"Thanks to an inclusive and context-sensitive selection process of youth journalists and relevant and participatory capacity-building sessions, the project successfully empowered hard to reach youth by providing them with a range of transferable skills that they have been able to use both within and
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beyond the project. The young journalists were able to produce quality radio programming which was very positively received by the communities, as 90 percent of surveyed community members found that the radio programs produced by the young journalists as part of the project bring an added value on critical social and political issues. This is a significant improvement from the baseline (35,7 percent in South Sudan, 16,7 percent in CAR and 76,2 percent in Mali), thus indicating the program’s success in changing perceptions regarding the value of youth’s perspectives. Nonetheless, both the audience and project staff identified avenues for improving the reach of the radio programs, including exploring other media, and increasing communication around the program and broadcast times. Beyond enabling youth journalists to produce high-quality radio programs, the project also benefits them by fostering motivation, entrepreneurialism, agency and success as the evaluation found evidence of youth journalists creating their own initiatives, and acting as mediators in conflicts between friends or in their family. In addition, amongst youth from the community who participated in project activities, the project led to increased awareness of their role and capacities as change agents." (Key findings, page 6)
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"This report presents findings from a country assessment undertaken to facilitate digital financial inclusion in Ethiopia and gives an overview of the current digital financial services landscape in the country. It also identifies some of the barriers to digital financial inclusion and suggests how
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they might be removed." (Executive summary)
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"Community radio is an important tool in bridging the information gap and in mobilizing society for development activities. This study aimed at investigating the emphasis of community radio programs in enhancing socio-economic development perspectives: the case of Sidama Radio in Yirgalem town, Ethi
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opia. The study employed qualitative methods; and in-depth interviews, FGD, and document analysis were the data collection tools used for this study. To select the FGD employees, availability sampling employed, and purposive sampling for one program coordinator and one manager from the station. The findings of the study demonstrated that the Sidama radio gave more airtime and emphasis on local issues and social development programs. The findings also revealed that Sidama radio produces different social, entertainment and education programs with the social development perspectives of the community. The findings depicted that there are also programs that promote the local language and culture through local music, and narration. The study also depicted that the community members participate in the administration of the station as well as in the production of the programs as the radio provides a platform for community and community participation and empowerment as many of the volunteer journalists are from the community. The media practitioners have the same understanding of the role of community radio for social interaction and empowerment although lack of finance and skills manpower were problems of the radio. It was recommended that continuous research in the area should be undertaken." (Abstract)
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"Community radio has begun to flourish in Zimbabwe in recent years. But for stations to truly support the communities they serve, it is imperative that they are transparent about who owns them." (Introduction)
"The potential benefits of increased digitalisation to refugees, living in situations where access to information and spaces for communication exchange are of the essence, are yet to be realised. Uganda’s forced migrants, both those in refugee settlements and those self-settled in urban areas, hav
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e demonstrated their eagerness to get and stay connected to the internet through social media platforms, regardless of the challenging context. The internet connectivity available to them ranges from cellular networking, wireless local area networking to personal area networking technologies. As communications systems and networks continue to grow and new social media applications are developed, the lives of refugees and humanitarians operating in settings of asylum are in reasingly likely to be affected in dynamic ways. As Maitland (2020) reminds us, connectivity (and its risks) can help overcome or ameliorate some of the sources of vulnerability. The road ahead is paved with complexities associated with refugee protection and inclusion in humanitarian programming in a ubiquitous digital environment, further accelerated by the exigencies of social distancing due to Covid-19." (Conclusion, page 35)
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"Malawi has seen an exponential growth of its media, both in quality and quantity. For example, there were only two broadcasting stations at the start of the 1990s, while Malawi has increased this over the years to 57 radio stations and 14 television broadcasters. Although the plurality of Malawi’
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s media greatly increased, the functioning of the media has still been affected by arrests of media practitioners, outdated laws and other constraints. This report offers an extensive overview of the status of the media in Malawi, based on an assessment of the UNESCO Media Development Indicators (MDIs). It analyses the legal and regulatory framework, the plurality of the media, safety of journalists and other relevant media development indicators, while at same time providing relevant recommendations for all stakeholders involved. The recommendations cover a large number of issues, some notable ones focused on: the conception of self-regulatory systems; the safeguarding of journalists; the introduction of a code for the regulation of advertisement practices; the reform of outdated laws relating to media practitioners." (Short summary)
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"The quality of journalistic reporting in Tanzania reveals a twofold pattern. On the one hand, there is a significant increase in quality in 2022 relative to the quality performance reported in 2019. In fact, the performance in many quality criteria for all media types has improved in terms of multi
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ple sourcing, reporting from more than one perspective, explaining root causes. Nevertheless, these improved performance levels still need further enhancement for tangible benefits to materialise. On the other hand, some areas remain entirely low-key and need drastic changes. In this regard, there are still fewer pieces than 2019 offering opinion and viewpoints (11%), and hardly any media pieces showing opposing viewpoints in the same unit (below 2%). Moreover, few media units (below 4%) express arguments critical of the government. This neglected area should be a source of grave concern and one that requires attention from all and sundry in the media fraternity. The positive development occurred mainly on TV newscasts and programmes. Multiple sourcing, reporting with more perspectives, root causes manifested in 2022 mainly in both TV newscasts and programmes. A notable increase in performance is also evident in radio news, albeit on a lesser scale than on TV. In radio programmes, the performance level has stabilised with no notable upward movement. In contrast, newspapers exhibited a minor positive development. Apparently, some TV and radio stations improved their quality of journalistic reporting at a time when the print sector stagnated." (Executive summary)
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"This study profiles Tanzanian journalists at a time when the role of the media occupies the centre stage. Specifically, it seeks to answer this critical question who are Tanzanian journalists? In terms of socio-demographics, work environment, specialisation, editorial autonomy, professional attitud
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es and beliefs, institutional trust, and major threat in exercising their journalistic freedom." (Introduction)
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"This study examines racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia on Facebook and Twitter. The authors were looking for patterns in the mass of posts, tweets, and images that circulate on social media. To do this, they focused on a series of case studies. These demonstrate that political discussion on socia
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l media is often dominated by angry and loud voices who too often seem to press the 'send button' before thinking of the consequences, or, in some cases, deliberately aim to sow discord and division." (Foreword)
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"This study analyses the impacts of COVID-19 and its associated public policy responses on digital and intersectional inequality in South Africa from a demand-side perspective. The overarching research question it seeks to address is: To what extent were people in South Africa able to mitigate the n
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egative (health and economic) effects of the pandemic and lockdowns through digital substitution? It draws on the results of a national phone questionnaire of 1 400 randomly selected respondents and the findings from six focus groups of men and women from urban and rural areas to examine the levels of digital substitution in relation to work, schooling and economic activity (such as banking, e-commerce and online business). It also investigates how digital substitution enabled access to social protection and COVID-19 relief. Finally, it discusses how public and infrastructure policies could be optimised for post-pandemic recovery and future policies." (Executive summary)
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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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"Researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) led a two-year investigation into the online media ecosystem of al-Shabaab and the Islamic State in Africa, analyzing the role of “independent news” outlets and their intersections with hundreds-strong networks of amplifier profiles on F
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acebook linked to a number of central pages identifying themselves as “media outlets” or “media personalities” operating in Somali, Kiswahili and Arabic. Researchers found that the network of support for al-Shabaab and Islamic State extended across several platforms, including decentralized messaging applications such as Element and RocketChat, and encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram, as well as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. A qualitative cross-platform analysis showed the most active, networked, and multilingual ecosystem of support for al-Shabaab and the Islamic State existed on Facebook, where profiles and pages classified as “media outlets” were sharing terrorist content openly and eschewing private groups and profiles. The content that ISD researchers observed through the networks is often linked to “media” and “media personality” pages in Somali, Kiswahili and Arabic, and not only violates the platform’s community guidelines, but also points to language moderation blind spots that have been previously documented by journalists as well as whistleblowers." (Publisher description)
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"Trust in the news has fallen in almost half the countries in our survey, and risen in just seven, partly reversing the gains made at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. On average, around four in ten of our total sample (42%) say they trust most news most of the time. Finland remains the countr
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y with the highest levels of overall trust (69%), while news trust in the USA has fallen by a further three percentage points and remains the lowest (26%) in our survey.
• Consumption of traditional media, such as TV and print, declined further in the last year in almost all markets (pre-Ukraine invasion), with online and social consumption not making up the gap. While the majority remain very engaged, others are turning away from the news media and in some cases disconnecting from news altogether. Interest in news has fallen sharply across markets, from 63% in 2017 to 51% in 2022.
• Meanwhile, the proportion of news consumers who say they avoid news, often or sometimes, has increased sharply across countries. This type of selective avoidance has doubled in both Brazil (54%) and the UK (46%) over the last five years, with many respondents saying news has a negative effect on their mood. A significant proportion of younger and less educated people say they avoid news because it can be hard to follow or understand – suggesting that the news media could do much more to simplify language and better explain or contextualise complex stories.
• In the five countries we surveyed after the war in Ukraine had begun, we find that television news is relied on most heavily – with countries closest to the fighting, such as Germany and Poland, seeing the biggest increases in consumption. Selective news avoidance has, if anything, increased further – likely due to the difficult and depressing nature of the coverage.
• Global concerns about false and misleading information remain stable this year, ranging from 72% in Kenya and Nigeria to just 32% in Germany and 31% in Austria. People say they have seen more false information about Coronavirus than about politics in most countries, but the situation is reversed in Turkey, Kenya, and the Philippines, amongst others." (Summary, page 10)
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"Tanzania has exercised authority on digital avenues in three main vital ways:
• Surveillance: Data governance in Tanzania has been one area that has had fewer restrictions as there are still laws that adequately speak to things such as data protection and privacy. However, laws such as the Cyberc
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rime Act provide government agencies with leeway to access certain things when it suits them.
• Internet censorship: Tanzania’s first internet shutdown happened in 2020 and did not come as a surprise, as the country had already shown red flags in terms of internet censorship. The control and regulation of who and what content is allowed online have prompted many to believe that Tanzania is on the verge of building a replica of China’s Great Firewall that will keep the space regulated and stirred by the government’s agenda.
• Legislating restrictions: This is used to constrain freedom of expression and curb speech. Press freedom has been stifled through laws, citizen journalism has been taxed, and free speech has been tagged as sedition or misinformation. It is clearing the path for the government to have the upper hand in controlling narratives and polarising opinions." (Executive summary)
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"In recent years, China’s playbook for expanding influence under the banner of “common destiny” is well known, with tactics ranging from ‘soft power’ incentive structures to ‘wolf warrior’ diplomatic brawls played out on the front pages of local newspapers. But how consistent is China
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s approach, especially against the backdrop of two years of pandemic disruption and a recalibrating global political environment? The purpose of this IFJ research project is to understand how the Chinese government ad media apparatus attempt to influence the global narrative about China’s role and place in the world. Since 2019, IFJ research has been gathered and compiled in collaboration with journalists’ unions in countries including Myanmar, Tunisia, Serbia, Italy, Kenya, Peru, and the Philippines. Through a series of surveys, round table discussions, interviews and other types of research, data and information has been gathered to help inform understanding about China’s approach to the media and its efforts to shape a global narrative on China before and after Covid-19 [...] This report, which surveys working journalists directly in China’s high-priority investment and infrastructure locations (Kenya, Peru, and the Philippines), finds evidence that overt ambassadorial gestures and direct pressure on local journalists is not common. On the flip side, attempts to influence international perceptions via ‘vaccine diplomacy’ and investment in expanding Chinese media networks in international markets appears to be thriving." (Summary, page 2)
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