Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - The year is the 25th anniversary of the Interdisciplinary Centre on Social Communications at the Pontifical Gregorian University opened by the then Rector, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini. In a quarter of a century CICS has engaged in activities of formation and research in order to offer a Christian perspective to the study of the media and the information system.
To celebrate these 25 years and to reflect on the role of communications in the global society, CICS has organised several events including a Seminar on 17 November on the theme “Communicating and participating”.
Recent theories on the media and audience surveys highlighted the radical ambivalence of communications: mechanism of manipulation but also space for active participation. Emphasis is laid on the one hand on the various risks of communications, on the other the numerous opportunities for participation offered by the media, starting with the Internet which can even serve as a platform for announcing the Gospel to non mainstream media.
What then are the realities of the media? What is the role of communications in the global society? Are the media only tools of control and homologation or can they foster forms of participated communication? These are some of the questions speakers will address. (AP) (29/10/2005 Agenzia Fides; Righe:23; Parole:253)
