What is TVE?
Television Trust for the Environment (TVE) is an independent, non-profit organisation, which promotes global awareness of the environment, development, human rights and health issues through the platforms of broadcast television and other audio-visual media. A UK-registered charity, TVE fulfils an international remit in association with offices and networks of partner organisations in Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean.
TVE works above all to promote informed debate, public awareness and practical solutions to the growing challenges of human development.
TVE was set up in 1984 with the support of WWF, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Central Television (now part of ITV).
It now has headquarters based in London and:
- An affiliate office in Italy
- TVE Japan – an associate office
- TVE USA
TVE is not affiliated to any pressure group and all its films for broadcast are made on a strictly editorially independent basis. In addition to its charitable status in the United Kingdom, it is a registered 501 3 (c) non-profit in the United States, and is governed by an independent board of Trustees.
Funding comes from a variety of sources including international organisations, governments, broadcasters and private and philanthropic organisations including the Department for International Development (UK), the European Union, Global Environmental Facility (GEF), ILO, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Novib, the Rockefeller Foundation, Sida (Sweden), UNDP, UNEP, UN-HABITAT, UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank.
For more information on TVE's work see our Annual Review.
Donate to TVE – click here to find out more.
TVE is especially grateful for the ongoing support of:
WWF-UK
UN-HABITAT
The Friends of TVE
Christian Aid
Islamic Relief
World Vision
and
Oxfam Novib
TVE is a member of PACT – the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television in the UK.
TVE Around the World
A commitment to working with international partners to raise awareness and stimulate debate using audio-visual, broadcast media is at the heart of TVE's mission. It places special emphasis on meeting the needs of other audio-visual producers, civil society organisations and film distributors in developing countries and economies in transition.
TVE has been instrumental in bringing together networks of partner organisations in Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America to make programmes of interest and relevance to communities in those regions. The networks also ensure that programmes reach as wide an audience as possible through a variety of means.
To find out where TVE's partners (or video resource centres as they have previously been known) are around the world, or find the one nearest to you, see our World Wide section.
As well as negotiating for TVE programmes to be broadcast on established national and regional channels, partners run innovative schemes, such as mobile video units in Africa which take TV monitors and generators into communities to show the programmes.
Africa
One of TVE's regionally-based series is the 13-part African Renaissance, a penetrating insight into Africa through the eyes of ordinary Africans.
Latin America and the Caribbean
The microMacro project is another example of how TVE works with partners in other regions. This series shows and promotes projects that protect the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean – the aim is to encourage similar initiatives to support sustainability in the region.
Women Broadcasting for Change
Since 1995 TVE has taken the lead in bringing together a network of women broadcasters and producers from around the world in a series of ongoing, collaborative, multi-media broadcast projects: Women Broadcasting for Change. These series have investigated status and conditions for women in different parts of the world covering a range of issues from violence against women and trafficking, to education, ageing and equality in the workforce. The first project comprised 21 short drama 'spots' on women's rights and gender, power and ownership issues for the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995). 
In 2000 From Rhetoric to Reality examined progress against promises made at Beijing. And in 2004 Reel to Real turns the focus on advancements in reproductive health and rights.
TVE's Productions
Since 1984, TVE has produced and co-produced close to 1,000 films and has completed co-productions with a range of North American and European broadcasters, including the BBC and WDR (Germany).
TVE's two flagship series – Earth Report and Life – are broadcast around the globe by BBC World. Earth Report also airs in the UK on BBC News 24 and BBC1.
Earth Report
Earth Report's half hour documentary style programmes cover a wide range of environmental issues – from the importance of conserving wetlands to the need for responsible tourism, from strategies for sustainable food production, to the impact of climate change.
The highly successful Hands On programmes, an offspring of Earth Report, take a focused look at the challenges of sustainable development. Hands On offers a range of positive, practical solutions, based on examples of successful small-scale business enterprises and sustainable, transferable technologies. The programmes have elicited volumes of requests for further information from viewers in every corner of the world.
To highlight the International Year of Freshwater in 2003, Earth Report broadcasted Changing Currents, an 11-part series on how the world is coping with the world water crisis.
Another key project in 2003 was the TVE Digital Divide Debate, which was broadcast live over the internet from the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Life
The Life series was developed to portray the wider, but related concerns of social development. Life sets out to show how different countries, communities and individuals are responding to the challenges of globalisation at the start of the 21st century.
Life returned to the airwaves in 2004 with a new series focusing on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the targets agreed by 189 countries to halve the number of people living in poverty by 2015.
Distribution of TVE films
TVE's distribution department delivers thousands of copies of films annually to teachers, students, scientists, campaigners and government officials in over 100 countries.
Most films in TVE's extensive catalogue are available to order. Films can be ordered in the following ways:
PSAs and VNRs
Public service announcements (PSAs) and video news releases (VNRs) have become increasingly popular formats for TVE's mission to promote global sustainability. PSAs are short 30 or 60 second segments intended to raise public awareness on a specific issue in a concise and high impact manner.
VNRs, which can be up to five minutes, provide news broadcasters with a ready-made package of information on a specific issue. The package may then be re-edited to be fitted into a news slot.
TVE Events
In 2003 TVE hosted a preview screening of BBC Panorama's "Sex and the Holy City", followed by a debate on the issues. The documentary, later broadcast on BBC1, examined conflicting views between AIDS prevention campaigners and the Catholic Church.
21 Elizabeth Street
London SW1W 9RP
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7901 8855
Fax: +44 20 7901 8856
General email: tve AT tve DOT org DOT uk
Sales and distribution email: distribution AT tve DOT org DOT uk
www.tve.org