Who We Are
Interactive Resource Center
What We Do:
Interactive Resource Centre (IRC) is a non-profit info media organization striving to create self-empowerment opportunities for the marginalized members of the community through art-based development techniques. Formed in 2000, IRC employs a variety of interactive community tools such as interactive/forum theatre, documentary films, citizen journalism, radio broadcasting, and digital storytelling to create awareness and advocacy opportunities. In addition to utilizing these various tools, IRC has also developed unique platforms to further its objectives such as our annual Interactive Theatre Festival, Vasakh International Film Festival, Satire Fest Festival, and more recently it has also created a web-based interactive video site (www.maatitv.com) aimed at creating an alternative narrative of Pakistan.
Our Vision
IRC seeks to humanize society by promoting the ideals of religious tolerance, ethnic harmony, equality and social justice; empower community to analyze and articulate their concerns effectively, and strive for social transformation; engage marginalized groups in political participation and discourse; create a vibrant national interactive communication network with regional and international linkages; provide space for cultural diversity and expression through revival of folk festivals and traditions; mainstream interactive theatre as a mode of entertainment and communication; establish a Centre of Excellence for interactive
Mission
IRC is committed to using interactive art forms to create a culture of tolerance, religious harmony, and peaceful co-existence between Pakistan’s diverse ethnic and religious groups, particularly providing the voiceless, marginalized majority with a platform for expression. It aims to use interactive communication tools to generate self-awareness and analysis among communities, enabling them to learn from their own experiences, and mobilize them to strive for social change through political participation. Finally, IRC hopes to popularize interactive theatre by forming an active national network of community-based theatre groups that will revive and promote traditional performing arts and cultural activities.
We believe
- All humans are equal and deserve fundamental freedom
- All cultures are equal and deserve respect
- In non-violent and political solutions of conflicts and problems
- Without influencing mainstream change transformation is not possible
- Stigmas and social taboos can be challenged through dialogue and communication
Our Goals
- Create and strengthen interactive communication within political and social stakeholders as a means to achieve a peaceful, democratic and just society
- Develop and experiment with innovative techniques in interactive communication to increase outreach and effectiveness of the social change process
- Build and promote capacities and knowledge of communities (women, minority, youth, and children), media, and CSOs for increasing outreach and informed advocacy in and around human rights, democratic governance, and peace & justice
- Develop a proactive and sustainable interactive communication institute for promoting arts, culture, and communication in communities
Our Tools
- Interactive Theatre
- Citizen Journalism
- Documentary films
- Radio Broadcasting
- Visual Arts Puppetry
Maati TV
Maati TV (www.maatitv.com) is Pakistan’s first web tv. This one-of-a-kind platform makes use of various communication tools such as short films, digital stories, Vlogs, and digitized theatre to put forward an alternative narrative of Pakistan that promotes human rights, democracy, and cultural diversity. Maati TV functions as an alternative media platform, where it’s many correspondents send in stories from their communities, which are often ignored by the mainstream media. While this platform aims at promoting human rights and democracy, it also hopes to initiate a much-needed critical discourse within the Pakistani youth through its various digital story-telling techniques.
In addition to creating content online, Maati TV conducts regular training on citizen journalism, visual arts, and social media advocacy techniques. The general methodology behind these workshops is to empower the youth and marginalized community of Pakistan to have tools for creating expression and critical discourse.
On average over 100 individuals are trained by IRC/Maati every year and many of them go on to become a part of Maati TV’s network which makes it possible for us to share the stories of indigenous communities of Pakistan and represent a more inclusive image of the country.
You can find out more about Maati TV by visiting the links below:
Website: www.maatitv.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maatitvofficial/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Maatitvpk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maatitvpk/
IRC Team
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