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Women and the media in Afghanistan: How to support female media workers in a challenging landscape

Catharine Buckell, Mahdi Zaki, Shukrana Azizi Suzanne Devai

London: BBC Media Action (2024), 50 pp.

"Women in Afghanistan continue to have less access to information than men, particularly through TV and the internet. At least 33% of women (more in rural areas) rely on family as a key source of information, while men prioritise other information ... sources. Yet Afghan women’s information needs have never been more pronounced – due to restrictions on their activities, many are confined to their homes. Women in Afghanistan with media access rely on this more than ever to keep updated on issues that concern them, and spend more time accessing and using media: "Now women are in the confines of their homes… The virtual space is the only window for us to learn about what is happening." (Female FGD participant, Herat). Two-thirds (65%) of female survey respondents say that the media is “very important” in their daily lives, compared with half (51%) of male respondents. Despite various efforts to cater to female audiences, 67% of female and male respondents feel that Afghan media only “somewhat” or “rarely” meets women’s needs. Reflecting restrictions on media content, respondents complain that domestic media contains too much religious content and not enough entertainment. However, educational content is still allowed, providing women and girls who are denied access to schooling with a vital source of education. Respondents are more satisfied with the balance of content in international media and media run by Afghans in exile, and they are more likely to watch some types of entertainment, such as movies, on international than domestic TV. However, a number of international media outlets are inaccessible from Afghanistan. Journalists inside Afghanistan are banned from working with international TV/radio channels or news sites, and some have been arrested for doing so. 87% of respondents say the presence of women in the media in Afghanistan has decreased since August 2021. Only 41% could name a female presenter or journalist. Almost all of those named by respondents worked in the media before 2021, or currently work from outside Afghanistan. Audience members support women featuring in news and educational programmes but are less supportive of them featuring in comedy and sports content. Over half (54%) of the general survey respondents say they would support a female relative to work as a journalist. A further 12% would support a female relative under certain conditions, including wearing the hijab and travelling with a mahram (women cannot leave their home without a male chaperone)." (Executive summary, page 6) more

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Freire and the Perseverance of Hope: Exploring Communication and Social Change

Ana Cristina Suzina, Thomas Tufte (eds.)

Paulo Freire (honoured person)

Amsterdam; London: Institute of Network Cultures;Loughborough University (2022), 146 pp.

"The Brazilian educator Paulo Freire (1921-1997) is one of the most important thinkers of the 21st century, figuring among the most quoted authors in the fields of education and social sciences all over the world. He is also a core reference to an ... more

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Women in Newsroom in Nepal

Indira Aryal

Center for Investigative Journalism (2021), v, 35 pp.

"The participants of the survey were limited to working women journalists in Kathmandu valley. Out of 87 journalists that participated in the survey two- third of journalists are young, the work force comprises between age ... more

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A New Pedagogy to Enhance the Safety and Resilience of Journalists in Dangerous Environments Globally

Colm Murphy, Pat Deeny, Nigel Taylor

Education Sciences, volume 10, issue 310 (2020), 15 pp.

"Risks to journalists are rising with disasters, epidemics, physical, mental and digital harassment all increasing globally. Some 1382 journalists have been killed since 1992 and 246 are imprisoned. However, the threat type has been changing, with the majority of journalists killed annually being on ... more

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This is Not an Atlas: A Global Collection of Counter-Cartographies
Top Insights

kollektiv orangotango+ (ed.)

Bielefeld: transcript;Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (2018), 352 pp.

"This Is Not an Atlas gathers more than 40 counter-cartographies from all over the world. This collection shows how maps are created and transformed as a part of political struggle, for critical research or in art and education: from indigenous ter ... more

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Digital Skills for Life and Work: What are the Educational Implications of the ‘Broadband Society’ for the Development of Digital Skills for Life and Work?

Working Group on Education

UNESCO;Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development (2017), iv, 124 pp.

"The term ‘digital skills’ refers to a range of different abilities, many of which are not only ‘skills’ per se, but a combination of behaviours, expertise, know-how, work habits, character traits, dispositions and critical understandings. These skills and competencies are interconnected and ... more

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Measuring Peacebuilding Cost-Effectiveness

Institute for Economics & Peace (2017), 68 pp.

"1) This paper provides a conceptual framework for counting and categorising peacebuilding activities as well as a hard working-definition of the actions that count as peacebuilding. One of the primary inhibiting factors for assessing peacebuilding ... cost-effectiveness has been the lack of commonly agreed definitions and confusion about what activities constitute peacebuilding. Without this, it is simply not possible to measure and compare the cost-effectiveness of peacebuilding activities. 2) A comprehensive accounting of global peacebuilding expenditures from 2002 to 2013, using the working definition that was developed in partnership with the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) and Peacebuilding Support Group. This is the first known attempt at comprehensively accounting for peacebuilding activities — without this data it is not possible to empirically assess different peacebuilding strategies and assess the cost-effectiveness of them or individual peacebuilding actions. This data shows that peacebuilding activities are unevenly distributed geographically and thematically and are prioritised to differing extents by international donors. 3) A detailed case study of peacebuilding expenditures is presented to analyse an example of peacebuilding success — Rwanda from the wake of genocide to 2014. This analysis shows US$18.35 billion was committed to peacebuilding expenditures in Rwanda from 1995 to 2014. That means peacebuilding commitments in Rwanda from the international community were at least $27 per capita each year for the past 15 years. This demonstrates that the assistance associated with peacebuilding is not exhausted in the five or even ten years following a conflict, meaning that the success of peacebuilding cannot be judged on whether there has been a relapse into a conflict after such a short period of time has elapsed. If some moderate level of peacebuilding expenditure indeed leads to a reduction in violence, and if Rwanda is illustrative of the levels of peacebuilding required to reduce violent conflict, then the current levels of global peacebuilding expenditure are insufficient to build global peace. 4) A global model of the cost-effectiveness of peacebuilding, based on the case study findings and the data generated from them. Using 20 years of peacebuilding expenditure, Rwanda’s experience as a baseline, and combining this with IEP’s research on the global cost of conflict, the paper presents scenario analysis and a model of peacebuilding cost-effectiveness. It finds that using conservative assumptions, the cost-effectiveness ratio of peacebuilding is 1:16, showing that increased funding for peacebuilding would be hugely beneficial not only to peacebuilding outcomes but in terms of the potential economic returns to the global economy. This means that if countries currently in conflict increased or received levels of peacebuilding funding to appropriate levels estimated by this model, then for every dollar invested now, the cost of conflict would be reduced by $16 over the long run. Projected forward ten years from 2016 this would save US$2.94 trillion in direct and indirect losses from conflict. However, achieving this outcome would require an approximate doubling of peacebuilding toward the 31 most fragile and conflict affected nations of the world. Of course, this does not preclude other important factors for peacebuilding success such as the external influence of other states or the role of political elites, but rather establishes a working framework for resources required for programmatic peacebuilding activities. 5) In order to take this research forward, this paper also provides detailed approaches for a future research agenda to look deeper into the ultimate aim of assessing the cost-effectiveness of particular peacebuilding interventions. Through drawing upon existing impact evaluations on peacebuilding interventions in Liberia, it demonstrates a basic approach to how the cost-effectiveness of specific peacebuilding interventions could be compared within a specific context. However, this approach demonstrates the long-term needs for a fully-fledged research agenda in this area. Impact evaluations are resource intensive and require a very significant upscaling of research. Currently, it is estimated that there are only 61 impact evaluations globally on programmes with peacebuilding outcomes. In other domains such as health or education there are hundreds and thousands of such impact evaluations, which highlights the clear need for more impact evaluations in peacebuilding." (Executive summary) more

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A Comparative Study on the Role of Digital Media and Print Media in Enhancing Literacy and Reading Culture in Africa

Working Group on Books and Learning Materials (WGBLM)

Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) (2016), 33 pp.

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2nd Conference on Media Development in Myanmar, 20-21 May 2013, Yangon: Summary of Presentations

Myanmar Media Development Thematic Working Group;International Media Support (IMS) (2013), 34 pp.

"The 2nd Conference on Media Development in Myanmar took place from May 20-21 2013 in Yangon. With over 300 participants, the conference marked another significant milestone in Myanmar’s media reform process. This report is a summary of the prese ... more

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Toolkit: Communication for Education and Development

Cotonou: Working Group on Communication for Education and Development (COMED);Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA);African Development Bank (AfDB) (2010), 453 pp.

"This kit is comprehensive and contains 40 modules with several different components, with each component having its own specific method of instruction or pedagogy. In some areas, there will be the need for an instructor, and a sizeable number of learners. In other cases, the learner (depending ... more

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UNESCO Guidebook on Textbook Research and Textbook Revision
Key Guidance

Falk Pingel

Paris; Braunschweig: UNESCO;Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research, 2nd revised and updated ed. (2010), 83 pp.

"The UNESCO Guidebook is now available in an updated and supplemented edition. The revision has taken into account recent developments in textbook production and textbook research: the rapidly growing market for electronic instructional media, the differentiation and regionalization of textbook prod ... more

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Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management = Glossar entwicklungspolitischer Schlüsselbegriffe aus den Bereichen Evaluierung und ergebnisorientiertes Management

Paris: DAC Network on Development Evaluation (2009), 47 pp.

"With this glossary, the DAC Working Group on Evaluation for Development Cooperation hopes to facilitate and improve dialogue and understanding ... more

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Communication for Development and Social Change

Jan Servaes (ed.)

Los Angeles et al.: Sage (2008), 428 pp.

"This book includes 17 articles on the current state of communication for development from renowned communication practitioners and scholars. It covers five areas: an introduction to the relationship between development, participation and communica ... more

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Compendium on Impact Assessment of ICT-for-Development Projects
Top Insights

Richard Heeks, Alemayehu Molla

Ottawa: International Development Research Centre (IDRC) (2008), iii, 155 pp.

"Billions of US dollars are invested each year by the public, NGO and private sectors in information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) projects such as telecentres, village phone schemes, e-health and e-education projects, e-go ... more

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Media Assistance: Challenges and Opportunities for the Professional Development of Journalists. Working Group Report

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2007), 19 pp.

"This report represents input from twenty-three practitioners who have observed, planned, and implemented media education programs of the U.S. and other Western governments, as well as those of private funders. The ... more

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WorldCat (9)

APNET-ADEA Study Project on Intra-African Book Trade

Accra; London: African Publishers Network (APNET);Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) (2007), 42 pp.

"Following on an earlier study (Makotsi, 2000) on the inter-African book trade that was commissioned by the Association for the Development of Educatio ... 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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Media Communities

Brigitte Hipfl, Theo Hug (eds.)

Münster; New York: Waxmann (2006), 342 pp.

"This book analyzes the different ways in which media are being used for community building and it also critically interrogates the concept of community itself. The authors do that from a variety of different perspectives, ranging from fundamental philosophical questions regarding community, to the ... more

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Technological Infrastructure and Use of ICT in Education in Africa: An Overview

Neil Butcher

Paris: Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA);Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning (WGDEOL) (2003), 142 pp.

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WorldCat (8)

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-ordinated by International Book Development Ltd. in Lon ... don, 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

This is Not an Atlas: A Global Collection of Counter-Cartographies Top Insights

UNESCO Guidebook on Textbook Research and Textbook Revision Key Guidance

Compendium on Impact Assessment of ICT-for-Development Projects Top Insights

This is Not an Atlas: A Global Collection of Counter-Cartographies
Top Insights

UNESCO Guidebook on Textbook Research and Textbook Revision
Key Guidance

Compendium on Impact Assessment of ICT-for-Development Projects
Top Insights