commbox Development & Communication

Giga: Empowering communities in Asia and the Pacific through school connectivity

Geneva: ITU (2021), ix, 92 pp.

"Giga, a joint collaboration between ITU and UNICEF, is an initiative to connect every young person in the world to information, opportunity and choice. Devised before the onslaught on COVID-19, the project addresses the underlying inequities in access to the Internet. However, it is also a platform ... for creating the infrastructure necessary to provide digital connectivity to an entire country, for every community and for every citizen. With schools as a focal point, Giga seeks to build robust digital ecosystems, so communities everywhere can cope with shocks such as COVID-19 and ensure that no one is left behind. To achieve this goal, Giga builds on four pillars: map, finance, connect, empower. Map. Mapping of schools helps identify the connectivity problems and gauge the magnitude of the challenge in each country. Top-down and bottom-up approaches to mapping school connectivity support this endeavour [...] Connect. There are various infrastructure and technology solutions available that could bring affordable connectivity to the unconnected schools identified by the mapping exercise, including established technologies such as Wi-Fi, satellite, and fibre [...] Finance. The selection of appropriate financing mechanisms depends on the magnitude of the challenge. The costing analysis can only take place after mapping connectivity gaps and determining fit-for-purpose connectivity solutions. Government budgets or universal service funds (USFs) could address small- to medium-sized connectivity gaps [...] Empower. Bringing connectivity to schools will have a limited impact if e-learning solutions are not in place and if educators do not have the digital skills to empower learners. There are many case studies from Asia and the Pacific of initiatives that aim to empower digital learning [...] Giga has made significant progress since its launch. It is already active in 17 countries in three regions. Countries in Asia and the Pacific are next to join the Giga initiative. Several countries have expressed interest, including Bhutan, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Fiji. Each country has its own opportunities and challenges in terms of extending connectivity. The review of policies, regulatory environment, school connectivity initiatives and availability of connectivity data in potential Giga countries and the assessment of use cases strongly indicate that there is significant promise for the expansion of Giga in the region." (Executive summary, pages vi-vii) more

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Post-Mortem: Russian and Chinese Covid-19 Information Operations

Edward Lucas, Ben Dubow, James Lamond, Jake Morris, Corina Rebegea, Vera Zakem

Washington, DC: Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) (2021), 72 pp.

"Russia recycled previous narratives and exacerbated tensions in Western society while attempting some propaganda about Russian scientific prowess. Russia’s approach evolved little; it recycled previous narratives, spreading a broad range of COVID-19 disinformation. Evidence supports the theory th ... more

Participatory Video for Two-Way Communication in Research for Development

Manon Koningstein, Shadi Azadegan

Action Research, volume 19, issue 2 (2021), pp. 218-236

"This paper presents the participatory video methodology as an effective tool to establish a two-way communication channel between researchers and marginalized communities. The discussion begins by describing the transition from one- to two-way communication in the research for development field, fo ... more

Educational Radio Broadcasting and its Effectiveness on Adult Literacy in Lagos

Bernice O. Sanusi, Olajide Talabi, Felix, Omowale T. Adelabu, Moyosore Alade

Sage Open, volume 11, issue 2 (2021), pp. 1-8

"Education has been identified as one of the most important ways to achieve national development. With 3 million nonliterate adults in Lagos State, the commercial nerve center of the nation, radio becomes a veritable medium to teach such adults who, for several reasons including economic, do not hav ... more

Social Media and COVID-19: A Global Study of Digital Crisis Interaction Among Gen Z and Millenials

Ingrid Volkmer

University of Melbourne (2021), viii, 67 pp.

Contra viento y marea: Testimonios de educación de personas jóvenes y adultas (EPJA) en el contexto de pandemia

Quito: Asociación Latinoamericana de Educación Radiofónica (ALER);DVV International (2021), 56 pp.

"Con esta sistematizacón nos proponemos una re-visita sobre la situación de la educación de personas jóvenes y adultas en 4 países de la subregión andina, a saber, Colombia, Ecuador, Péru y Venezuela a partir de los testimonios de estudiantes, docentes, facilitadores/as voluntarios/as, person ... more

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Usos y representaciones de las TIC en el agro argentino: Repensar el espacio desde la virtualidad

Marina Poggi et al.

Buenos Aires: Teseo (2021), 296 pp.

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Instruction on the Use of Distance Learning in Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties

Vatican City: Congregation for Catholic Education (2021), 14 pp.

"The aim of this Instruction – the result of a wide-ranging consultation of all Ecclesiastical Faculties and Universities (q.v. Circular Letter n. 1, of 8 December 2018), expert contributions from international specialists in the field, as well as proposals from the Members of this Congregation an ... more

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Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition Project: Reach and Engagement Survey Afghanistan

London: BBC Media Action (2021), 4 pp.

"BBC Media Action is helping to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus in Afghanistan by using a media campaign to encourage uptake of preventive behaviours. Informed by research the project’s media outputs aim to help reduce the transmission of the coronavirus by encouraging take up of the fo ... more

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Smartphone Filmmaking: Theory and Practice

Max Schleser

London: Bloomsbury Academic (2021), 246 pp.

"While not every story might be appropriate to be realized with a mobile device or smartphone, if working with communities, capturing locations or working in the domain of personal or first-person filmmaking, the smartphone or mobile device should be considered as the camera of choice. The mobile sp ... more

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Media and the Coronavirus Pandemic in Africa (Part Two)

Journal of African Media Studies, volume 13, issue 3 (2021), pp. 305-490

Disability Reporting in the Media

Internews (2021), 18 pp.

"In this manual, we discuss key disability issues, key messages and principles for journalists wanting to support the human rights of Africans with disabilities. The manual also deals with terminology - it is about using words and that puts the person rather than the disability first. Jounalists wil ... more

How Media and Communication Are Helping to Tackle Malaria in Sierra Leone

Mariama Deen-Swarray, Karen O'Connor

London: BBC Media Action (2021), 11 pp.

Supporting Young Ethiopians to Secure and Succeed in Employment: What Role Can Communication Play?

BBC Media Action (2021), 3 pp.

"Based on this research, it was found that media and communication interventions could seek to leverage young Ethiopians’ optimism and enthusiasm, providing informative and inspiring content to fuel their ideas. This insight informed the creation of a social and behaviour change (SBCC) strategy to ... more

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Reclaiming the Public Sphere in a Global Health Crisis

Hans-Jörg Trenz, Annett Heft, Michael Vaughan, Barbara Pfetsch (eds.)

Javnost: The Public, volume 28, issue 2 (2021), pp. 111-235

Plans nationaux pour les télécommunications d’urgence: Catalyseurs et garanties. Guide succinct d'évaluation à l’intention des spécialistes des politiques publiques

Ken Okong'o

London: GSMA (2021), 16 pp.

"Ce guide a pour but d'aider à identifier les lacunes, les opportunités et les faiblesses du système afin de guider la définition d’une stratégie nationale plus cohérente et de positionner la téléphonie mobile comme appui aux activités de préparation, de réponse et de relèvement en cas ... more

National Emergency Telecommunications Plans: Enablers and Safeguards. A Brief Evaluation Guide for Policy Practitioners

Ken Okong'o

London: GSMA (2021), 16 pp.

"Section 1 focuses on creating an enabling environment. Mobile network operators (MNOs) operate in a regulated environment.5 However, if this environment is not sufficiently enabling to support disaster preparedness, response and recovery, MNOs will encounter challenges when disaster strikes. This s ... more

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Philanthropy-Funded Journalism: Implications for Media Independence and Editorial Credibility in South Africa

Dumisani Moyo

In: Re-Imagining Communication in Africa and the Caribbean: Global South Issues in Media, Culture and Technology

Hopeton S. Dunn; Dumisani Moyo; William O. Lesitaokana; Shanade Bianca Barnabas (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2021), pp. 193-216

"Over the past decade, philanthropic organisations have poured millions of dollars into different specialised forms of journalism in Africa. While these new specialised forms of journalism are aimed at addressing existing gaps in news reporting on the continent, there has been growing concern over t ... more

Virtual Trainings Gate: A Toolkit for Safe and Effective Virtual Trainings

Safa Harak, Mahmoud Abdelzaher, Ayah Othman (eds.)

Justice Call (2021), 37 pp.