Skip navigation

Discussion on Creating a Democracy, Governance and Human Rights Network for Journalists in Africa

Ayuda

Discussion on Creating a Democracy, Governance and Human Rights Network for Journalists in Africa

We are ready to launch our discussion on creating a democracy, governance and human rights network for journalists in Africa!

Just to recap, this online discussion will explore whether Africa needs a democracy, governance and human rights network for journalists, and if yes, how it would function and what purpose it would have. If the discussion is very much in favour of such a network, we are hoping that it can be used by organisations, who would like to be involved in creating such a network or be part of this network, to advocate for such a network and to possibly even develop a proposal to obtain funding for such an initiative.

The discussion is based around a recent poll featured on the Soul Beat Africa Democracy and Governance (D & G) themesite http://www.comminit.com/governance-africa/ The poll received a great response and 89% of the votes were in favour of a governance, democracy, and human rights journalism network in Africa.

The discussion will seek to address the following issues: 1) Are you aware of such a network having been discussed or planned and why do you think there is no such network in Africa today? 2) Do you think Africa needs a D & G and human rights journalism network? What role do journalists and the media play in promoting democracy, governance and human rights in Africa? (sharing of projects and experiences) 3) As a journalist, media organisation, or NGO working in D & G, how could such a network strengthen the work that you are doing? 4) What function should this network have? 5) How should this network be set up? 6) What are some of the challenges of setting up a continental (or even regional) journalism network?

If you know of anyone who would be interested in joining this discussion, please forward this email to them. They can register here http://networks.comminit.com/user/register (select Soul Beat Africa Democracy and Governance Network).

Best wishes, Anja Venth, Editor, Soul Beat Africa

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Hi to the Soul Beat Africa D

Hi to the Soul Beat Africa D & G network,

To kickstart the discussion, lets first explore where we are at today. A preliminary review shows that Africa has a science journalism network, environmental networks (continental as well as regional), and various health related networks. Besides an investigative journalism network and the recently launched Journalists' Network for Peace and Security (NetPeace), there is no real journalism network dealing specifically with democracy, governance, and human rights issues.

Are you aware of an African journalism network focussing on democracy, governance and human rights having been discussed or planned (at a regional and/or continental level) by any organisation? And why do you think there is no such network in Africa today?

To participate, you can either just respond to this email by hitting reply or you can click the "Read More" link below and log in and submit your response online.

If you have any problems logging in, please do not hesitate to contact me at soulbeat@comminit.com If you have forgotten your password, you can request a new one by clicking on Create New Password.

We look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes, Anja Venth, Editor, Soul Beat Africa

Anja - many thanks for this

Anja - many thanks for this initiative. We all look forward to the ideas and responses of people engaged in this network concerning the desirability of an African journalism network focussing on democracy, governance and human rights.

As a comparative perspective I was recently in Colombia. Whilst in Medellin I was honoured to meet with a small group of community media leaders. There was little doubt that the networks to which they were all connected - for example a very extensive community media network across Colombia - had played an important role in advancing both overall journalism processes and deepening the media role related to democracy, governance and human rights.

Anja - thanks again for initiating this process. We all look forward to the dialogue, analysis and ideas that will flow.

Warren

Warren Feek Executive Director The Communication Initiative

Hi to the Soul Beat Africa D

Hi to the Soul Beat Africa D & G network, We know you are all very busy, but just wanted to send you a reminder. Do you have any thoughts on why there are no democracy, governance and human rights journalism networks in Africa? Is this field perhaps just too broad, or too sensitive, or do journalists just not identify themselves as democracy or human rights journalists - the way that someone might say that they are a health journalist or science journalist?

To send a comment, you can either just respond to this email by hitting reply or you can click the "Read More" link below and log in and submit your response online.

If you have any problems logging in, please do not hesitate to contact me at soulbeat@comminit.com If you have forgotten your password, you can request a new one by clicking on Create New Password. Best wishes, Anja Venth, Editor, Soul Beat Africa

Hi all. Journalists in Africa

Hi all. Journalists in Africa need a lot of empowerment and this is usually achieved when like-minds come together to facilitate such.

Many practice journalism just to put food on the table. Even though I strongly believe that poverty is an excuse many use to continue to do the wrong thing.

Not to digress, Africa has come a long way in its attempt to become a fully functional democratic player, thus, are journalists doing enough to hold government officials accountable?

Therefore, we need to develop the mindset to ensure that we achieved this need for good governance that Africans are craving for.

To sum, we require to create such a group.

do you know of

do you know of www.africa24tv.com It aims to cover the best news (including development) by and for africans- I met its founder at a major development conference organised at MIT in Boston

Hi to the Soul Beat D & G

Hi to the Soul Beat D & G network, Just as a quick reminder - this discussion is based around a recent poll featured on the Soul Beat Africa Democracy and Governance (D & G) themesite http://www.comminit.com/governance-africa/ The poll received a great response and 89% of the votes were in favour of a governance, democracy, and human rights journalism network in Africa.

Do you all agree and if so, what role do journalists and the media play in promoting democracy, governance and human rights in Africa? If you are working on any projects/research, please share them with us.
Also, is there anyone in this group who believes that Africa does NOT need such a network or who has reservations about creating such a network?

To send a comment, you can either just respond to this email by hitting reply or you can click the "Read More" link below and log in and submit your response online. Many thanks, Anja

Hi to the D & G

Hi to the D & G network,

Looking at the role of the media in governance – I just wanted to share with you this project which we recently posted on our D & G site http://www.comminit.com/governance-africa/ : The Mwananchi (citizen) Programme works to strengthen ordinary citizens' voices, and improve state accountability and responsiveness to citizens' interests in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia. One of the key role players in the different country projects are the media who are seen to be able to "broker" citizens' views and wishes in the policy process and form links between governments and citizens. For more information, see http://www.comminit.com/governance-africa/content/mwananchi-programme

The project also produced this resource: Citizens, Media, and Good Governance: Guidelines for Journalists http://www.comminit.com/governance-africa/content/citizens-media-and-good-governance-guidelines-journalists

If you have any other projects, research, or resources to share or just want to comment on the Mwananchi Programme, you can either respond to this email by hitting reply or you can click the "Read More" link below and log in and submit your response online.

Best wishes, Anja

Hi. Your question fascinates

Hi. Your question fascinates me. Since 1972, when dad Norman Macrae and I first saw young people sharing knowledge around a digital network, we have been concerned to map pro-youth connections between Economics, Media and Education (EME) Our finding (catchphrased in dad's Entrepreneurial Revolution dialogues in The Economist since 1972) is: this triad systemises what is possible in networking all life-shaping apps (such as health , nutrition, energy, financial services, communally safe place leadership ,,,).. In particular, ER questions how to compound goodwill , transparency and exponential sustainability to multiply future value in ways that could empower leaders to invest in 2010s youth co-producing the net generation's most vital goals.

My question to you is does a journalist network (of the sort you visualise) exist anywhere let alone africa? If if does let's see it and map how it emerged. I would recommend that any qualifying journalist read the last 3 pages of Keynes General Theory where he clarifies that economists either design or destroy the futures that peoples want most (2010s is most exciting decade to be alive because systems at times of unprecedented change in interconnectivity spiral to one of these two opposite end-games). Arguably every journalist needs to be able to question pro-youth economics, or better yet every child needs to be empowered to be a pro-youth journalist as these <a href="http://thelearningweb.net"">New Zealand Schools have been testing since 1984.

Hi, To respond to the

Hi, To respond to the question of the previous post about whether a D & G journalist network exists elsewhere - I came across Journalists for Democracy and Human Rights (JDHR) which is a network of journalists in South Asia. According to it's website, it is “an independent think tank and a pro-people campaigning/policy outreach, capacity building and research organization that strives to set media’s agenda and to create more media space for common people, taking gender as a cross cutting issue. See their website here http://www.jdhr.org/
There may be networks in Latin America and I will ask our Latin American partner, Communication Initiative Latin America (CILA) about it and get back to you.

Best wishes, Anja

Hi to the D & G

Hi to the D & G network,

Looking at the role of the media in governance, BBC Media Action is involved in a variety of media and governance projects across Africa. Here are a few of them which we have featured on our site:
MAKE: Media for Advocacy and Empowerment in Zambia http://www.comminit.com/governance-africa/content/make-media-advocacy-and-empowerment

Media for Ethical Election Coverage in Zambia (MEEZ) http://www.comminit.com/governance-africa/content/media-ethical-election-coverage-zambia-meez

Sema Kenya Television and Radio Show http://www.comminit.com/governance-africa/content/sema-kenya-television-and-radio-show

Here is also an evaluation of another BBC Media Action project working in Angola, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania: A National Conversation: Mid-Term Review http://www.comminit.com/governance-africa/content/national-conversation-mid-term-review

We hope you find these useful. If you have any other projects, research, or resources to share or just want to comment on these projects, you can either respond to this email by hitting reply or you can click the "Read More" link below and log in and submit your response online. Best wishes, Anja

Hi to the D & G network, I

Hi to the D & G network, I have just heard back from our colleagues in Latin America and according to them Latin America also has no formal network of democracy or human rights journalists.

I mentioned these before but here is some more detailed information on some of the existing African journalism networks: - African Federation of Science Journalists (AFSJ) http://www.africansciencejournalists.com/ We also have an East African network http://www.scidev.net/en/science-communication/networking/news/science-journalism-network-for-east-africa-launched.html and a very recently launched West African network http://www.scidev.net/en/sub-suharan-africa/news/west-african-science-media-forum-to-stir-development-.html - Pan-African Health Journalism Network http://www.icfj.org/news/first-pan-african-health-journalism-network-created - African Network of Environmental Journalists http://www.anej.info/drupal/index.php?q=fr/content/about-anej They all basically exist to improve the quality and quantity of reporting by building capacity through training, online learning, or mentor programmes; and by providing a platform for networking to share ideas and experiences, collaborate on stories, share contacts etc. Some also incorporate some media monitoring function.
Do you think this could also be useful to journalists working on democracy, governance and human rights issues in Africa? Is working in this field different to working on health, science and environmental issues?
We would love to hear your thoughts on this. You can either respond to this email by hitting reply or you can click the "Read More" link below and log in and submit your response online. Best wishes, Anja

Hi to the D & G network, To

Hi to the D & G network, To get back to our topic on the role of the media in promoting democracy and governance in Africa and the possible need for a network of journalists working in D & G - it seems that there are quite a few country networks of journalists working on human rights specifically. See for example: - Uganda Human Rights Network For Journalists http://www.hrnjuganda.org which we also recently featured on the Soul Beat D & G website here http://www.comminit.com/governance-africa/content/human-rights-network-journalists-hrnj - and the Association of Journalists for Human Rights in Central African Republic http://reseaudesjournalistesrca.wordpress.com/

I am sure there are many more across Africa but they are focusing specifically on human rights which is perhaps only one aspect of democracy and governance. If you know of any other similar journalism networks, let us know and if you have any thoughts on this, we would love to hear from you. Simply hit reply on this email to submit a comment or you can click the "Read More" link below and log in and submit your response online. Best wishes, Anja

Hi to the D & G network, As

Hi to the D & G network, As mentioned when we launched this discussion, one Africa-wide journalist network that is working on issues related to democracy and governance - specifically peace and security in Africa - is the Network of Journalists for Peace and Security in Africa (NetPeace). They were launched in November 2012 and “are composed of journalists specialised on peace and security issues and aims at promoting and entrenching a culture of peace through the daily work of journalists.” For more information, see http://www.nepad.org/system/files/PR%20ENG%20-%20ESTABLISHEMENT%20OF%20THE%20NETPEACE%20-%204%20novemer%202011.pdf

Following a recent meeting in Dakar, Senegal from 19 to 21 December 2012, on the occasion of the second edition of the High Level Workshop on the African of Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), they published the following declaration http://www.peaceau.org/en/article/declaration-of-netpeace As stated in the declaration, they are calling on journalists and the media which have not yet done so to join the Network of Journalists for Peace and Security in Africa (NetPeace).

Perhaps it is worth exploring ways in which individuals and organisations in this online network working can support NetPeace in achieving its objectives. Is anyone already a member of NetPeace or working with NetPeace? Or are you perhaps interested in working with NetPeace? To respond, simply hit reply on this email to submit a comment or you can click the "Read More" link below and log in and submit your response online. Best wishes, Anja

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Soul Beat Africa: Democracy and Governance Network
¿Necesita ayuda?

Blog

El blog le permite a su equipo comunicarse por medio de publicaciones y discusiones en torno a preguntas. Es un gran lugar para compartir progresos, discutir cambios y explorar ideas.