"The review reveals that, despite many constraints, the use of ICTs is growing in Africa and there have been successful developments in infrastructure, information management, net- working and gender-related issues. However, the literature has also revealed considerable variation between different A
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frican countries in their adoption and use of these technologies. The literature reviewed relates primarily to anglophone Africa and generally excludes telecommunications issues, as these are already well documented in other publications. In essence it is hoped that this publication will act as a window of opportunity for more nationally and locally focused empirical research and will make a contribution to under- standing the research opportunities and challenges that still face most African countries." (Foreword)
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"Die hier vorgelegte integrierte Medienstrategie für die Konrad Adenauer Stiftung im Bereich Subsahara-Afrika (festgemacht an den kohärenten Subregionen Ostafrika und südliches Afrika) kommt einer qualitativen Klammerfunktion über alle Projekte, Partner, Erfahrungen und Möglichkeiten der Stiftu
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ng im Medienbereich gleich. Ein vertikales, d.h. ausschließlich an Qualität orientiertes integriertes Medienprojekt initiiert und fördert - auf der Basis der bisher geleisteten Projektarbeit der Stiftung - einen kontinuierlichen Ausleseprozess, der über die gezielten, hier skizzierten Projektmaßnahmen zu einer Bindung von kompetenten und integeren Eliten aus den Bereichen Medien, Politik, Recht und Wirtschaft mit dem Bezug Medien und Demokratie an die Konrad Adenauer Stiftung und ihre Zielsetzungen im Bereich Demokratisierung und Medien führt. Hinter den Gegensatzpaaren Qualität statt Quantität, Fachausbildung statt Grundausbildung, Vernetzung von wenigen hochrangigen Maßnahmen statt Reihung von zahlreichen Einzelmaßnahmen, sprich Vertikalität statt Horizontalität, steht die Grundüberzeugung, dass eine politische Stiftung mit einschlägiger Erfahrung im Bereich der Medienförderung und erfolgreich vernetzten Strukturen in anderen Erdteilen (z.B. Medienprojekt in Lateinamerika, siehe Exkurs unter 3.) diesen entscheiden Schritt auch in Afrika wagen muss. Trotz anhaltender problematischer wirtschaftlicher und politischer Rahmenbedingungen sollte die Medienförderung auch hier (man möchte sagen: gerade hier) die weitere Professionalisierung von nachweislich guten Journalisten und Redakteuren und den internationalen Dialog von engagierten Medienfachleuten zum Ziel haben." (Seite 36)
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"This is a book about an inter-continental community theatre project. It is an attempt to gain a better understanding of this increasingly popular cultural practice that operates on the cutting edge between performing arts and sociocultural intervention. The main emphasis in this book, and in the ac
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companying video, has been placed on the diverse mechanics and inspirations of community theatre as an artistic process that always evolves under very particular local sociocultural conditions. Through written word and moving image, this package thus documents, contextualizes, and theorizes the methods that were used to create six community performances in distinct locations around the world in the course of 1997. Both in the video and in the book I have opted to tell these six tales as relatively independent narratives. I recommend watching the appropriate video segments before reading each book chapter, which provides the background about (community) theatre in each particular region, the facilitators, the organizations they work in, the evolution of their method, and a more technically oriented case study of the distinctive approach they used to create one specific community theatre performance in 1997." (Introduction, page 1)
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"The SADC Protocol on Culture, Information and Sport is undoubtedly a very bold step by governments in the region to harmonise their laws and policies in ways that would promote media freedom and create enabling conditions for the free flow of information. However, some provisions of the protocol re
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nege on the same noble ideas the governments seek to advance. The protocol raises two major concerns, which are: the accreditation of journalists and the introduction of a code of ethics. Instead of leaving the journalism profession to regulate itself, the protocol hints at governments playing a hand in the regulation of media and journalists. Legislated regulation of the media has a very negative effect on media freedom. The region has already witnessed several attempts to have journalists licensed and registered which led ultimately to closure of newspapers and the arrest and criminalizing of journalists for working without a registration. Any attempt, therefore, to have the registration and code of ethics dictated or regulated by the government is an affront to media freedom. Journalists should be free to set up self-regulatory structures without interference from government. Accreditation should be done by journalists’ bodies and should be recognized by government structures." (Preface)
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"This case study shares recommendations and details the lessons learned during a communications project to improve media reporting on tuberculosis (TB) in Zambia. Project partners Relay and the health research consortium TARGETS, brought together journalists and TB researchers in Zambia to explore s
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tigma around tuberculosis and to explore areas of potential conflict and collaboration. Health researchers then acted as expert advisors to journalists who produced a series of national newspaper articles and radio programmes on both national and community radio. The case study describes the partnership between Relay and TARGETS and includes several useful recommendations for organisations interested in undertaking similar projects to report research." (Panos website)
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