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We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People

Dan Gillmor

Sebastopol, Calif.: O'Reilly (2006), xviii, 299 pp.

"Now that it's possible to publish in real time to a worldwide audience, a new breed of grassroots journalists are taking the news into their own hands. Armed with laptops, cell phones, and digita ... more

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Making Reading Matter: Guidelines for Selecting, Developing and Disseminating Easy Readers for Adults

Beula Thumbadoo

London & Paris: Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), Working Group on Books and Learning Materials (2006), 52 pp.

"This useful guide is targeted primarily at libraries that need to support communities by selecting appropriate materials, and adult literacy facilitators and community workers who are seeking suitable reading materials to maintain learners’ interest in keeping up their reading habits. The guide i ... more

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Cyber Cafés: A How-To Manual

Alex Franka, Jessie Gilliam

Washington, DC: Advocates for Youth (2005), 89 pp.

"This manual is divided into nine easy-to-read chapters. The chapters build so that those readers who feel less able to use a computer can increase their base of knowledge as they ... more

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The Theatre of Violence: Narratives of Protagonists in the South African Conflict

Don Foster, Paul Haupt, Marésa De Beer

Capetwon; Oxford: Institute of Justice and Reconciliation;HSRC Press;James Currey (2005), xii, 364 pp.

"If the dominant media stereotype portrays perpetrators as monsters, as ‘Prime Evil’, then the dominant academic image is the opposite. It paints them as ordinary people (gender ignored, but assumed as male) diligently under sway of modern bureaucratic compartmentalisation (the banality of evil ... thesis), or as obedient to authority and conforming to social pressures (the situationist thesis). No monsters here, just ordinary people under rather extraordinary circumstances. The moral message: we co uld all potentially become perpetrators, depending on the situation. There is a competing view: the perpetrator as a willing, even eager, executioner driven by strong negative emotions against the ‘other’. The scholarly world presents us with antagonistic perspectives. What picture do we get from narrative approaches, from stories told by those actually responsible for politically-related violence? First, there are only a few narrative studies. Second, they also paint competing pictures. On the one hand, is a picture of the perpetrator as a victim – of organisational routines, hierarchies, pressures and secrecy, and of dominant ideologies, as well as brutal initiation rites which instil the practice of obedience to authority. These narrative studies support the situationist and ordinary person line of explanation. They also correct the erstwhile neglect of gender issues by placing emphasis on masculinity as an important ingredient. On the other hand, the South African storytelling studies by Marks (2001), Straker (1992) and Campbell (1992) throw up a different picture. While victims in one sense – of Bantu education, poverty and violence at the hands of both state security agents and older vigilante groups – they are also action-oriented moral crusaders in defence of their communities and in politically-minded offensive against the apartheid state and its allies. Once again, we have contrasting and competing pictures of those responsible for political violence. In these particular storytelling perspectives, differences are partly due to the different positions of protagonists across the dividing line of power: state security personnel on the one hand and resistance activists on the other. Apart from the conflicting images from varying epistemological perspectives and different theoretical angles, the very label or category of a ‘perpetrator’ is more muddied, contested and problematic than a first glance would suggest. We described seven grey areas which challenge or disrupt the dominant binaries of victim-perpetrator and the triangular view of dramatis personae: perpetrator – ‘victim’ – bystander/observer. Moreover, in Chapter 4, we raise a number of moral quandaries or dilemmas in the study of those responsible for violence, which again dislodge the simple and tidy categories. Therefore a central component of the present study aims to problematise and disrupt the complacency of the very label and category of ‘perpetrator’. What should be done? In the face of these competing images and explanations we carve out a ‘third space’ beyond, or perhaps better, between the theoretical antagonisms of situationism versus agency (willing killers); among the grey areas between category labels of victim/perpetrator/bystander. Rather than this being seen as an alternative position, it should be read as an attempt at synthesis. Instead of the oppositional pairing of ‘either-or’, it should be seen in terms of the inclusive pairing ‘both-and’ (Foster, 1999).We argue that those responsible for violence should be regarded as potentially both victim and perpetrator, as well as both subject to circumstances/influences and active initiators." (Conclusion, page 321-322) more

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The Cost of Getting Books Read in Rural Africa: Estimates from a Survey of Library Use in Burkina Faso

Michael Kevane, Alain Joseph Sissao

World Libraries, volume 14, issue 2 (2004), 11 pp.

"Estimates of the impact of libraries on reading in eight villages in Burkina Faso and costs of running libraries enable us to suggest that the cost of getting an extra book read a year varies fro ... more

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Configuration of Radio Stations and Media Centres: A Practical Guide to Procurement of Technical Equipment for Community Media Initiatives

Niels Worsoe, Per Oesterlund

Paris: UNESCO (2004), 55 pp.

"An easy-to-read introduction for non-technical people. It contains concrete suggestions for the necessary equipment according to the planned range of the radio station. The cost of technical equipment for the "Micro Radio Station" (15 watts, up to ... more

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First baseline survey on need assessment and situation analysis prior to the establishment of Radio Karnali

Khagendra Prasai, Devraj Roka, Raghu Mainali

Kathmandu: Community Radio Support Center (CRSC), Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) (2004), 105 pp.

"It has been found that overwhelming respondents from various social groups and occupation rely on "people" for local information. The Katuwali still constitutes a means of information for a sizea ... more

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On Assignment: A Guide to Reporting in Dangerous Situations

New York: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) (2003), 65 pp.

"Aimed at reporters in conflict zones and hostile areas, this report provides an overview of security issues and includes information on training courses, protective equipment, and insurance policies. It also offer useful tips on assessing, minimizing and managing risk. This guide should be ... more

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ICT Policy: A Beginner's Handbook

Chris Nicol (ed.)

Johannesburg: Association for Progressive Communications (APC) (2003), 140 pp.

"This book takes the mystery out of ICT policy and makes it easier to understand. Key issues are presented and explained clearly and concisely, and a basis is provided for further investigation. Many concrete examples are given of recent events or ... more

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Sharpening the Development Process: A Practical Guide to Monitoring and Evaluation

Oliver Bakewell, Jerry Adams, Brian Pratt

Oxford: INTRAC (2003), xi, 139 pp.

"This book provides a detailed introduction to the process of developing monitoring and evaluation systems which will provide a foundation on which to develop personal and organisational learning. ... more

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Freedom of Speech, Media Exposure, and the Defense of a Free Press in Africa

Afrobarometer (2003), 6 pp.

"There are considerable regional variations in media exposure across and within African countries. Take access to daily radio news bulletins, which is higher in Southern Africa (except Lesotho) than in West Africa: whereas 71 percent of South Africans listen to radio news daily, only 44 percent of N ... more

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Community Radio: The People's Voice
Key Guidance

John Van Zyl (ed.)

Johannesburg: Sharp Sharp Media (2003), 119 pp.

"This handbook explains how to 'set up, manage and sustain community radio', and gives guidelines for understanding 'the role community radio plays in social and economic development.' Here, community radio is understood as an important tool to strengthen democratic structures and to rebuild civil s ... more

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How to Do Community Radio: A Primer for Community Radio Operators

Louie Tabing

New Delhi: UNESCO, Asia-Pacific Bureau for Communication and Information (2002), 72 pp.

"This short primer is based on the experience of Tambuli, one of the first community radio stations in the Philippines. The primer is divided into two sections: Section A comprises definitions of community radio and an introduction to the necessary ... more

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The Design Manual

David Whitbread

Sydney: University of New South Wales (UNSW) Press (2002), xxi, 307 pp.

"The manual will be useful for a variety of people: professional graphic designers, editors and desktop publishers; business people and public servants; volunteers in community groups; printers and imagesetters; students of graphic design and deskt ... more

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Developing Materials on HIV/AIDS/STIs for Low-Literate Audiences

Elisabeth Younger, Carol Hooks, Scott Wittet, Heidi Lasher

Arlington, Va.; Washington, DC: Family Health International (FHI);Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) (2002), 155 pp.

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What Works? A Blast from the Past: Project Profiles from the 60s and 70s... Social Marketing, Community Media, Mass Campaigns, Interactive Radio, Gender Equity, Participation, the Media and More
Inspiring Practice

Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development (AED) (2001), 283 pp.

"The Academy for Educational Development (AED) has been in the social marketing, communication, and participation business for some 40 years. This book profiles 82 projects carried out in the 1960s and 1970s in countries around the world. These projects were researched and documented by AED under it ... more

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Young People’s Reading in South Africa: A Pilot Project

Myrna Machet, Sll Olën, A. Chamberlain (eds.)

Pretoria: University of South Africa, Faculty of Arts, Department of Information Science (2001), 165 pp.

"This survey and report is the result of a pilot project and survey of the reading interests and information use of South African children and young adults. It was carried out in primary and secondary schools in Pretoria, and provides insight into ... more

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Upgrading Book Distribution in Africa

Tony Read, Carmelle Denning, Vincent Bontoux

London: Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), Working Group on Books and Learning Materials (2001), xx, 252 pp.

"This study is currently the most comprehensive survey of textbook distribution in sub-Saharan Africa. If offers a detailed survey and analysis of the key policy issues affecting book distribution in Africa today. The study was organized and co-ord ... inated by International Book Development Ltd. in London, and Danaé-Sciences, a Paris-based consultancy company specialising in editorial support, training and written communication. It draws on a series of major case studies carried out in Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda, together with mini case studies from Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Togo, undertaken by book practitioners in these countries, most from the private sector. All of the case studies cover some common elements, including, for example, information on the national education system (including basic education statistics), and a discussion of the main players and mechanisms in the book distribution chain; they also review regional trade in books, and most case studies comment upon the impact of funding, agency investment, and government policies affecting national book development. In addition to the case studies, a useful feature is the inclusion of a fold-out chart “Critical issues on upgrading book distribution in Africa – A decision tree for policy-makers”, which shows the key options that policy makers need to consider in developing a national framework for textbook delivery. An extensive glossary of common terms and acronyms used in education, development and the book trade, completes the volume. The survey concludes “there is already a policy change underway among a number of governments and funding agencies in their approaches toward national textbook distribution. This change is more apparent in Anglophone than in Francophone countries and is by no means universal even in Anglophone countries. But the reaction against the inefficiencies, the lack of a service culture and the typically high cost operations of state centralist policies is now almost ten years old.” It also notes that times are changing, and that senior government officials in many countries now openly acknowledge and welcome the increasing involvement of the private sector in educational book provision activity." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 1515) more

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How to Perform Evaluations: Participatory Evaluations

Quebec: Canadian International Development Agency (2001), 8 pp.

"A quick read of this Guide will acquaint you with the value of participatory evaluations and what can be achieved through meaningful stakeholder involvement. ... more

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Making Waves: Stories of Participatory Communication for Social Change
Inspiring Practice

Alfonso Gumucio Dagron

New York: Rockefeller Foundation (2001), vi, 352 pp.

"What follows is a fascinating account of 50 experiments in empowering people— living in poor communities across the world—to seize control of their own life stories and begin to change their circumstances of poverty, discrimination and exclusi ... more

Community Radio: The People's Voice Key Guidance

What Works? A Blast from the Past: Project Profiles from the 60s and 70s... Social Marketing, Community Media, Mass Campaigns, Interactive Radio, Gender Equity, Participation, the Media and More Inspiring Practice

Making Waves: Stories of Participatory Communication for Social Change Inspiring Practice

Community Radio: The People's Voice
Key Guidance

What Works? A Blast from the Past: Project Profiles from the 60s and 70s... Social Marketing, Community Media, Mass Campaigns, Interactive Radio, Gender Equity, Participation, the Media and More
Inspiring Practice

Making Waves: Stories of Participatory Communication for Social Change
Inspiring Practice