Section on the Media and Information Systems
Strategy for developing the languages and cultures of the Finno-Ugric peoples in the next century.

Time 12.12.2000, 9.00 – 15.30
Place Auditorium 25-26, Finlandia Hall, Mannerheimintie 13 e, Helsinki
Participants Chairman Andres Heinapuu (Finno-Ugric Consultative Committee)
Deputy Chairman Liudmila Gromova (Editor of the newspaper "Karielan Šana")
48 delegates and observers
Secretary Marja Lappalainen (M.A. Castrén Society)

1. Andres Heinapuu was elected chairman of the session , Liudmila Gromova was elected as deputy chairman, and Marja Lappalainen was elected secretary.

2. In the section the following themes were discussed:
- the possibilities of mass media and information technologies in the development of Finno-Ugric languages and cultures.
- what does the world know about Finno-Ugric peoples and how can the volume of information be increased and propogated?

3. Nadezhda Bykovskaia (Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper "Komi mu") and Aleksandr Kir'ianen (Chairman of the "Inkerin liitto") presented reports.

4. The section on the Media and Information Systems of the III World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples makes an appeal to the representatives of the mass media of all the Finno-Ugric countries and regions. The mass media bears the heavy responsibility to make the voice of the Finno-Ugric peoples heard, thus giving peoples the possibility to preserve and develop their cultures, in as much as it is necessary to secure human rights in practice.

In the section on the Media and Information Systems, several proposals have been adopted and included in an appendix, which is recommended to the Consultative Committee of Finno-Ugric peoples for examination over the period up to the next congress.

5. In conclusion:
The section on the Media and Information Systems also recognises that the mass media cannot exist separately, it needs an audience: spectators, listeners, and readers.

Not all inhabitants of the world have ready access to the Internet, so it is important not to ignore the development of the traditional mass media and to support them. It is necessary to guarantee the continued existance of the mass media of ethno-national minorities.

Besides learning to respect and use their mother tongues, it is also necessary to teach future generations to be wary of the mass media: to read between the lines. One must know how to gather and propogate information.

Mass media culture is not confined by borders – distances are meaningless – the modern person should be able to engage with different cultures. Globalisation facilitates the strengthening of ethno-national identity and meetings with new cultures.

Andres Heinapuu
Chairman

Liudmila Gromova
Deputy Chairman

Marja Lappalainen
Secretary

STRATEGIC CONCEPT IN THE FIELD OF MEDIA AND IT FOR THE YEARS 2000 TO 2004

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