"This report advances the Meaningful Connectivity framework as a way to support more inclusive societies and strengthen digital economies. It measures the gap in the number of people with just basic internet access and those with meaningful connectivity and examines what this digital divide means fo
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r people’s online experiences. The framework focuses on four pillars: 4G-like speeds, smartphone ownership, daily use, and unlimited access at a regular location, like home, work, or a place of study. This report looks at nine low and middle income countries (Colombia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa), using mobile phone surveys to estimate the number of people with meaningful connectivity in each. We found that, on average, only one in ten people in these countries have meaningful connectivity. This compares with just under half who have basic internet access, by latest official figures." (Executive summary, page 3)
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"As part of the Inclusive Futures programme, BBC Media Action produced a radio drama, Story Story, and accompanying social media content, to tackle stigma and discrimination around disability in Nigeria. This content was broadcast from November 2020 to November 2021 through local radio partners in s
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ix states – Enugu, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kano, Kaduna, Kogi and Lagos. This briefing draws on a literature review and key insights from BBC Media Action’s mixed-methods evaluation of the drama conducted in June and July 2021. The evaluation included a large-scale quantitative household survey and qualitative research in the six states. It examines the evidence for using drama to address disability-related stigma, discusses lessons on how best to engage audiences on disability inclusion through media and evaluates the impact of the Story Story drama on audiences. It also includes examples of characters, storylines and dialogues to illustrate how the drama addressed disability inclusion and related stigma. The briefing concludes by reflecting on what the evaluation tells us about the role that media and communication, specifically drama, can play in supporting disability inclusion and tackling disability-related stigma and discrimination." (Page 2)
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"It aims at providing a holistic view of digital transformation in the agriculture sector of 47 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The region’s digital agriculture landscape is assessed through six key themes, namely: infrastructure, digital penetration, policy and regulation, business environment,
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human capital and agro-innovation. Beyond the analysis of the region against the six focal themes, the report presents both the status-quo and challenges faced by countries in their digital transformation journeys, which can assist policymakers to identify possible areas of intervention to drive the process of agricultural digitalization in the region. It highlights the need to strengthen digital infrastructure for universal connectivity, to connect the unconnected in sub-Saharan Africa and to support the integration of digital technologies to advance digital agricultural transformation." (Foreword)
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"This research presents findings and recommendations about the nature, scale, and impact of threats faced by select categories of public-facing women in Sierra Leone. Specifically, by women human rights defenders (HRDs) and women journalists." (Research methodology)
"Key findings: exposure to vaccination information from faith leaders and health facilities was associated with increased likelihood of vaccination uptake; the significant association between exposure to a greater number of immunization information sources and increased likelihood of vaccination upt
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ake reinforces the need for multiple sources to provide consistent and accurate immunization information to facilitate positive vaccination behavior. Key implications: social and behavior change communication interventions may optimize the promotion of immunization services through multiple information sources such as health facilities and community-based assets including faith leaders and lay community health workers; religion and faith play an important role in how people understand health and make health decisions. In Sierra Leone and other similar settings, interventions to improve uptake of immunization services may be enhanced by proactively engaging faith leaders." (Page 1)
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"The guidelines contained here specify steps and measures that newsrooms and journalists in West Africa can take to mitigate the problem of online abuse. The purpose is not to shield journalists from criticism or promote the criminalization of online speech, but to deal with a real threat facing jou
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rnalism today, which has the potential to erode press freedom in West Africa if it goes unchecked." (Introduction, page 4)
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"The commercial advertising industry in Sierra Leone is in a parlous state – unstructured, uncoordinated and unregulated. The shambolic nature of the industry stems from three major shortcomings – a lack of policy regulation, a limited market, and poor professional practices. Existing policy whi
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ch exists only at the level of the Independent Media Commission (IMC) - the body tasked with regulating the media, public relations and advertising practices in accordance with the Independent Media Commission Act, 2020 – is limited to ethical considerations. Just one section (Section 4) of the Media Code of Practice is dedicated to the advertising industry. In the context of the advertising market itself, Sierra Leone has a modest economy with little competition, especially in the private sector. Brand advertising opportunities are few and far between and the government, which is among the leading advertisers in the country, is regarded as a bad debtor, particularly where paying fees to the media industry is concerned. Furthermore, rather than seeking to get value for money, government ministries, departments and agencies are widely suspected of using a system of political patronage and kickbacks when allocating and/or distributing advertising contracts to the media." (Executive summary)
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"This programme and meeting document contains details and reflections on the Communication and Information Programme that developed activities such as the promotion of access to credible and reliable information on the pandemic, journalists' safety, media development, media and information literacy
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to counter misinformation, etc." (commbox)
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"The exhibition focuses on how young people envision their identities in their respective countries: what mental images do they collectively have about their life experiences. Thus, this project seeks to present collective memories from different parts of the world in an exhibition that will promote
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visual culture. It explores the way in which parts of the world presents themselves within a contemporary space. This exhibition therefore aims at giving the younger generation an edge in the visualization and narration of their understanding of the past through various means of artistic expressions. The expectation is that, these students’ works, created and exhibited from a wide and divergent cultural experience would provide some sort of emotional templates and indicators for the understanding of other cultures." (Introduction, page 5)
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"All respondents had experienced online violence. Misogynistic hate speech, sexists’ comments, body shaming as well as slut shaming was common among the women journalists and WHRDs interviewed. These threats were also extended to their families, friends, relatives and networks. Another frequently
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mentioned attack was the attempted hacking into women’s email. Most of the women interviewed reduced their online activity and presence in response to online violence whereas others deactivated some of their online accounts. The story theme most often identified in association with increased attacks was gender, followed by politics and elections, human rights and social policy. Anonymous or unknown attackers are the most frequently noted source of attacks according to the women respondents. Facebook was mentioned as the least safe among social media platforms/apps used by women participants, with most of the respondents saying it was “very unsafe” compared to Twitter. Most of the women journalists did not report incidents of online violence to their employers or security personnel."
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"A travers le projet « Autonomiser les jeunes en Afrique à travers les médias et la communication », mis en oeuvre dans 8 pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre (Cameroun, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinée-Conakry, Mali, Niger, Nigeria et Sénégal), l’UNESCO a, de septembre 2018 à septembr
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e 2022, oeuvré à l’amélioration de l’accès à l’information sur la migration afin de permettre aux jeunes de prendre des décisions éclairées sur la question. Les diverses interventions du projet ont porté notamment sur le renforcement des capacités des hommes et femmes professionnel(le)s des médias en matière de traitement de l’information, ou d’investigation journalistique, sur divers aspects de la migration, ainsi que la sensibilisation des jeunes, tant en ligne que hors ligne, sur l’importance du recours à l’information fiable sur la migration. Le projet s’est aussi attelé à analyser les pratiques et contenus des médias en rapport avec la migration afin de déceler des tendances, faiblesses et autres bonnes pratiques. Bien que le projet ait permis d’importantes réalisations en terme de production de contenus médiatiques (en français, anglais et en plus de 80 langues nationales) alliant qualité informationnelle, diversité des narratifs et représentation inclusive des voix (jeunes, femmes, hommes, etc.) de la migration, l’un des enjeux majeurs aujourd’hui est d’assurer la pérennisation de l’approche dans un contexte de montée de la désinformation relayée à travers les réseaux sociaux et aggravée par l’insuffisance de ressources dont les médias ont besoin pour assurer la production de contenus informationnels fiables et de qualité. Pour ce faire, il convient d’interroger, pour dégager des pistes d’action, les processus et les facteurs qui impactent la production médiatique, la construction des narratifs, les représentions des voix de la migration en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre. C’est à cette fin qu’a été organisée du 6 au 8 Septembre 2022 à Niamey la Conférence régionale : « Médias et voix de la migration en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre ». Les principales thématiques pour orienter les échanges pendant la Conférence régionale sont : « Enjeux et défis de la diversité des voix de la migration dans les médias »; « Médias et représentation de la migration et des personnes migrantes »; « Production de contenus éditoriaux sur la migration et facteurs d’influence »; « Importance de l’accès à l’information « complète » et de qualité sur la migration. » (Contexte et justification, page 4)
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"Radio is the dominant news source in Liberia, tuned in “every day” or “a few times a week” by 87% of adults. Almost four in 10 citizens (38%) say they regularly get news from the Internet and social media, while only about one in five are regular consumers of news via television (21%) and n
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ewspapers (16%). Three-fourths (76%) of Liberians say the media should “constantly investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption.” Six in 10 citizens (61%) say the media should be free to publish without government interference. But only one in five (19%) see Liberia’s media as “somewhat” or “completely” free. Despite support for media freedom, majorities say the government should be able to restrict the sharing of false information (74%), information that criticizes or insults the president (69%), hate speech (68%), and information or opinions that the government disapproves of (59%). Politicians (76%) and government officials (74%) are most widely seen as knowingly spreading false information. Among Liberians who have heard of social media, most (80%) see its impact on society as positive, although majorities also think it makes people more susceptible to fake news (73%) and more intolerant of other viewpoints (66%). More than seven in 10 Liberians (72%) say access to social media and the Internet should not be regulated by the government." (Key findings, page 2)
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"This report provides an overview of the comparative innovation capacity of the Africa region through ICT-centric Innovation policy monitors and shares insights about good practices strengthening the capacity to integrate ICT innovation in national development agendas. Overall, although sub-Saharan
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Africa has benefited from rapidly growing innovation systems, its performance in the three engines of growth must improve for the region to become a real actor on the global stage. Nigeria for example, has an entrepreneurial ecosystem that is performing well, while its technological and innovation ecosystems need further support to turn the country into a thriving digital innovation ecosystem.
To understand these discrepancies, the report introduces two ICT-centric innovation policy monitors: the three engines of growth monitor and the enablers of digital transformation monitor. The report notes that there are many good practices in the region fuelling the entrepreneurial journey. Each practice presented in the report was analysed based on its impact in a third ICT-centric innovation policy monitor, the ecosystem maturity map monitor. Each stakeholder group, at each of the five stages of the entrepreneurial journey, is assessed by its level of engagement to assess the maturity of the ecosystem. For example, the first stage of the journey for entrepreneurs is entrepreneurial interest, while for the public sector, it is having a vision and strategy. The monitor enables stakeholders to visualize the maturity of the ICT-centric innovation ecosystem and identify which practices to keep, which must be improved and which to replace." (Introduction)
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"The analysis is based on online media coverage in five languages throughout the year. CARE sees a concerning trend of crises being neglected year after year. Six out of the ten crises are located on the African continent. The Central African Republic has appeared in the ranking for five consecutive
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years. Both Madagascar and Burundi – the latter this year’s number 1 with the least media coverage – have made CARE’s list four times so far. This lack of attention adds to burdens such as the severe effects of COVID-19 restrictions and the growing impact of climate change in these countries." (https://reliefweb.int)
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"In journalism, there are still growing concerns about the ratio of men to women, even though women's presence in the newsroom have increased progressively. The issues of gender stereotyping and discrimination against women have emerged over time and still remain an issue of great concern. In view o
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f this, using the gender theory, this chapter aims to interrogate the issues of female representation in the practice of journalism in Ghana, in terms of numbers, portrayals, and discriminations. To achieve the aim, the study employs a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews. The study reveal that men still dominate the journalism profession in Ghana. Also women in the newsroom are portrayed on one hand as capable and hardworking and on the other hand as emotional and immoral. Furthermore, women in journalism in Ghana are discriminated against in terms of salary structure and job roles. It was also revealed that female journalists in Ghana are employing strategies like apathy and rebelliousness to deal with the negative portrayals and discrimination against them." (Abstract)
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"The publication is focused on the ways fake news, disinformation, misinformation and hateful statements are spread across society, predominantly within the online environment. Its main ambition is to offer an interdisciplinary body of scholarly knowledge on fake news, disinformation and propaganda
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in relation to today's journalism, social development, political situation and cultural affairs happening all around the world." (Publisher description)
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"Mali’s first non-state radio went on air during the authoritarian rule of Moussa Traoré in 1988, challenging the common narrative that ties political and media liberalization together. Negotiations were conducted by Italian NGOs at a time when such organizations had become key political actors i
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n Sahelian countries. The implementation of Radio Rurale de Kayes was part of a wider infrastructural project that notably included a road. This historical account follows the metaphorical and literal association between the radio and the road in order to reflect on mobility and its constraints. Tracing the radio’s trajectory from space-making to community-building, it shows how the station managed to sustain itself thanks to its position within an emerging network of associations led by return migrants and because of how it fitted into local infrastructures of mobility, thus calling for a stronger attention to the relation between radio, the audiences it convenes, and space." (Abstract)
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"This edited volume considers why the African language press is unstable and what can be done to develop quality African language journalism into a sustainable business. Providing an overview of the African language journalism landscape, this book examines the challenges of operating sustainable Afr
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ican language media businesses. The chapters explore the political economy and management of African language media and consider case studies of the successes and failures of African language newspapers, as well as the challenges of developing quality journalism." (Publisher description)
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