"This book advances alternative approaches to understanding media, culture and technology in two vibrant regions of the Global South. Bringing together scholars from Africa and the Caribbean, it traverses the domains of communication theory, digital technology strategy, media practice reforms, and c
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orporate and cultural renewal. The first section tackles research and technology with new conceptual thinking from the South. The book then looks at emerging approaches to community digital networks, online diaspora entertainment, and video gaming strategies. The volume then explores reforms in policy and professional practice, including in broadcast television, online newspapers, media philanthropy, and business news reporting. Its final section examines the role of village-based folk media, the power of popular music in political opposition, and new approaches to overcoming neo-colonial propaganda and external corporate hegemony." (Publisher description)
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"There is a heated debate about the social-sustainability implications of infrastructure. We engage this debate by delving into China’s Digital Silk Road (DSR), an important component of China’s infrastructure-centric Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Optimists and pessimists have offered strong v
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iews about the DSR’s social-sustainability implications. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of analytical tools and in-depth studies which can be used to judge their competing arguments. In this article, we address these problems in two ways. First, we advance an original scheme for operationalizing social sustainability. Second, we use our framework to systematically analyze the DSR’s social-sustainability effects in Ethiopia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Hungary. Our research indicates that much of the positive and negative commentary about the DSR’s social-sustainability implications is problematic. None of our cases show significant year-to-year changes in political or quality-of-life social-sustainability benchmarks. Indeed, our analysis indicates that analysts must pay close attention to the political and economic context to understand the social-sustainability patterns associated with DSR infrastructure. Finally, it suggests that the social-sustainability implications of DSR infrastructure are dependent on its scale and nature. These findings have ramifications for broader debates about the socioeconomic impact of infrastructure." (Abstract)
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"Of the eight countries surveyed here, only four have comprehensive data protection privacy acts in place: Kenya, South Africa, Togo and Uganda. But as these research reports suggest, this is not necessarily a strong indicator of whether a country is committed to privacy rights, or of the efficacy o
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f a country’s legislative environment in ensuring the right to privacy and data protection. Instead, reading across the reports, what can be described as an asymmetry between legislation and practice is evident at different levels. This asymmetry can be political – for example, Togo, an effective constitutional dictatorship marked by fierce government crackdowns on opposition and recent reports of surveillance of religious and political leaders, enacted a data protection law in 2019, and is one of the few countries in Africa to have ratified the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention). Yet, as the country author suggests, “This interest [by policy makers in digital rights] is not necessarily to protect the citizens but rather out of concern to adapt state policies to the global digital situation.” This asymmetry also concerns the regulatory framework for the implementation of a data protection act. Amongst the countries surveyed here, South Africa was the first to pass a protection of personal information act (in 2013), but still has not implemented the necessary regulations to give practical force to the law. In contrast, while Nigeria’s privacy law is still in draft form, it already has what the country author describes as “watershed” privacy regulations." (Introduction, page 5)
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"The study aims to gather information and develop a better understanding of the community radio landscapes in different parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, in order to identify needs, opportunities and potential partners for developing a programme of support for community radio on the continent. The envisa
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ged programme of support should be based on a productive model that takes into account the range of circumstances in Sub-Saharan Africa, its subregions as well as the selected countries. This report presents a descriptive analysis of the community radio landscape in 11 francophone, lusophone and anglophone countries from West, East and Southern Africa." (Purpose of the study, page 12)
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"The assessment found that Ethiopia's media ecosystem's weaknesses have made it vulnerable to fake news, misinformation, and hate speech. Some of the driving factors are undoubtedly historical, including the weak state of private media in Ethiopia, the critical role of the Ethiopian diaspora in medi
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a ownership, and the proliferation and wild rise in popularity of entertainment-news page services Facebook and Twitter. To better understand the problem, the project team analysed a small sample of fake news instances, misinformation, and hate speech, sorting them into sub-categories and looking for trends amongst them. Analysis of the samples' subject matter indicated that ethnonationalism and federalism were the topics most likely to feature examples of fake news, misinformation, and hate speech. Similarly, on examining the typologies of fake news samples, we found that the highest proportion was "fabricated" (without any grounding in truth). Equally, the assessment of misinformation revealed that propaganda and bias were prevalent. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were relatively few hate speech examples from well-known media sources' print and social media pages. However, incitement to hostility against specific groups was often found in social media users' accompanying comments. Instances of all three categories are explored through case studies. Finally, the report considers and outlines a potential risk-based approach to mitigation. With a better understanding of the problems and challenges, it becomes easier to develop more nuanced solutions. The report proposes a pro-active and risk-based approach, which identifies likely and potentially fake news, misinformation, and hate speech flashpoints and lays out the actions that will be required to mitigate them." (Executive summary)
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"The list of terms included in this lexicon, as well as their proposed meaning and contextualization, are not static. Instead, the lexicon is a ‘snapshot’ (in time and space) of how hateful language is used, perceived, and understood by those who contributed to the research process in Ethiopia b
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etween March and September 2020. How these terms are understood — their meanings, usage, and the assessment of their harmful nature — may evolve or change over time. The non-static nature of hateful language is in line with the sometimes abrupt changes that can occur in the context of conflict and the evolution of language over time in any society, including in Ethiopia. There is a significant subjective dimension to hateful language, and context can change the meaning of language used. The results of the research laid out in this lexicon should be approached as such." (Purpose, page 2)
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"In this article I contend that the saturation of information and images of human suffering and death in contemporary warfare has not ushered in a new era of “compassion fatigue”. Rather, algorithmically charged outrage is a proxy for effects. It is easy to misconstrue the velocity of linking an
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d liking and sharing as some kind of mass action or mass movement. Humanitarian catastrophes slowly unfold in an age of continuous and connective digital glare, and yet they are unseen. If the imploded battlefield of digital war affording the most proximate and persistent view of human suffering and death in history cannot ultimately mobilize radically effective forms of public response, it is difficult to imagine what will." (Abstract)
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"Das Werk bietet, nach Ländern bzw. Regionen aufgeschlüsselt, einen kompakten und aktuellen Überblick über geschichtliche Herkunft, weitere Entwicklungen und aktuelle Herausforderungen der afrikanischen Kirche aus katholischer Sicht. Dabei liegt ein Akzent auf den Beziehungen der Ortskirche zu a
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nderen Konfessionen und Religionen. Experten aus den jeweiligen Ländern bzw. Kenner der jeweiligen Situation vor Ort ermöglichen einen raschen und gründlichen Zugang zu den Besonderheiten der Kirchen und ihrer jeweiligen Rolle in den afrikanischen Gesellschaften heute. Dabei werden die Komplexität und die Vielfalt der verschiedenen Situationen innerhalb Afrikas deutlich." (Klappentext)
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"BBC Media Action surveyed 2000 young people (aged 15–29) in four regions and the city administration of Addis Ababa in May 2021. The study highlighted differences in young Ethiopians’ attitudes towards work and saving, education, traditional gender and cultural norms, and youth participation in
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decision making and in community life. Analysis was used to split the sample into five groups, reflecting the different profiles of young people in Ethiopia. Each group differs in how far they participate in civic life, their attitudes towards traditional gender and cultural norms, and the barriers that they face around employment and accessing various services. BBC Media Action researchers conducted further analysis to understand the key demographics of each group, as well as their motivators and barriers to employment, accessing services and civic participation. They then used data from qualitative research to create illustrative profiles for each group." (Page 1)
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"[...] The press situation in the country is deeply disconcerting. The reason for this is that the media landscape is as polarized as never before, and that parts of the media are being blamed for playing a pivotal role in the turbulence which have erupted in various parts of the country since 2019.
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The suspicion of many people is that the media are being exploited to propagate an ethnic agenda. Towards this backdrop, the intention of the study is to examine the role of the media in ethnic tensions in contemporary Ethiopia. The methodology is twofold, combining in-depth interviews with framing analysis. For the interview part, we have met approximately 25 persons with key positions in all major parts of the media in the country. For the framing analysis, we have scrutinized the media coverage of eight crucial incidents of 2019 in ten different media outlets. We argue that the tendencies we’re observing in the media can be described as an intensified ethnification process. By this we mean that ethnic belonging and identity politics are gaining significance as central frames of reference in the current Ethiopian media discourse. Ethnicity is being employed as a key to interpret media messages, and it outlines a frame for classifying media channels and personalities. We identify two major frames, annihilation and othering, which are indicative of the tendency of journalists to align with their ethnic background ..." (Executive summary)
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"This research confirmed an upward trend in number of women journalists working in newsrooms. Over 30% of the journalists employed in the seven surveyed media houses are women. Women are however disproportionately represented in managerial (15%) and editorial decision-making positions (26%) compared
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to men. Most female journalists report on so-called “soft news” topics compared to hard news. Historical and informal preferences for men reporting on certain topics, the gender bias of supervisors, and the personal interests of some women journalists appear to be the key factors determining this. However, in some newsrooms as many women report on hard news topics compared to soft news, while men also work on entertainment, cultural and children’s programming. This suggests that the editorial roles in the newsrooms surveyed is not always strictly gendered. Most newsrooms lack a gender desk to co-ordinate reporting on women’s issues, or to respond to the needs of women journalists in the newsroom. While several newsrooms have adopted gender-sensitive guidelines developed with the help of UN Women, the extent to which these had been applied in a practical way in newsrooms was unclear. Gender-sensitivity training for journalists in newsrooms is also limited without outside intervention." (Executive summary)
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"To gain a comprehensive understanding of both urban and peri/urban/rural locations, the assessment was conducted in two locations in Ethiopia: Gambella Region and Addis Ababa City Administration. A total of 240 respondents participated in the assessment, of which about one-third are female. The fin
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dings of the study indicate that while there is a more open space for the media to get information and share with the community since 2018, there are still major gaps in the areas of access to timely information by the media, infrastructure for mainstream media operations in the regions, technical capacity of media practitioners, and information verification mechanisms." (Publisher description)
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"Chapter 13 analyses various causal relations through which Ethiopian and Chinese actors interact in the context of the Digital Silk Road initiative. What is playing out in Africa is part of a larger contest between the West and China for dominance over technology and global influence. From a Chines
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e perspective, the Digital Silk Road is an attempt to narrow the gap between underdeveloped and developed countries through capacity building. From a Western perspective (Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, etc.), Chinese investments in the Digital Silk Road provide unethical support to authoritarian leaders. The chapter moves beyond this simple dichotomy of good and bad Chinese investments in the digitalization of Africa, instead identifying the actors involved and investigating their motives and levels of influence." (Abstract)
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"Based on this research, it was found that media and communication interventions could seek to leverage young Ethiopians’ optimism and enthusiasm, providing informative and inspiring content to fuel their ideas. This insight informed the creation of a social and behaviour change (SBCC) strategy to
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engage young people in the workforce, developed in partnership with the Ethiopia Jobs Creation Commission (JCC). The strategy identifies two key priority segments that need significant support - the ‘progressive but held back’ and the ‘unengaged and unambitious.’ Priority audiences across these two segments are younger 15- 18 year olds, men and women who are less educated more likely to marry before the age of 21. Creating an enabling environment to help these groups, while keeping in mind the needs of the others, is central to this strategy. Pilot media content will now be produced to support JCC as they deliver the overall communication strategy. This content will address the needs of priority groups by giving information about job opportunities, using role models and real life stories to inspire and address traditional gender norms." (Page 3)
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"For the first time, a complete mapping of the film and audiovisual industry in 54 States of the African continent is available, including quantitative and qualitative data and an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses at the continental and regional levels. The report proposes strategic recomme
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ndations for the development of the film and audiovisual sectors in Africa and invites policymakers, professional organizations, firms, filmmakers and artists to implement them in a concerted manner. The film and audiovisual industry in Africa has the potential to create over 20 million jobs and generate US$20 billion in revenues per year." (Short summary, page 2)
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"Through a combination of interviews, surveys, desk research, and focus group discussions this Information Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) explores trends of information demand and supply within refugee and host communities. The report analyzes their information access, needs, use, flows, and identifies
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means of trust and influence within host and refugee communities in eastern Sudan. The report thus offers a deep understanding of information dynamics and demands of refugees from Tigray and Sudanese host communities. It also identifies entry points for the design and enhancement of humanitarian information, and communication and community engagement (CCE) services for Ethiopian refugees and host communities in Eastern Sudan. The findings reveal that refugees and host communities’ humanitarian information needs are only partially met. It details why refugees and host communities desire to be more involved in decision making processes of humanitarian agencies, and demand active involvement in humanitarian interventions." (Publisher description)
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"Although the Proclamation has good intentions of curbing hate speech in Ethiopia, it fundamentally restricts freedom of expression online and the right to information. Further, the proclamation has a chilling effect on online and offline rights, which could lead to self-censorship. For instance, jo
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urnalist Yayesew Shimelis was on April 21, 2020 arrested for allegedly attempting to incite violence by spreading false information contrary to article 5 of the Proclamation and charged by the high court Lideta branch. The government should accordingly repeal or amend the law to ensure that it promotes an online and offline environment that progressively facilitates the enjoyment of free speech and access to information in line with international and regional human rights instruments." (Page 4)
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