International Media
Anti-Smoking Media Campaign in China
Smoking on the job at Heng Fa Manufacturing, photo by Song Zhao.
Heng Fa Manufacturing, photo by Song Zhao
Heng Fa Manufacturing, photo by Song Zhao
One of the current projects on top of CIME’s agenda is a collaborative effort with Shanghai University to promote the establishment of smoke-free workplaces in China’s industrial plants. The Chinese government launched a country-wide anti-smoking campaign in April, and this project is meant to coincide with and extend those efforts. Expo 2010 will also be held in Shanghai and is a media event on which this project also intends to capitalize.
While much of the funding for the country-wide campaign has so far been used to strengthen the wording of warning labels on cigarette packages, smoking is just as much a social and cultural practice as it is a physical addiction. As such, one of the main goals of the project CIME and Shanghai University are working on is to show the Chinese public how smoking affects their environment and how some changes in the behavior of smokers can affect the overall quality of the working environment for everyone.To do this, the project takes a two-pronged approach. The first component involves the production of a film that will document the transformation of a factory from a smoking to a non-smoking work environment. The film will also make historical references to the opium trade in the 19th and early 20th century in China as well as to the current tobacco industry. The film will also use statistics such as the incredibly high percentage of smokers and smoke-related deaths in China to highlight the harm of smoking and the benefits of a smoke-free environment. Heng Fa Manufacturing, and auto parts manufacturer, has been identified as the location for this documentary, and CIME is currently looking for a filmmaker to help develop the concept and shoot footage.
The second component of the program involves a media campaign to be developed around the workplace’s transformation into a smoke-free environment. Specifically, the campaign will aim to produce news and feature articles documenting the factory’s transformation for be published in China.
The Bloomberg Foundation has helped fund the country-wide smoke-free initiative implemented by the Chinese government, and they are currently accepting grant applications for organizations interested in promoting anti-smoking across Asia. To fund both the documentary film and media campaign, CIME will be submitting a grant proposal to the Bloomberg Tobacco Initiative during the sixth round of proposal reviews. CIME has also already applied to Georgia State University for seed money, and they intend to seek additional funding through the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that grants over $1 million a year to develop international media education.
This project, then, will not only produce new models for anti-smoking media in China, it will also strengthen the partnership between CIME and Shanghai University and increase the amount of interdisciplinary work done by CIME in conjunction with the Digital Arts and Entertainment Laboratory, the Department of Communication, and the Robinson College of Business. Ultimately, this project could serve as the initial step in developing a media research and education program that would train journalists and journalism students for China’s changing media environment.
Related Links
Expo 2010Shanghai University
Georgia State University Asian Studies Center
Georgia State University Digital Arts and Entertainment Lab
Georgia State University Robinson College of Business