Mapping New Media in Pakistan | Research paper out!
culture360.org is proud to announce the publication of a new research on New Media in Pakistan. This mapping was commissioned by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) to Mauj, Collective for Open technology, Art and Culture in Karachi, following the participation of one of the 4 founders, Atteqa Malik, in the Mini Summit on New Media Art Policy and Practice, held in partnership with the International Symposium on Electronic Art in 2008.
The first version of the research was completed in 2010 as a collaborative project of Mauj Media Collective with the support of the ASEF's project officer, Jerneja Rebernak. It has been further updated in July 2011 by the research's coordinator Atteqa Malik and Valentina Riccardi from ASEF.
The study offers an insight at what is happening in the area of new media in Pakistan. Who are the people? Who are the organizations and groups involved? How have they gotten there? What are the similarities and differences in the new sectors? The focus is not on 'new media art' but on 'new media technologies', their contexts and consequences. The way they show up as art or artifacts, the way they are understood, and the related social and cultural forms they may take, are also components of the digital culture or e-culture in Pakistan.
The study explores topics such as public & digital culture, new info technology and development, film and TV, piracy laws and many other areas.
The challenge was to meet the momentum of this wave, welcome it, re-evaluate it, re-use it and re-purpose it for own agendas", says Yasir Husain in the conclusion of the research.
"Some we do consciously, but even then some things never get noticed, or are just impossible to contend with."
The concrete hope is that this study will set the stage for more links, exchanges and collaborations to happen.
You can download the research here:
ASEF-New-Media-in-Pakistan-WEB
Copyright images: Naveed Ahmed Waghani for Mauj and ASEF
