At first glance SMS text messages would seem like a natural for inclusion in a community radio station’s essential toolkit. SMS messages are inexpensive and easy-to-use and in recent years the mobile phones that are needed for sending and receiving them have become ubiquitous. However, a survey of recent projects indicates that use of SMS messages among community media in the developing world is still at an early stage. In most stations SMS use is informal. The few cases identified of community stations making more complex use of SMS messages have accompanied political crises or natural disasters and have inevitably been donor financed. There are few, if any, experiences of complex uses of SMS by community media without external funding and technical support, even though the financial and technical resources required are minimal.
Tag Archive for 'Africa'
I got a CD in the mail yesterday with the final report from the World Electronic Media Forum (WEMF III) that was held in Kuala Lumpur last December. I was invited to speak in a session on Role of ‘own-time media’/’any place media’ in the service of development. The session was chaired by Abdul Waheed Khan, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information and the panelists were: Lucy Hooberman, Innovation Executive, Research and Innovation, BBC Future Media and technology; Seema B. Nair, Project Leader UNESCO India; Bruce Girard, Expert in community radio and local media, Comunica; and Kristine Pearson, Chief Executive, Freeplay Foundation.
The session report and a few photos that were included on the CD are below, along with a link to the full WEMF III report.
Continue reading ‘World Electronic Media Forum - own time / any place media’
Across many countries and in different regions, community radio stations have been fostering community participation and creating an appetite for transparent and accountable governance, even in challenging regulatory environments. Empowering Radio: Good practices in development & operation of community radio is a report prepared for the World Bank Institute based on five national studies of community radio practices in five very different countries: Colombia, Mali, Nepal, Peru and South Africa.
Continue reading ‘Empowering radio: community radio in 5 countries’
The Panos Institute West Africa (PIWA) has launched a media production contest on ICTs open to all print and broadcast media journalists from West and Central Africa.
Prizes will be awarded to the best print articles and radio programmes on the theme ICTs and elections in Africa.
Articles or radio programmes should focus specifically on one of the following issues:
- the use of Internet during campaigns (”cybercampaigns”, public debate using Internet) ;
- impact of Internet on campaigns and elections;
- mobile telephony and elections ;
- ICTs and elections’ transparency (electoral file, voter card, data transmission security, statistics);
- ICT theme in election candidates’ programmes.
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