"This toolkit illustrates what it takes to set up and manage a community radio station in Nigeria. It discusses what community radio is and how it can contribute to the individual (provide relaxation, information, entertainment, promote self-expression and creativity) or to the community as a whole
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(raising awareness of the resources a community has for solving its problems, stimulating discussions, bringing government's attention to the community). It explains the application process, the seven steps towards setting up a community radio station, the necessary capacity building with the staff members, as well as technical matters, programme formats and types of funding. Another chapter highlights the opportunities for partnerships and participation of the community which can be established with the different stakeholders. Interesting about this publication is its easy-to-understand language and its consideration of the Nigerian sociocultural context: all given examples are derived from local environments and prove an awareness of the multi-ethnic and multi-religious communities of Nigeria." (commbox)
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"From May to September 2008, The BBC World Service Trust’s research and Learning group, on behalf of the British Council, conducted research in Nigeria to gauge public understanding of climate change. The research consisted of 24 focus-group discussions with Nigerian citizens, as well as 31 in-dep
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th interviews with opinion leaders from government, religious institutions, the private sector, the media and civil society. The overall objective was to find out what people think about climate change, and how to tailor communication and media strategies to support Nigeria’s response to climate change.
Key findings
Most Nigerians do not understand the science of climate change. They have, however, noticed changes in the weather and seasons. They tell of unusual changes in rainfall patterns, increases in temperature and the worsening of existing environmental problems. Most people do not connect these with global climate change.
People in Nigeria are keenly aware of environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources. However, they make little distinction between this degradation and climate change.
There is low awareness of the concepts of climate change and global warming among the Nigerian public. Many understand climate change to mean changes in the weather or seasons. Opinion leaders agree the general public has very low awareness of climate change concepts and terminology.
There is a strong tendency among Nigerians to hold themselves individually and collectively responsible for local changes in the environment and the weather. There is little awareness that climatic problems – now or in the future – are likely to have causes that extend beyond Nigeria.
Nigerians draw on existing knowledge and beliefs to explain the effects of climate change. For example, many think that deforestation in their local area reduces local rainfall, and some incorrectly believe that smoke from cars, bush fires and factories damages the ozone layer, making it hotter.
There is a strong connection between faith and environmental stewardship in Nigeria; many people see changes in the weather as the will of god, and religious leaders emphasise humans’ duty of care to god’s creation." (Executive summary)
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"Harnessing the Power of Videos is a training toolkit for community-based organizations on how they and the adolescent girls they serve can use visual media and technology to tell their stories and those of their communities; to be heard; and, in the process, to be empowered through increased skills
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and self-confidence. This manual was designed in consultation with several organizations focused on promoting gender equality and improving the lives of adolescent girls and young women." (Introduction)
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"This paper attempts to appraise African filmmaking and the content of African films from a Nigerian film audience perspective. The study specifically explores the disposition of the audience towards contemporary African filmmaking for home video and cinema entertainment as well as the content of Af
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rican films. The study used a qualitative questionnaire to determine the perspectives of residents in Lagos as members of the Nigerian film audience. The study found the perception of the content of contemporary African films, particularly home videos, to vary among the film audience. Opinion largely favoured a new orientation towards a de-emphasis on obscene scenes, rituals, fetish practices, violent crimes and display of partial or total nudity in the content of African films. The study, therefore, recommends that regulatory bodies set up in most African countries, such as the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board, should own up to their responsibilities in terms of ensuring strict compliance of African film makers or producers with rules and regulations guiding film production, content of films and exposure guidelines." (Abstract)
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"The media in much of sub-Saharan Africa is severely constrained by several factors: lack of resources, government pressure, the influence of media ownership and the declining quality of secondary education and professional journalism education. In many countries, newspapers are unable to perform th
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e role of watchdog or effectively educate the public in part because of the difficulties faced by the journalists in their employ. Into the breach has stepped a plethora of foreign organizations which provide journalism training. Some of these are non-governmental organizations with a development agenda that seek to promote education about their causes. Others are the training arms of professional media groups (Thomson Reuters, BBC Trust) or are organizations that work on journalism education (the Berlin-based International Institute for Journalism and the International Center for Journalism in Washington, DC). This study—which includes content analysis and interviews with journalists who have received journalism training—considers these training efforts to see how effective they have been. The paper argues that given the challenges faced by the African media, donor-driven training programs will have only a limited effect on the larger media climate." (Abstract)
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"The main purpose of this review of the published academic literature on Nigerian and Ghanaian video films is to foster self-awareness in this new field of study. This literature has been produced on three continents and out of many academic disciplines; in consequence, scholars tend to make few ref
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erences to others working in the field, debates have been rare, and there has been a great deal of repetition. African Cinema studies, as it had already been constituted, has been slow to recognize and adapt to the video revolution, and film studies in African universities has suffered from the decline of those institutions. Anthropologists have done much of the groundbreaking work in describing the video phenomenon, though Nigerians from a variety of disciplines have also made valuable contributions. Theoretical analyses, cultural interpretations, reception studies, and detailed, extended readings of particular films are all on the agenda for the future."
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"This volume documents from historical and contemporary perspectives, the situations, trends and issues of cartooning in a number of African countries, and profiles the individuals, forms and phenomena that stand out. All types of cartooning are covered, including comic books, comic strips, gag and
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political cartoons, and humour magazines. The contributors are scholars, writers, and practitioners of comic art who are either residents of or research visitors to Africa. Their approaches run the gamut from historical/contemporary overviews, to problem analysis of the profession and cartoonists, to textual analysis." (Publisher description)
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"This report is intended to serve as a guide for organizations considering establishing journalist-training programs in Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda. The report provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities in the journalism profession in these three countries. Generalizations across countri
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es are difficult. Thus, we encourage anyone making use of this report for program planning to consider the findings on each country as a distinct entity." (Executive summary)
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"GISWatch has three interrelated goals: surveying the state of the field of information and communications technology (ICT) policy at local and global levels; encouraging critical debate; strengthening networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society. Each year the report focuses on
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one particular theme. GISWatch 2009 focuses on access to online information and knowledge – advancing human rights and democracy. It includes several thematic reports dealing with key issues in the field, as well as an institutional overview and a reflection on indicators that track access to information and knowledge. There is also an innovative section on visual mapping of global rights and political crises. In addition, 48 country reports analyse the status of access to online information and knowledge in countries as diverse as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Switzerland and Kazakhstan, while six regional overviews offer a bird’s eye perspective on regional trends." (Back cover)
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