Hi everyone!

My name is Catherine Main, and I work for a company called Telesearch (Europe) Ltd - it's a Japanese TV company based in Ealing.  We are currently working on a documentary entitled 'World Map 2007' for NHK, the Japanese national broadcaster (like the BBC in the UK).  The programme is an investigation into globalisation, looking specifically at trade and migration between countries, and relative balances between nations.  There are different parts of the programme being made all around the world, but we are specifically focusing upon EU and Africa.

Anyway, here's the information about the programme:

Channel:   NHK (Japanese Broadcasting Corporation, like the BBC in the UK)
Documentary:  World Map 2006
Broadcast:  1st January 2007
Details:   'World Map 2007' is an overview of the state of the world throughout 2006, and investigation into what we may expect in 2007.  It will look at globalisation and its effects worldwide, through looking at trade, migration and lifestyle around the world.  We aim to film in North and South America, Asia, Europe and Africa looking at how relationships between nations affect citizens.  We will be filming in Ghana throughout November, showing Ghana as a country with numerous natural resources, but that has also been affected by imbalances in its relationship with the EU.

As part of the programme, we would love to meet some members of the Ghanaian diaspora who have moved to London, who may be able to speak about their experiences for the programme.  We would love to hear about the things that have been good in the experience, and the things that have been difficult; any cultural differences they have found; their dreams when they moved to the UK and whether these dreams match with the reality of being Ghanaian in London.  We are really interested in meeting people who have moved from Ghana recently (within the last year or two) who is having difficulty finding a good job in the UK who could tell us about their experiences. We're also interested in meeting a doctor who trained in Ghana, and then moved to the UK to practise here, perhaps because there are more opportunities in the UK

The director and crew will be over from Japan from the 20th - 28th November (before and after this they will be in Ghana).  We would love to find someone who could speak with us about their experiences during this time.  It will be an excellent documentary, and we will send a DVD of it afterwards to whoever helps us.  Also, we can remind people that it will only be screened in Japan, so if someone is reluctant to be on television in the UK, they do not have to worry!

Please do let me know if you have any thoughts at all.  And don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions about our project. 

I'd love to hear from someone who may have some thoughts about this, or may even be willing to help us with our documentary.  Please give me a call if you have any questions, on 020 8840 3340, or else email me on telesearch@easynet.co.uk

Thanks very much!

Catherine Main