"The translation of films from languages such as English, Hindi/Urdu or Chinese into Swahili is a phenomenon that has quickly grown into a successful business in Tanzania in the last couple of years. The films are mainly products of the USA, of India and China, but also of countries such as Thailand
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, Malaysia or Nigeria. The pirate copies that reach Tanzania, however, seem to be primarily imported from China (Interview with DJ Mark, 2009). In Tanzania, the films are subject to a series of transformations that help to increase the appeal of these films to their predominantly youthful Tanzanian audience. This essay focuses on these transformation processes and aims to show how films are shaped by the work of the translators (“watafsiri”), but also by the people who work in the video parlours (“vibanda vya video”), the places where these films are usually consumed. It is based on research that was carried out in Masasi (Mtwara region) and Nachingwea (Lindi region) in February 2009 and in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro (Morogoro region) and Bagamoyo (Tanga region) in September 2009." (Pages 138-139)
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"From August to October 2009, the BBC World Service Trust’s Research and Learning group, on behalf of the British Council, conducted research in Tanzania to gauge public understanding of climate change. The research consisted of 12 focus-group discussions with Tanzanian citizens, as well as 17 in-
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depth 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 to determine how to tailor communication and media strategies to support Tanzania’s response to climate change. Key findings: Tanzanians have noticed changes in the weather and seasons. They say that temperatures have increased and that the rains are not falling as they used to. Many are struggling with the impacts of drought and are frustrated by increased environmental degradation and resource scarcity. Yet most Tanzanians have no understanding of the relationship between these issues and climate change. Most Tanzanians are unfamiliar with the concepts of climate change and global warming. They believe the term “climate change” refers to changes in the weather or seasons and have little knowledge of its global context or the greenhouse effect. Tanzanians draw on their existing knowledge to explain the environmental changes they experience. Most believe that humans are to blame but point to local deforestation and local pollution as the primary causes of the drought and environmental degradation they have experienced." (Executive summary)
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"The Radio Instruction to Strengthen Education (RISE) in Tanzania project exceeded its targets and deliverables in every aspect of the project: More primary and secondary beneficiaries were reached, more trainings were conducted, and more resources and equipment were distributed than estimated. Thes
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e figures are principally due to the commitment of the RISE team and the level of the confidence in the program by national institutions (Ministries of Education and Vocational Training and the Tanzania Institute of Education), district officials, schools and local populations [...] RISE built capacity of communities, districts and national institutions for the establishment and maintenance of 180 Tucheze Tujifunze (TuTu) centers in two districts in Zanzibar and 95 Mambo Elimu Community Learning Centers (MECLC) in seven districts in Mainland Tanzania. In addition, RISE reached 246 classrooms in Zanzibar. RISE produced and distributed resources: Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) programs, Interactive Video Instruction (IVI) programs, guides, classroom kits and song and story books. In addtion, RISE distributed user friendly and sustainable equipment (solar radios, MP3s and MP4s) for audio and video training and in-class support, and trained local staff in their care, use and operation. RISE conducted trainings for education mentors, teachers, shehas, head teachers, school management committees, teacher center staff, district officials and district coordinators. It also built the capacity of MoEVT employees in the design, development and production of IRI and IVI programming, printed materials and training programs." (Executive summary)
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"This chapter explores the relationship between theatre and neoliberal policies in Tanzania. It analyses the consequences of neoliberalism for the Tanzanian theatre and exposes the challenges it faces as a simulacrum of people’s culture. I also present evidence on why it is important, when analyzi
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ng theatre in Tanzania just before and after independence in 1961, one should take into consideration the influence of internal and international political economies. Using the case of Theatre for Development (TfD), the chapter also deals with the assumption that neoliberal policies have pushed theatre to the periphery and created greater donor dependence." (Page 191)
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"Since the 1990s journalism education programs have expanded exponentially around the world, but media freedom has not. Globally comparative, this edited volume assesses journalism education and the challenging environment in which it is delivered in countries with a partly free or not free status a
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ccording to global press freedom. The countries covered include China, Singapore, Cambodia, Palestine, Oman, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Brazil, Russia, Romania, and Croatia. Contributors demonstrate through careful analysis that wealthy nations are able to set the terms of their journalism education while less affluent countries are more open to the influence of foreign NGOs. Although this book evidences the disconnection between what is taught and what can be practiced, it also illustrates the degree to which journalism education can be an agent of change." (Publisher description)
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"The Yearbook 2009 focuses on youth as a generation of actors and citizens who are increasingly exposed to and making use of media/ICT for entertainment and informational purposes, for social networking and mobilization, and for knowledge sharing. At the core of this creativity and these innovative
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practices is media and information literacy. Young people’s competence in using media, their ability to produce, understand and interact with the multiplicity of both new and old media formats and technologies have been instrumental in the manifestation of social processes of change. This book seeks to explore theoretical assumptions as well as empirical evidence of media and information literacy in action. But it also gathers examples of how youth in developing countries have used their skills to bring about change." (Publisher description)
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"The book was written mainly to inform rural development professionals, practitioners and decision-makers in a variety of organisations – from NGOs and farmer associations to government departments and research and educational institutions – about the diverse uses of video in development. Specif
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ically, it seeks to give decision-makers greater insight into the subject in order to support decisions on the strategic use of video in development. As such, it draws extensively on practical experiences to illustrate the potential of this powerful communication tool for development." (Introduction, page 1)
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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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"In Tanzania pirated video copies of foreign films are subject to a profound practice of remediation. Video narrators who either perform live simultaneous translations and commentaries on such films in video parlours, or mediatise their interpretations as VHS cassettes and DVDs with Kiswahili voice-
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over, are in great demand and have established themselves as mediators between American, Chinese, Indian, and Nigerian films and their local audiences. In this essay I will introduce two such video narrators, Lufufu and King Rich, and part of their work, such as sequences from a version of the Nigerian Pentecostal classic Karishika (Christian Onu, 1998) by King Rich, and of Titanic (James Cameron, 1997) and Super Love (Andy Amenechi, 2003) by Lufufu." (Introduction)
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