This working paper is the result of a review of the work of Pax Christi in Morocco in the period 2007 – 2009. Pax Christi has co-organized a series of debates between Islamists and secularists in Morocco as part of a programme with Press Now entitled ‘Democratization through the media’. In the
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se debates, participants discussed about various actual political problems in Morocco.
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"This booklet documents the participatory video methodology as an affordable and easy-to-use video tool enabling community members to record their experience and strengthen their own knowledge on disaster risks and climate change, as well as to increase their capacity to act on that knowledge and se
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cure change." (commbox)
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"La cobertura mediática de lo sucedido en el departamento boliviano de Pando sobre la masacre de campesinos afines al gobierno, ejemplifica una tendencia mucho mayor, relacionada con el papel desempeñado por los medios de comunicación durante la polarización política vivida en Bolivia entre el
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2004 y el 2009. En este periodo una gran mayoría de los mass media bolivianos reflejaron la situación de polarización política adoptando una postura clara en el conflicto. Por un lado, los medios de comunicación privados adoptaron una postura política opuesta al gobierno de Morales, y por otro los medios estatales y comunitarios, que se perfilaron como partidarios del gobierno. Esto llevó a una situación de manipulación de la información, en la que los medios privados, especialmente televisivos, difundían una versión de la realidad que favorecía a los partidos políticos y movimientos cívicos y sociales oponentes al gobierno, mientras que los medios estatales difundían una versión que favorecía al gobierno de Morales. Consecuencia de esto fue que la opinión pública fue dejada a las expensas de lo que los medios de comunicación, en base a su propia postura política, decidían (des)informar (Mayorga 2009:9, 17)." (Resumen)
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"The Best Practice Guide gives a general overview of new media in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Syria. It analyses new media experiences acquired in conflict and post conflict areas, presenting best practice examples and recommendations developed by the workshop participants
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on how to use new media as a tool to facilitate peace and dialogue in the region. The Pedagogical Toolkit contains a series of articles by experts on new media. It formed the basis of the training sessions at the “Arab New Media for Peace and Dialogue Workshop” and provides useful, practical insight into the field of new media within the region and in other contexts." (Preface)
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"This book highlights the importance of the news media as watchdogs, agenda setters and gatekeepers for the quality of democratic deliberation in the public sphere. At the same time, it theorizes that the capacity of journalists and media systems to fulfill these roles depends on the broader context
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determined by the profession, the market and the state. Media systems' performance often falls far short of the ideals, as succesive case studies from different world regions demonstrate. Finally, the book asks what policy interventions work effectively to close the gap between the democratic promise and perfomance of the news media as an institution. The final chapter, "Policy recommendations", concludes (page 406): "Interventions include reforms directed at strengthening the journalistic profession, notably institutional capacity building, through bodies such as press councils, press freedom advocacy NGOs, and organizations concerned with journalistic training and accreditation. Other important reforms seek to overcome market failures, including developing a regulatory framework for media systems to ensure pluralism of ownership and diversity of contents. Finally, policies also address the role of the state, including deregulation to shift state-run broadcasting to public service broadcasting, overseen by independent broadcasting regulatory bodies, and the protection of constitutional principles of freedom of the press, speech, and expression." (commbox)
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"Justamente el Premio Nacional de Paz surge como un reconocimiento a la paz y la reconciliación que se construyen desde la base, en lo local, y no a la paz maximalista, tan esquiva como errática en el país. Hay que reconocer que muchos de estos proyectos han estado animados, abiertamente o tras e
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scena, por miembros de la Iglesia. Sacerdotes, monjas y grupos religiosos que han sido más que una mano amiga, casi un Estado de bienestar en zonas inhóspitas y olvidadas donde sólo ha llegado el hacha del colono, la coca, la violencia de los grupos armados y la bota militar del gobierno. La mayor parte de los premios han sido otorgados en un período en el que desde el gobierno, y en especial el de Álvaro Uribe Vélez, se niega la existencia del conflicto y, por ende, de la negociación, y el país le ha apostado todos sus esfuerzos económicos y políticos a aceitar su maquinaria de guerra, confiado en que la Seguridad Democrática podrá derrotar a los grupos armados. Las comunidades muestran otra realidad y otro camino. Otra realidad, porque dan cuenta, como lo hace este libro, de que la crisis humanitaria persiste y las poblaciones están amenazadas por muchas fuentes de violencia nuevas y antiguas. Las mismas Farc que se dan por derrotadas, y los mismos paramilitares que se dan por desmovilizados. Por eso, sin excepción, el relato presente de cada uno de los proyectos premiados es de lucha. Por la supervivencia, por la legitimidad, por abrirse espacio y ser visible en medio de una nube discursiva que niega el conflicto que ellos viven cada día." (Prólogo, página ix-x)
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"The multipurpose Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is designed to transfer water from the water-abundant highlands of Lesotho to the Gauteng region of South Africa (its industrial heartland) and provide hydropower to Lesotho through a series of dams, weirs, delivery tunnels, and associated inf
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rastructure (see Box 1). In addition, for Lesotho, one of the primary objectives of the LHWP is to utilize its export revenues toward poverty alleviation and economic stability [...] Being the largest binational water transfer scheme in the world and because of its phasing (Phase I was divided into two very large sub phases, Phase IA and Phase IB, which were followed by the feasibility studies for Phase II), the lessons learned in this case study are multifaceted. They are discussed under the headings of overall perspective; governance; sustainability (focusing on its physical, institutional, fi nancial, environmental, and social aspects as well as its impacts in poverty alleviation); and communication. This is followed by a summary of the lessons learned progressively in moving through the fi rst two phases of the project. The synopsis closes with a look at the lessons learned from the involvement of the World Bank in the project. Because of the complexity of this project, selectivity has been applied in the topics discussed, including focusing mostly on Lesotho." (Synopsis, page ix-x)
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"There are many examples in Nepal of radio programs helping in peace building. A few of these examples are included in this book. The personal stories of the radio producers are as interesting and inspiring as the examples of positive impacts their radio programs had in their societies. Success stor
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ies like these boost our confidence with working in peace building." (Publisher's Note, page 1)
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"This book is an excellent introduction to practice and theory of managing radio stations. It is divided into three parts. The first section provides an overview of the radio sector in the United Kingdom and presents the core concepts of radio station management. The second and core part of the book
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is a detailed and comprehensive practical guide to the different elements of managing commercial and community radio. It provides useful tools and examples of management practice, ranging from 'station and organisational structures' and 'financial management, sales and fundraising' to 'managing news and phone-ins' and 'knowing and researching your audience'. The last part uses three case studies (a local radio, a community radio, the BBC 6 music programme) to illustrate different station structures and management approaches. The clear structure, the plain language and the illustrative examples make this guide a helpful tool for any person interested in radio management - not only in the United Kingdom, but also other parts of the world - and it may also give advice on setting up a station from scratch." (CAMECO Update 2-2010)
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"Religious forwarded messages take the form of points for reflection and reminders of religious feasts. In other cases, the messages ask recipients to pray and re-send the same messages in exchange for Divine favor. This study explores the youth's first response to these messages. It aims to learn u
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seful insights that may enhance pastoral ministry for young people, so immersed in cell phone use. The findings show that religious SMS help remind young people of God. But they do not attribute the messages to Divine Providence alone. Response to religious SMS results from an interplay of factors, including the sender himself." (Abstract)
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"For almost twenty years, United Nations peacekeeping missions have set up local radio stations in conflict-prone countries - 14 to date, seven of which remain in operation. According to this report, some of the fourteen peacekeeping radio stations implemented by the United Nations contributed more
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to democratisation and media development in certain post-conflict countries than any other media assistance programmes. Surveys have confirmed their popularity and credibility with national audiences, and local journalists have lauded their contributions to media diversity and journalism standards. Nevertheless, Bill Orme states that the UN radios were created without long-term planning. Upon disappearance of UN peacekeeping missions the stations were simply closed, therefore losing their positive effects on democratisation and plurality. Only in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Radio Okapi) were there serious attempts to continue the stations after the exit of the UN missions. Based on detailed description and analysis of the different experiences, Orme formulates a number of policy steps that would help UN radios to become lasting contributions to press freedom and peacekeeping." (CAMECO Update 2-2010)
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"In late 2009, three newspaper articles appeared in the Kenyan press, contributing to a newly emerging debate in the Kenyan media over government transparency and accountability. Media reporting in Kenya on governance issues, particularly in relation to corrupt practices in public spending, is not n
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ew. What was unusual about these articles was the attention they brought to the specific issue of taxation. Who is paying tax? Who is not paying tax? And what is happening to the revenue? Using evidence from a range of sources, these articles showed the potential for more in-depth questioning and scrutiny of tax issues by the Kenyan media, strengthening the role the media is playing in the development of Kenyan democracy. The three journalists who published the articles had all recently participated in a workshop for researchers, civil society organisations (CSOs) and Kenyan media representatives held in Kenya in November 2009. This workshop was part of a series of interventions delivered by Relay, a media and research communication programme. The Relay programme is managed by Panos London, which runs workshops and other activities with the other institutes within the Panos network, including Panos Eastern Africa. Relay provides training and facilitates relationship-building among key stakeholders to support more in-depth, research-informed media coverage of complex, under-reported or misreported development issues. The long-term goal is to generate public debate that can have an impact on policy and bring about much-needed change. This case study describes some of the methods and activities developed by Relay and how they were applied in Kenya to the issue of tax and governance. It offers a detailed and descriptive account of Relay’s series of workshop sessions, in particular." (Introduction)
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"Quality journalism is expensive to produce – so how will it survive as current sources of revenue shrink? Funding Journalism in the Digital Age not only explores the current challenges, but also provides a comprehensive look at business models and strategies that could sustain the news industry a
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s it makes the transition from print and broadcast distribution to primarily digital platforms. The authors bring widespread international journalism experience to provide a global perspective on how news organizations are evolving, investigating innovative commercial projects in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, South Korea, Singapore and elsewhere." (Publisher description)
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