RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

publish catalogues wiil facilitate cooperation which is aimed at making the national television svstems more independent in programme selection. It would be worthwhile appraising what has been done so far in pooling resources and personnel to prepare joint programmes. The experiences of the News Agencv Pool of the N onAligried C ountries and television reporting from Havana inspire optimism. It was shown that together we attain more than we think we can. And so I wonder whether we might not be able to do more if we pooled efforts to produce educational, drama or entertainment programmes. This question does not arise onlv with regard to the standpoint of alimenting our television stations exclusively with programmes produced by our own creative efforts. We also need cooperation if we want to offer the television systems of the developed countries information about ourselves. I urge greater recourse to our own resources in producing programmes for national television systems with the hope that this will not be construed as advocating the isolation of our television. Even if we were richer we would need cooperation with the television systems of countries that do not belong to the non-alignment movement I have dwelt somewhat on cooperation regarding television programmes although I know full well that there are countries battling with the problem of how to buv expensive equipment without which there can be no national television. I did this with the conviction that this equipment is being purchased to serve the programme. F or nationai television to become a factor in forming and developing the consciousness of the nation and the milieu in which it is operative, an instrument of independence and better understanding and cooperation and a participant in the emancipation ■ of the societv, nation and state, besides developing the television network, work must aiso be done on making one’s own programmes. Neglecting the programme side could result in the television networks being fed with borrowed programmes inappropriate to the needs of the milieu. The original principles underlying the non-ahgnment movement were re-affirmed inHavana. I mention this