"Popular Media, Democracy and Development in Africa examines the role that popular media could play to encourage political debate, provide information for development, or critique the very definitions of 'democracy' and 'development'. Drawing on diverse case studies from various regions of the Afric
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an continent, essays employ a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to ask critical questions about the potential of popular media to contribute to democratic culture, provide sites of resistance, or, conversely, act as agents for the spread of Americanized entertainment culture to the detriment of local traditions. A wide variety of media formats and platforms are discussed, ranging from radio and television to the Internet, mobile phones, street posters, film and music." (Publisher description)
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"In democracies with adjectives, the freedom of press also comes with adjectives." If the political regime is situated between a pure democracy and despotism, the freedom of press is also stuck in an in-between-situation. This statement sums up the results of Marie Soleil Frères empirical analysis
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of the role of media in reporting the election processes in six central African countries (Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, DRC, Rwanda and Chad) with a long history of violent conflict. By carving out nine major obstacles of the role of media in these elections from the role of the parties' campaign strategies to the dangerous liaison between media and politics, the book describes how and why their role became problematic, and different from the democracy tool kit of international donors. This may not be a new subject, and most of the findings are familiar to readers with an interest in African media. But the empirical rigor and the in-depth analysis of the cases makes the book a good read and a starting point for a new debate on media support in African election processes." (commbox)
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"Radio has been called ‘Africa’s medium’. Its wide accessibility is a result of a number of factors, including the liberalisation policies of the ‘third wave’ of democracy and its ability to transcend the barriers of cost, geographical boundaries, the colonial linguistic heritage and low l
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iteracy levels. This sets it apart from other media platforms in facilitating political debate, shaping identities and assisting listeners as they negotiate the challenges of everyday life on the continent. Radio in Africa breaks new ground by bringing together essays on the multiple roles of radio in the lives of listeners in Anglophone, Lusophone and Francophone Africa. Some essays turn to the history of radio and its part in the culture and politics of countries such as Angola and South Africa. Others – such as the essay on Mali, gender and religion – show how radio throws up new tensions yet endorses social innovation and the making of new publics. A number of essays look to radio’s current role in creating listening communities that radically shift the nature of the public sphere. Essays on the genre of the talk show in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa point to radio’s role in creating a robust public sphere. Radio’s central role in the emergence of informed publics in fragile national spaces is covered in essays on the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia. The book also highlights radio’s links to the new media, its role in resistance to oppressive regimes such as Zimbabwe, and points in several cases – for example in the essay on Uganda – to the importance of African languages in building modern communities that embrace both local and global knowledge." (Publisher description)
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"L'Afrique dans son ensemble : 28 chapitres présentant le continent par rapport au reste du monde. Tous les aspects de la géographie physique : relief, hydrographie, climat, végétation, et aussi l'histoire, les religions, les langues. L'Afrique par régions. Les cartes de localisation avec visua
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lisation géopolitique aisée, toponymie française et toponymie des Nations unies, indexation. L'Afrique pays par pays. Par ordre alphabétique les cinquante-quatre Etats du continent et les territoires dépendants (La Réunion, Mayotte, Ceuta et Melilla, etc...) - Nombreuses cartes illustrant : relief, hydrographie, agriculture, pêche et élevage, commerce, industries et ressources du sous-sol." (Description de la maison d'édition)
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"Between September and November 2009, the BBC World Service Trust’s Research and Learning Group, on behalf of the British Council, conducted research in DR congo to gauge public understanding of climate change. the research consisted of 12 focus group discussions in six locations with congolese ci
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tizens, as well as 17 in-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 dr congo’s response to climate change.
Key findings
There is a universal perception among Congolese people that their climate is changing. they tell of changes in the rainy seasons and increases in temperature and use the word ‘climate’ to describe these.
Many people talk about the “disruption” of the dry and rainy seasons and say that it is causing crop failure and affecting the country’s forests. people are particularly concerned about these changes because of the population’s reliance on natural resources.
Many are aware of the terms “climate change” and “global warming” and cite the media and schools as their main sources of information. However, few relate these terms to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Most simply use the terms to refer to the changes in the rainy seasons and increases in temperature they are experiencing.
People have a number of misconceptions. Some people inaccurately link climate change to ozone depletion, and outside the capital, most think that “global warming” refers to an increase in the temperature of the air or earth over a short period of time.
There is a strong notion of environmental stewardship linked to people’s faith. people have seen how human activity has harmed their natural environment, and they perceive that human activity could also have an effect on the weather. many think that the natural environment, including the weather, is god’s creation, and believe that they have a responsibility to protect it.
Many people believe the weather changes that they are witnessing have local causes. for example, they say that deforestation in their local area is leading to a reduction in local rainfall, and some believe that local smoke and pollution from wood fires and industry lead to increases in temperature.
Some also inaccurately relate increases in temperature to ozone depletion, which they think is caused by smoke, air pollution and other factors such as rockets and weapons. Some see changes in temperature and weather as the will of god – a view particularly prevalent among female rural populations." (Executive summary)
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This report details the results of the first year of a two-year impact assessment being conducted on the Interactive Radio for Justice project at its sites of operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic (CAR). Interactive Radio for Justice is a project designed t
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o encourage dialogue between people in regions where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating serious crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes) and the national and international authorities responsible for rendering justice to them. The project produces a number of serial radio programmes dealing with child soldiers, peace and reconciliation, and justice which broadcast over community radio in several languages.
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"Les conflits qui ont ravagé la région des Grands Lacs durant la décennie 1990 ont été tellement interconnectés que certains analystes n’ont pas hésité à parler d’une « première guerre mondiale africaine ». Pourtant, alors que la guerre a été régionale, elle a longtemps maintenu l
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es journalistes enclavés dans leur perspective nationale et a empêché les professionnels de l’information de s’ouvrir aux points de vue les uns des autres. Aujourd’hui, alors que la paix s’installe progressivement et que les tensions entre les différents pays paraissent s’apaiser, les médias de la région sont des acteurs cruciaux du processus de réconciliation. En tant qu’informateurs des citoyens et formateurs de la mémoire collective, ils peuvent contribuer à l’élimination de la méfiance et de la haine, à la lutte contre la rumeur et la désinformation, ce qui est tout à fait capital pour que les populations d’Afrique centrale puissent débattre ensemble de leur destin commun. La présente étude tente de faire le point sur la manière donc les médias issus des trois pays (Burundi, RDC et Rwanda) couvrent les enjeux de la région. Les médias accordent-ils beaucoup d’attention à ce qui se passe dans les deux pays voisins ? Abordent-ils des thématiques d’intérêt régional ? Donnent-ils la parole à leurs voisins congolais, burundais et rwandais lorsqu’il s’agit de commenter les événements qui se déroulent dans les Grands Lacs ? Contribuent-ils à générer la méfiance et les malentendus entre les communautés de la région, ou maintiennent-ils les populations dans l’ignorance les unes des autres ? Pour apporter des éléments de réponse à ces questions, cette étude se fonde sur une opération de suivi et d’analyse des contenus d’information diffusés, durant un mois, par une trentaine de médias burundais, congolais et rwandais." (Dos de couverture)
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"For almost twenty years, United Nations peacekeeping missions have set up local radio stations in conflict-prone countries - 14 to date, seven of which remain in operation. According to this report, some of the fourteen peacekeeping radio stations implemented by the United Nations contributed more
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to democratisation and media development in certain post-conflict countries than any other media assistance programmes. Surveys have confirmed their popularity and credibility with national audiences, and local journalists have lauded their contributions to media diversity and journalism standards. Nevertheless, Bill Orme states that the UN radios were created without long-term planning. Upon disappearance of UN peacekeeping missions the stations were simply closed, therefore losing their positive effects on democratisation and plurality. Only in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Radio Okapi) were there serious attempts to continue the stations after the exit of the UN missions. Based on detailed description and analysis of the different experiences, Orme formulates a number of policy steps that would help UN radios to become lasting contributions to press freedom and peacekeeping." (CAMECO Update 2-2010)
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"This collection of essays by those engaged in using mobile phone technologies for social change provides an analysis of the socio-economic, political and media contexts faced by activists in Africa today. The essays address a broad range of issues including inequalities in access to technology base
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d on gender, rural and urban usage, as well as offering practical examples of how activists are using mobile technology to organise and document their experiences. They provide an overview of the lessons learned in making effective use of mobile phone technologies without any of the romanticism so often associated with the use of new technologies for social change. The examples are shared in a way that makes them easy to replicate. The intention is that the experiences described within the book will lead to greater reflection about the real potential and limitations of mobile technologies." (Radio for Peacebuilding Africa Update July 6, 2010)
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"Marqué par la vision de l’Eglise dans le domaine des médias, le développement de la radio catholique en République démocratique du Congo s’apparente au moyen de communication sociale dont l’accès est plus ou moins facile pour une grande partie de la population, comme nous rappelle l’a
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uteur de cet ouvrage. Le contexte dans lequel s’est développée la radio catholique en République démocratique du Congo témoigne de la volonté pour chacun d’affirmer, d’afficher, de prendre conscience de sa liberté d’accès à l’information, malgré le contexte socio-économique difficile. C’est ce qui ressort aussi de cet ouvrage." (Préface Federico Lombardi, page 9)
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"Cet ouvrage a pour ambition de poser les bases d'une réflexion globale sur les enjeux actuels de l'informatisation de la RDC : quels bénéfices et avantages la RDC tirera-t-elle d'une informatisation de toute la société ? A l'inverse, quels sont les effets pervers et autres manques qui résulte
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nt de la pauvreté numérique ? Comment l'Etat peut-il s'engager dans cette logique de numérisation de façon stratégique et prospective ?" (Description de la maison d'édition)
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"This publication provides examples of the way in which media can be used for the non-violent management of regional conflicts. Practitioners from radio initiatives in Chad, Niger, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo report their experiences regarding the function and perception of the media i
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n both conflict management and the promotion of peace. The publication also shows the different contexts in which radio may be used to supply the largely illiterate population with basic information (in Niger) or as a platform for political debate (Southern Chad). The reports from the field are complemented by conceptual considerations on media in conflict-prone societies." (CAMECO Update 4-2009)
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