM Chair, President of Guyana Dr Irfaan Ali and Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley have underscored that deeply entrenched biases and prejudices are couched within systems of practice borrowed from colonial processes that burrow into neo-colonial systems, agents and agencies. (Look out for Demokrissy Series With BBC Gone, Who Goin’ Tek Over Town! Ongoing Saga. It builds on the original With BBC Gone that gave insights into the neo-colonial mindest)
I want to refocus on this dilemma of negative cultural as we celebrate International Day of Girls in ICTs on the theme of Leadership that highlights the need for strong female role models in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). See UN women Statement on its development priorities here.
Similarly, while the challenge of eliminating bias in AI and emerging technologies respond to ongoing efforts to sensitise and be sensitive to bias, I want to underscore the flip side of the equation.
Non formal culturation within education & media
This is the dire need for focus on how the non-formal and informal environment influences formal education practices and replicate many negative habits and practices seeded with bias and prejudices. Many of these remain unidentified and overlooked, as they continue to replicate like viruses in the new media and new technology environment.
These reach into education, culturation, socialisation and decision-making machinery and warp development decisions and agendas and the ability to impact the future.
Cocoon for viral viruses in development
They cocoon of potentially dangerous viruses that continue to inhabit and inhibit effective and successful participation of women and girls in our societies.
In many respects, these systems of institutional practice are inherited forms of cultural bias that include gender and ethnic bias but also manifest in myriad forms borrowed from broader systems as colonialism which continue to be perpetuated into the development agenda.
Intangible replications
While the primary focus of the development agendas have been to highlight the needs to bridge the gaps for tangible technologies. it has given diminished attention to media and education, and new, and conventional technologies as active agents of intangible transmission. Rather than just conveyor belts for equity and equality, the need to address and redress pertinent and persistent replication of negative cultural, gender and other biases and prejudices so embedded is dire as they inhibit efforts to level the playing field.
While there has been much focus on eliminating bias in AI, in coding the language of technology, there has been less focus on the persistent, entrenched and systemized biases and the human factors that continue to colour warp and distort progress from the use and application of technologies across public, private, academic, NGO and other sectors. Many of these have been inherited from colonial practice.
Reschooling and Preschooling Educators & Decision Makers
Reschooling and preschooling, building sensitivity and sensitizing educators, media and cultural workers to the pitfalls and dangers should be moved to the top of the transformation agenda if we are indeed to impact the future.
Below I share some of the experiences and issues that must be addressed identified in various forums. This is only a fragment of the volumes of research presentations writing and other treatise of work with grassroots communities and in global agenda setting arenas on which we require resources, financing and effective action, beyond mimicry and posturing!
Hard Questions for Effective Actions
We will continue to look more closely at these current examples and ask the hard questions that have not yet surfaced in discussions and treatment of these interviews and look at ways we should be thinking of more meaningful and effective development interventions to break the culture of replication, often called the colonial mentality which I would define as the colonial mindset.
Impacting the future
Look out for the hard-hitting Demokrissy series/saga With BBC Gone Who Goin’ Tek over Town that dives into and delves into the colonial mindset to identify its kinks and provide avenues for transformation. It continues the tongue-in-cheek satirical look at how the colonial mentality continues to grip media products, producers and agents, outlined in With BBC Gone, Who Going Take Over Town. See link.
It address the noted alignment of the forces of media, education and civil society outlined in these musings.
It builds on my experiences in shaping international development policy and action in tandem with grassroots culture communities detailed in My Story.
GloCal Ecosystem Where Traditions Meet Technologies
In celebrating International Day of Girls in ICTs I celebrate the myriad streams that have shaped my life path to developing expertise that straddles the streams of media, culture and education across formal and non-formal environments when traditionally, and still today, these are treated in silos and not as streams in confluence that nourish individuals and our society.
Winning Pathways to Lead in Impacting the Future
The GloCal Knowledge Pot with new methodologies, models, modules and materials in which Tradition Nets Technologies collate and underscore areas of intersections between and among development silos brining together media, culture and education under united vision for transformation while highlighting our interconnected global heritage. It spotlights the much underrepresented realities of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Developing World and the Global South. All initiatives are driven by culture and gender sensitivity.
GloCal Knowledge Pot Academy Museums Galleries
The GloCal knowledge Pot continues to develop as a multi-purpose platform for creative digital content. Its development paths includes digital renderings of the MultiMedia Academy, Multimedia Museum and Galleries and Virtual Tours that enhance the learning experiences with adaptable new age models, modules and materials drawn from my experiences as an educator and cultural facilitator across formal and non formal environments.
It includes reviving and breathing life into ancient forgotten wisdom and given due recognition to our knowledge holders who have been rendered invisible by knowledge systems.
Where Tradition Nets Technologies
It embraces the award-winning Lumination notion of Tradition nets Technologies which brings together traditional (culture-based), conventional (radio/tv/print) and new media as a holistic system of knowledge capture, preservation and transmission to augment the value of education across formal and non formal arenas.
CEIBA-EDUtainment Where Education Meets Entertainment
Like the spread of the indigeneous CEIBA-Tree across the Global South, Tradition nets Technologies form the basis of the CEIBA-EDUtainment in Cybersace with a gamut of multimedia creations for virtual and physical interactive enjoyment. These expand learning beyond the classroom to everyday work and community spaces that make learning fun as it embraces education as interactive Teas, Tours, Talks and Tributes that connect local experiences to global development priorities.
MultiMedia MicroEpic Biopic
The Multimedia MicroEpic is the world’s newest creative genre. It was launched in response to the Pandemic Panic on International Women’s Day/Commonwealth Day to demonstrate the expanse the short form new media can accommodate rather than the dumbing down of education through digital platforms that the Pandemic Panic created.
The first form, a Biopic presents my story. The multimedia lenses of text, audio visual representations with music that has been the soundtrack of my life, created from the first television series I researched and wrote, the award-winning Cross Country. The MultiMedia MicroEpic has received critical attention from a number of film festivals around the world.
MotherContinent – MultiMedia MicroEpic of the Anthropocene
Following on the Biopic, I am now developing the substantive form of the MultiMedia MicroEpic to accommodate various other genres of Comedy, Tragedy, Documentary mixed with Fiction and Fantasy and many other permutations. Foremost among these is MotherContinent – The MultiMedia MicroEpic of the Anthropocene which unfurls new interpretations of our InterConnected Global Heritage with novel perspectives and insights into the history and heritage of the Global South.
See a sneak preview below
Demokrissy – new age development policy blogging
A winner from its inception, Demokrissy was identified by a wide range of global development partners as a winner in the sector of development policy blogging from new media.
This brings fresh insight, perspectives and solutions to development imperatives drawn from experiences within the halls of decision making, educating and working with grassroots to share their knowledge to re/shape the international agenda in our image.
See Who Is Demokrissy and the DIS Network!
Get Involved
That information streams and information content carry the biases of dominant culture and are closely aligned to many invisible forms – embedded in not just language, but also the mindsets of the creators of tech and given that new media is constantly changing character of conventional media, culture, educations as agents of knowledge transmission, it is a task that welcome each and every support in any form or fashion, including donations, financing, technological support, or even sponsoring segments, activities, communities to which we can spread learnings, or invitations to help shape your own programmes and initiatives.
There’s something for every age, industry, sector or locale and while of models, modules and materials are relevant, adaptable and accessible, they are also customissed to each requested client, group or community.
Specific sponsorship can help in
Digitisation
Digitisation of our expansive archives that reach into the pre-colonial through contemporary history and unfolding journalism of this and the last centuries.
New Learning Models Modules Materials
Support development of learning materials, models, modules to reshape mechanisms and instruments for social transformation, including custom-made for your institutional and community outreach and engagement!
Development of GloCal Platform and CEIBA-Edutainment
You can support with technologies, financial and equipment to build the various elements of our platform.
International Girls In ICTs Day Montage
The core image montage of this page celebrates a career path that embraces multiple roles as cultural educator/facilitator across communities of interests from pre-school to policymaking, grassroots to high-level agenda setting through journalism.
The dominant images pay tribute to these processes.
The cartoon representation on the top right was a sketch done of me by one of the most talented cartoonists of all times, Dunstan Williams. We were colleagues in the formal newsroom where I culled my journalistic skills at the fin de siècle as conventional media morphed into new media.
The photo on mid right captures a moment while captured among the most ancient heritage site of the region that opens up a whole new world of interpretation of our interconnected history and heritage that would unfold and unfurl in MotherContinent – the MultiMedia MicroEpic of the Anthropocene.
The images in between represent activities for gender empowerment and pivoting the multi-pronged gender agenda (All issues Are women’s Issues) across local to global arenas, as well as engagement with various networks including the Global Women Techmakers Ambassadors, Women-In-Tech, journalism, education, outreach and advocacy!
About Dr Kris Rampersad
Dr Kris Rampersad is a Multimedia Content Innovator, Producer, Journalist, Educator and Cultural Heritage Diversity and inclusion Facilitator. She is an Independent scholar and global change agent, functioning across the spheres of media, education, culture, gender empowerment to build holistic successful ESG strategies and effective action for change and transformation.
The first sitting Caribbean Journalist/Editor to complete a PhD, she invented the world’s newest creative genre, the MultiMedia MicroEpic. She is a UNESCO ICH & Heritage Expert facilitator National Geographic Educator, Global Woman TechMakers, Google & Worldpulse Digital Skills Ambassador. She has served as President of the UNESCO Education Commission, Vice President of the UNESCO Programme and External Relations Commission, Vice President of the UNESCO InterGovernmental Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage as an independent member of the Consultative Committee, Vice President of the Commonwealth Journalists’ Association and founding member of the Media Complaints Commission. She holds awards for journalism, gender development, arts and culture.
Don’t Forget To Subscribe to My Channels: Kris Rampersad: YouTube Website LinkedIn Facebook Instagram, X – Twitter Amazon Author Page Pinterest TikTok Tumblr
With BBC Gone Who Goin Tek Over Town
The initial post With BBC Gone, Who Goin Tek Over Town explored the persistence of neo-colonial mentality…this new series builds on that to Confront The Colonial Mindset read it here!
Digital Content Innovator MultiMedia MicroEpic
See Articles: in this link here See Video in link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuFZiWN2cGg
Dr Kris on The Dilemma of Digital Deletion
Listen to Dr Kris Rampersad on the Dilemma of Digital Deletion
See articles Here:
See Video Excerpts on YouTube Here or in Link Below
Endangered Cultures
Listen to Dr Kris Rampersad on the issues of cultures endangered in the digital age in this link here see video on YouTube