"Hidden information, double meanings, double-crossing, and the constant processes of encoding and decoding messages have always been important techniques in negotiating social and political power dynamics. Yet these tools, "cryptopolitics," are transformed when used within digital media. Focusing on
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African societies, Cryptopolitics brings together empirically grounded studies of digital media to consider public culture, sociality, and power in all its forms, illustrating the analytical potential of cryptopolitics to elucidate intimate relationships, political protest, and economic strategies in the digital age." (Publisher description)
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"Drawing on field observations and extensive interviews, this study investigates how Kenyan media practitioners exercise their agency when interacting with Chinese stakeholders. When dealing with Chinese stakeholders or China-related stories, Kenyan media practitioners developed three strategies to
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exercise their journalistic agency: (a) situational negotiation, (b) collective reflection, and (c) resistance, through which they have approached, negotiated with, and resisted their relations with their Chinese counterparts. This article challenges the misconceptions that Chinese media organizations always hold a powerful position vis-à-vis African media organizations, and that African agents are dependents or innocent victims with neither agency nor creativity." (Abstract)
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"This edited book expands the applicability of peace journalism research beyond war to cover terrorism and radicalization, an issue that has not yet been touched by peace journalism scholars." (Publisher description)
"Drawing on cases from across the continent, contributors explore the form and nature of social media and government censorship, often via antisocial media laws, or less overt tactics such as state cybersurveillance, spyware attacks on social media activists, or the artful deployment of the rhetoric
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of "fake news" as a smokescreen to muzzle critical voices. The book also reflects on the Chinese influence in African governments’ clampdown on social media and the role of Israeli NSO Group Technologies, as well as the tactics and technologies which activists and users are deploying to resist or circumvent social media censorship." (Publisher description)
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"This research is based on 28 in-depth interviews with Kenya-based journalists who report terrorism. The objective of the research was to recount their lived experiences. The theme of safety of journalists comprised psychological and physical safety of the newspeople, and there were various ways in
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which the psychological and individual safety of the journalists covering terrorism and related events was at risk. The psychological safety included traumatic events leading to sleeplessness and nightmares, loss of memory, and some journalists resorting to alcohol abuse in a bid to cope with the traumatic experiences. These physical safety concerns for some journalists included threats of death by fanatical religious groups, while other participants said that they were threatened with death because of their coverage of terrorism and related activities in Kenya." (Abstract)
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"The study examines the coverage of solar energy in East African news media, specifically focusing on 63 stories from a leading daily newspaper and television station in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania from January to December 2023. Reporters and editors have reported limited coverage of solar energy du
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e to various factors, including: lack of knowledge; budget constraints; market unattractiveness of solar energy stories; lack of knowledge among farmers, solar technology suppliers, and stakeholders; and lack of reporters specialising in solar energy coverage. The study found that solar energy stories were rarely featured on the front page of three publications over the 12 months monitored. Most stories in the three studied publications appeared on pages beyond page 5. News stories dominated coverage of solar energy across the three countries, accounting for 8 out of every ten solar-related stories in newspapers and television. Conventional news reporting (he-said-she-said) made up most of the coverage. Solar energy use in agriculture (Productive Use of Solar Energy in agriculture) Findings reveal that out of the total coverage, 30 stories (representing 47.6%) focused on solar energy use in agriculture. The highest number out of these 30 stories addressed issues of financing off-grid solar solutions and community impact. Stories on solar entrepreneurship and innovation came second, followed by PUSE stakeholder coordination and ecosystem support." (Executive summary)
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"This study enabled countries in East Africa to produce national statistics on e-waste generated that are harmonized and comparable across countries because the same methods and tools have been used in the assessment. In addition, households and businesses surveys were piloted in Kenya and Burundi t
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o find out more on the possession rates of EEE and disposal routes of the e-waste generated within the countries. E-waste generated was calculated separately, using the e-waste generated tools. The two tools, the E-waste generated Tool on one end and the survey on the other, are complementary and provide useful insights on the e-waste generation and management status in the countries and can be used as a basis for policy making purposes, such as designing e-waste collection and management systems. The households and businesses surveys conducted in Kenya and in Burundi revealed that the higher possession rates in Kenya apply to mobile phones, flat display panel televisions and laptops. While in Burundi the products with the highest possession rates are mobile phones and personal care equipment. This indicates that high numbers of these items can be found in the e-waste stream and will be disposed of by the user. Overall, this study highlights that the amount of e-waste in the region is increasing rapidly while there is a lack of e-waste recycling infrastructure in the region. The rapid increase of e-waste generated represents a challenge where the only available formal e-waste recycling facility is located in Rwanda with an annual capacity of approximately 7 kt." (Conclusion)
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"The purpose of this Report is to help the countries that are in the process of migrating from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting. The Report examines the reasons why this is happening and the technologies involved. It provides an overview of digital terrestrial sound and television broadc
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asting technologies and system migration. The Report outlines the available options for making that transition and the route to be followed. The Report is divided into two parts. Part 1 deals with the main issues related with the transition to digital, presents the principal problems and possible solutions. Part 2 gives more detailed information on important aspects which have already been covered in Part 1." (Page 1)
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"[...] ChatGPT’s creator, OpenAI, is now reportedly in talks with investors to raise funds at a $29 billion valuation, including a potential $10 billion investment by Microsoft. That would make OpenAI, which was founded in San Francisco in 2015 with the aim of building superintelligent machines, o
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ne of the world’s most valuable AI companies. But the success story is not one of Silicon Valley genius alone. In its quest to make ChatGPT less toxic, OpenAI used outsourced Kenyan laborers earning less than $2 per hour, a TIME investigation has found. [...]
OpenAI’s outsourcing partner in Kenya was Sama, a San Francisco-based firm that employs workers in Kenya, Uganda and India to label data for Silicon Valley clients like Google, Meta and Microsoft. Sama markets itself as an “ethical AI” company and claims to have helped lift more than 50,000 people out of poverty. The data labelers employed by Sama on behalf of OpenAI were paid a take-home wage of between around $1.32 and $2 per hour depending on seniority and performance. For this story, TIME reviewed hundreds of pages of internal Sama and OpenAI documents, including workers’ payslips, and interviewed four Sama employees who worked on the project. All the employees spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern for their livelihoods. The story of the workers who made ChatGPT possible offers a glimpse into the conditions in this little-known part of the AI industry, which nevertheless plays an essential role in the effort to make AI systems safe for public consumption. “Despite the foundational role played by these data enrichment professionals, a growing body of research reveals the precarious working conditions these workers face,” says the Partnership on AI, a coalition of AI organizations to which OpenAI belongs."
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"Die kenianische, auch mit deutschem Geld produzierte Serie "Country Queen"läuft auf Arte und weltweit auf Netflix. Sie ist raffiniert erzählt - und ein Glücksfall für das globale Lagerfeuer." (Einleitung)
"[...] Tonny Njuguna ist Schauspieler und einer der beiden Moderatoren von Shamba Shape Up, einer Reality-TV-Show aus Kenia. "Shamba" bedeutet Farm in der Landessprache Kisuaheli, "shape up" ist Englisch und heißt so viel wie aufmotzen oder pimpen. Allein in Kenia schauen Woche für Woche bis zu ne
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un Millionen Menschen zu – und das bei 55 Millionen Einwohnern. Das Format ist so erfolgreich, dass Shamba Shape Up mittlerweile fast in jedem großen kenianischen Fernsehsender Nachahmer hat und das Original in andere ostafrikanische Länder exportiert wird.
Shamba Shape Up gibt es seit 2010, und während das Team die dreizehnte Staffel dreht, läuft im Fernsehen die zwölfte. Die Idee hat Ähnlichkeiten mit MTVs Pimp My Ride, wo der Rapper Xzibit Anfang der 2000er Schrottautos tunen ließ. Bei Shamba Shape Up geht es dagegen um andere Dinge: um das richtige Futter für die Kühe, wie man seine Farm an die Klimakrise anpasst und wann es sinnvoll ist, sich gegen Ernteausfälle zu versichern. Um finanzielle Bildung für Bauern, darum, was es heißt, sich gut zu ernähren, und was man tun kann, wenn der eigene Hof von eingewanderten Pflanzen überwuchert wird. Das Wichtigste dabei ist, dass nicht nur den Bauern geholfen wird, sondern die Zuschauer etwas lernen. Zum Beispiel, wie man Passionsfrüchte richtig pflanzt. So wie Vivien Machanury jedenfalls nicht. Ihre ersten Pflanzen waren zu widerspenstigen Büschen herangewachsen, deren mickrige Früchte sie aus dem Gestrüpp herausschütteln musste. Drei Tage lang wird das Filmteam auf ihrem Hof drehen, am Ende soll sie wissen, was sie besser machen kann: "Ich kenne das aus meinem vorigen Job: sich auf ein Projekt konzentrieren, dann das nächste angehen."
Vivian Machanury ist 50 Jahre alt. Vor drei Jahren hat sie ihren Beruf bei einem Telefonnetz-Betreiber aufgegeben. An der Wand ihres Hauses hängen noch Auszeichnungen als Mitarbeiterin des Monats und Zertifikate von Weiterbildungen. In ihrem Job hatte sie zuletzt ein Team von 50 Mitarbeitenden unter sich. Dann wurde sie Bäuerin. "Weißt du", sagt sie zu Tonny Njuguna, "ich habe mir das nur zugetraut, weil ich immer eure Sendung geguckt habe." Der ist sichtlich gerührt. "Das müssen wir gleich noch mal vor der Kamera machen", sagt er. [...]"
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"Africa is a diverse and complex continent, consisting of 54 countries, 5 regions and about 2,000 languages. This report identifies what influences African youths' attitudes and decisions. It is based on a survey of 4,500 people, aged 18–35, in nine African countries: Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Ivory
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Coast, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Zimbabwe. These nine countries act as proxy for the continent and provide evidence of a wide range of attitudes to the issues raised." (Page 2)
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"Kenya is the third most innovative economy in sub-Saharan Africa, behind Mauritius and South Africa. (Oxford Insights, 2022, pp.44-46). Therefore, this Artificial Intelligence Practitioners’ Guide (the Guide) has been developed to address AI’s disruption in the tech and legal sector in Kenya. T
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he guide highlights legal frameworks and policies enabling the development of AI-sensitive communities, with well-defined Kenyan-led and -owned entities, as a global node for AI and machine learning growth. It also provides a vehicle for formalizing an independent oversight/advisory body to foster Kenya-led AI and informs AI practitioners of relevant legislative, regulatory, and ethical frameworks. Further, it proposes legislative and regulatory reform to address barriers to AI for social good, thereby promoting a nurturing AI environment while safeguarding citizens‘ civil and privacy rights. The legal resource guide highlights best practices and key legislative, legal, and regulatory considerations for diverse stakeholders seeking to apply AI in Kenya. The Guide discusses the building blocks of AI and how to operate ethically while deploying innovations. It also seeks to help AI practitioners understand the landscape, and for local and international tech entities to tap into the existing talent for developing and deploying emerging technologies. Expectedly, this guide will catalyze innovation work in Kenya and its presence in global tech. It seeks to turn the fear of AI into a trust in its ability to deliver to a country where economic security, food security, and safety remain important realities especially to the most vulnerable." (Executive summary, pages 6-7)
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"This book uses decolonisation as a lens to interrogate political communication styles, performance, and practice in Africa and the diaspora. The book interrogates the theory and practice of political communication, using decolonial research methods to begin a process of self-reflexivity and the cre
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ation of a new approach to knowledge production about African political communication. In doing so, it explores political communication approaches that might until recently have been considered subversive or dissident: forms of political communication that served to challenge imposed western norms and to empower African citizens and their histories. Centring African scholarship, the book draws on case studies from across the continent, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana." (Publisher description)
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