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"Big changes start small": Geschichten von Menschen, die etwas bewegen. Ein Wirkungsbericht

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2020), 97 pp.

"Die DW Akademie sammelt und dokumentiert die Wirkungen ihrer Projekte auf verschiedenen Ebenen, mit verschiedenen Methoden. Dazu zählen zunächst drei Wege, die heute Standard in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit sind: erstens angewandte Studien, die neues Wissen über Wirkungen ermöglichen, zweiten ... more

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The Politics of Information and Analysis in Humanitarian Emergencies: Evidence from Ethiopia

Daniel Maxwell, Lindsay Spainhour Baker, Peter Hailey

Boston: Feinstein International Center (2020), 27 pp.

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New Digital Media: Freedom of Expression and Safeguarding Journalists in the Context of East Africa

Tonny Raymond Kirabira

Cross Cultural Human Rights Review, volume 2, issue 1 (2020), pp. 49-71

"Many East African states have developed restrictive legal and policy measures regarding the use of the internet. This has resulted in the declining state of media freedom and safety of journalists. This article addresses freedom of expression as a pre-condition for safeguarding journalists in selec ... more

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Media and Information Literacy Index. Country Report Côte D’Ivoire

Luise Krumm, Dennis Reineck

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2020), 27 pp.

"Young Ivorians are adept at using digital media. They are creative when it comes to using digital media and many have developed strategies to cope with media malpractices such as cyberbullying or hate speech. These are two significant, indicative findings from the present MIL INDEX country study. B ... oth seem very impressive considering the challenges of high illiteracy rates and the strongly politicized national media landscape in Côte d’Ivoire. The results of the study are drawn from eight focus groups conducted in the beginning of 2019 in Abidjan and Bouaké and interviews with eight local experts. They confirm that young people are very good at using and creating content on social media but urgently need better critical, analytical, and reflective skills. This MIL INDEX study is aimed at obtaining a concise picture of media- and information-related skills amongst youths under the age of 35 in Côte d’Ivoire. It addresses five dimensions of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) according to DW Akademie’s MIL model: access, analysis, reflection, creation, and action. In terms of access the focus groups conducted for this study reveal that young urban and semi-urban Ivorians use a variety of different media for purposes such as consuming information, communication, entertainment, education, or business information. Digital media, particularly social media platforms and instant messengers, are the most used and most popular among this age group and are generally preferred over traditional media. Nonetheless, radio and television are still valued for their auditory and visual input which are significant characteristics considering the high illiteracy rates of about 40,4 % present in Côte d’Ivoire (UIS, 2018). A divide between more urban and more rural regions is visible in the case of radio programs, which are more popular in more rural settings. The focus groups suggest this is due to the fact that local radio stations are often the only media which provide news relevant to more remote areas. Most other media show a tendency to focus only on news from the capital. Printed media are widely regarded as too costly and outdated by Ivorian youths. The results of the analysis dimension indicate that most focus group participants possess a good digital and media knowledge while at the same time many lack awareness of their rights to freedom of expression and access to information. Striking was that youths generally consider content provided by traditional media to be more trustworthy, but mainly consume social media content. This and often very loose definitions of what media quality means showed that there is still room for improvement when it comes to the young people’s analytical skills. Overall, urbanites seem to question the trustworthiness of media content slightly more than youths from more rural regions. Results from the reflection dimension confirm that Ivorian youths are constantly exposed to malevolent forms of communication and media malpractices such as cyberbullying, hate speech, sexual harassment, and disinformation. Most young people show strong abilities when it comes to recognizing media problems and using prevention or coping strategies to handle them. Exceptions are politically motivated disinformation and biased reporting which are taken as normal in the Ivorian context. Due to this tendency towards normalization only very few young people reflect critically upon this media malpractice. Reflection on a deeper level such as on the impact of media messages or motivations of news outlets is often missing among young people." (Executive summary) more

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Media and Information Literacy Index. Country Report Namibia

Dennis Reineck

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2020), 25 pp.

"Young Namibians are embracing the digital transformation, according to indicative findings from the present MIL INDEX country study. Interestingly, the youths that took part in eight focus groups conducted at the end of 2018 in Windhoek and Rundu are immersed in digital communication but are aware ... of the ambivalent nature of the news and information sources they find on social media and related Internet services. The importance of a critical mindset when navigating the World Wide Web was stressed by the eight experts interviewed as part of the study. This MIL INDEX study addresses five dimensions of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) according to DW Akademie’s MIL model: access, analysis, reflection, creation, and action. The focus groups conducted for this study reveal that there is a rural/urban divide in terms of access and use of media. The more rural (and older) groups use radio and television on a regular basis, while the more urban (and younger) groups tend to regard traditional media as yesterday’s media. This shift is in line with the rise of social media. Information uptake is coincidental and journalistic content is intermingled with all sorts of trivia when consumed in social networks. Smartphones are regarded by many as a substitute for newspapers, radio, and television. Amongst those who continue using traditional media, radio is turned to more often for information while TV is regarded more as an entertainment medium. Considering analytical skills, there is a certain disenchantment of the Namibian youths with journalistic media, the reporting being considered not close enough to the interests and issues of the youth. But it was interesting to find that the focus group participants’ appraisal of media in terms of trustworthiness is the exact opposite of their consumption patterns. While the discussions documented frequent use of social media these are evaluated as least trustworthy, whereas newspapers are rated highly on the trustworthiness scale but were hardly ever read. There is an awareness of the ambivalent quality of news and information on social media, but the youths cannot always name sources they consider produce high-quality information. The results in the reflection dimension are ambivalent. The youths can recount numerous cases of cyberbullying and disinformation (“fake news”). But the accompanying survey shows that while they reject hate speech and disinformation, there is a certain willingness to accept cyberbullying as given. This is echoed in the focus groups where participants’ advice is often to ignore hateful messages, rather than do something about them. However, the groups do discuss many other strategies in coming to terms with and combatting cyberbullying and disinformation. Rarely do they reflect the motivations that lie behind such behavior. It was also interesting to note that disinformation is mainly discussed with regards to online rather than traditional media." (Executive summary) more

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Evaluating Academic and Media Nongovernmental Organization Partnerships for Participatory Data Gathering

Emma Heywood, Beatrice Ivey, Sacha Meuter

International Journal of Market Research, volume 63, issue 1 (2020), pp. 43-57

"This article discusses participatory methods for data gathering in the context of a partnership between a Swiss-based media development organization, Fondation Hirondelle, and a research team at the University of Sheffield. In 2018–2019, the partnership conducted fieldwork which focused on the im ... more

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Stratégie Nationale de Communication et de Plaidoyer en faveur de la Nutrition au Burkina Faso 2020-2024

Gouvernement du Burkina Faso (2020), 111 pp.

"Le présent document de stratégie fournit, sur la base de l’analyse situationnelle, le cadre logique des interventions, délimite les domaines stratégiques, précise les objectifs tant généraux que spécifiques et les résultats attendus des différentes activités qui seront programmées. Il ... more

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Ghana’s E-Learning Program During Pandemic Presents Access Challenges for Many Students

Mavis Zupork Dome, Daniel Armah-Attoh

Afrobarometer (2020), 9 pp.

"Afrobarometer findings show that radio and television are the most widely accessible platforms for students seeking to participate in MoE/GES e-learning programs, although rural and poor households are at a disadvantage when it comes to owning these devices. The data show relatively low rates of ac ... more

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Africa’s Digital Divide and the Promise of E-Learning
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Matthias Krönke

Afrobarometer (2020), 18 pp.

"On average across 34 countries, one in five adults (20%) have access to both a smartphone and a computer, while 43% only have access to a basic cell phone. In 15 out of 34 countries, at least half of adults have access to a smartphone or a computer or both. About three in 10 respondents (31%) use t ... more

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Media and COVID-19 in West Africa: Nigeria

Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) (2020), 8 pp.

"Generally, the relevant authorities in Nigeria have, to a large extent, been proactive with press briefings and national addresses since the outbreak of the pandemic. However, reporters have realised that they are often unable to access information beyond what is said in the briefings. Officials so ... more

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Radio: Stronger and more vibrant than ever

UNESCO Courier, issue January-March (2020), pp. 6-27

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Freedom on the Net 2020: The Pandemic's Digital Shadow
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Washington, DC: Freedom House (2020), 33 pp.

"Three notable trends punctuated an especially dismal year for internet freedom. First, political leaders used the pandemic as a pretext to limit access to information. Authorities often blocked independent news sites and arrested individuals on spurious charges of spreading false news. In many plac ... more

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Participatory Media Cultures: Virality, Humour, and Online Political Contestations in Kenya

Lynete Lusike Mukhongo

Africa Spectrum, volume 55, issue 2 (2020), pp. 148-169

"The article seeks to discuss varied forms of citizen engagement in the era of Internet viral cultures, ranging from (1) the use of social media for online protest, characterised by political contestation and fleeting outbursts of anger and backlash in the Twittersphere, to (2) the appropriation of ... more

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Alternative Expressions of Citizen Voices: The Protest Song and Popular Engagements with the Mozambican State

Anésio Manhiça, Alex Shankland, Kátia Taela, Euclides Gonçalves, Catija Maivasse, Mariz Tadros

Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies (IDS) (2020), 51 pp.

"The discussion is based on an analysis of 46 protest songs, interviews with musicians, music producers and event promoters as well as field interviews and observations among audiences at selected popular music concerts and public workshops in Maputo city. Secondary data were drawn from radio broadc ... more

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Making Civic Space Resilient

Cordaid;Hivos (2020), 31 pp.

"The 10 countries included in this paper all show specific characteristics and contexts but also show similar barriers. Identifying shared characteristics will facilitate the development of shared approaches to deal with shrinking space. Don’t work in silos! It’s (also) about upholding the law: ... more

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Mediated Sociability: Audience Participation and Convened Citizen Engagement in Interactive Broadcast Shows in Africa

Sharath Srinivasan, Claudia Abreu Lopes

International Journal of Communication, volume 14 (2020), pp. 2985-3006

"This article examines what drives audience participation in interactive broadcast shows, with implications for the democratic potential of these shows as spaces of citizen engagement and public discussion. It makes three contributions, the first two to audience and media studies and the last to pol ... more

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Digital Neo-Colonialism: The Chinese Model of Internet Sovereignty in Africa

Willem Gravett

African Human Rights Law Journal, volume 20, issue 1 (2020), pp. 125-146

"China is making a sustained effort to become a ‘cyber superpower’. An integral part of this effort is the propagation by Beijing of the notion of ‘internet sovereignty’ – China’s supreme right to govern the internet within its borders and keep it under rigid control. Chinese companies w ... more

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Civil Society in the Digital Age in Africa: Identifying Threats and Mounting Pushbacks

Hlengiwe Dube, Maristella A. Simiyu, Tomiwa Ilori

Pretoria; Kampala: Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria;CIPESA (2020), 78 pp.

"The report documents the threats to civil society in the digital age by examining the legislative and regulatory framework in four countries in Africa: Egypt, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia. These countries were selected from the four main geographic regions of Africa, in order to provide a sense ... more

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Digital Vigilantism, Social Media and Cyber Criminality

Karen Allen, Isel van Zyl

Institute for Security Studies (ISS) (2020), 15 pp.

"Social media platforms have become powerful tools to amplify and share narratives. Like many evolving technologies, platforms such as Twitter or Facebook may be used for social good or for ill. Digital vigilantism (whereby social media platforms are used for organised shaming, hounding or doxing of ... more

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Literature Review on African Youth and the Impact of Narrative

Rebecca Pointer

Africa No Filter (2020), 13 pp.

"The literature on African youth narratives about Africa is sparse. Only one report in the literature review focussed on youth narratives, and it indicated that youth did not value their own stories, but relied on western tropes in storytelling. We came across nine recent reports based on attitudina ... more

Africa’s Digital Divide and the Promise of E-Learning Top Insights

Freedom on the Net 2020: The Pandemic's Digital Shadow Top Insights

Africa’s Digital Divide and the Promise of E-Learning
Top Insights

Freedom on the Net 2020: The Pandemic's Digital Shadow
Top Insights