Notre Dame Communication Center provides media training
Founded
in 1977 by Sister Mary Peter Claver Walter, SND, with a grant from St. Leo
Parish in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, Notre Dame Communication Center
(NDCC) in Patna is the only center of its kind
in eastern India administered by women. Known for its courses in television
and video production, NDCC
has
trained more than 1,000 students, many of whom work in key positions in
TV and satellite channels around the world.
Short-story writer Ragani Gautam, who took the video production course
in 1979 while studying at Notre Dame Academy, said, "I think we were the
only school to have a TV studio at the time. Sister Peter Claver's idea was
revolutionary. At a time when media studies didn't figure anywhere else in
Bihar, we were given training for the future. The idea was positively brilliant.
I was one of those inspired by NDCC, and I am doing media-related work in
New Zealand." Many television directors, producers and executives are
among the former students of NDCC.
The unique gift of the institution is not merely the high-profile communicators
who have passed through its doors. Rather, it takes pride in the fact
that it has provided training and a livelihood to hundreds of not-so-famous
people. Local young people have managed to make a living by producing
low-cost
video
and audio projects.
Sister Mary Jyosita Chemplanickal, SND, the present director, points
out that for the past several years NDCC has been involved in a communication
project with villages in the Chenari area. "Our main focus is on training
women and the poor to be able to enrich their lives in some way." Through
leadership training, use of low-cost media for literacy, income generation
and health education programs, NDCC has made a significant contribution toward
village development.
Besides regular video-production courses, NDCC also creates videos
and resource material on value education for schools and workgroups.
Its
productions have
been broadcast over local TV channels. It offers courses in photography,
drama, puppetry, computer graphics, and audiovisuals for the classroom,
and a certificate course in broadcast journalism. We are grateful
to our donors,
whose generosity over the years has made all this possible. Thanks
to generous hearts, the work of NDCC will continue into the future!
