"A new generation of Afro-Brazilian media producers have emerged to challenge a mainstream that frequently excludes them. Reighan Gillam delves into the dynamic alternative media landscape developed by Afro-Brazilians in the twenty-first century. With works that confront racism and focus on Black ch
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aracters, these artists and the visual media they create identify, challenge, or break with entrenched racist practices, ideologies, and structures. Gillam looks at a cross-section of media to show the ways Afro-Brazilians assert control over various means of representation in order to present a complex Black humanity. These images--so at odds with the mainstream--contribute to an anti-racist visual politics fighting to change how Brazilian media depicts Black people while highlighting the importance of media in the movement for Black inclusion." (Publisher description)
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"The Digital citizenship education handbook is intended for teachers and parents, education decision makers and platform providers alike. It describes in depth the multiple dimensions that make up each of 10 digital citizenship domains, and includes a fact sheet on each domain providing ideas, good
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practice and further references to support educators in building the competences that will stand children in good stead when they are confronted with the challenges of tomorrow’s digital world. The Digital citizenship education handbook is consistent with the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture and compatible for use with the Internet literacy handbook." (Back cover)
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"Digital infrastructure increasingly enables the extraction, exploitation, processing and analysis of personal and behavioural data. Data analytics have not just become the core of the digital economy but also constitute a growing feature of the public sector. Wide areas of public administration are
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now based on, or at least informed by, the aggregation of data for the purpose of profiling, categorising, sorting, rating, ranking and segmenting populations, and then treating them distinctly. Scoring systems and other forms of predictive analytics are prime means to assess citizens yet these systems are applied mostly without the knowledge of those being analysed and the exact mechanisms of data analytics remain obscure. Citizens are classified according to criteria that are not transparent, with consequences they do not know about, and without an open way of redress. As citizens are continuously profiled and evaluated, there is a power shift from citizens to the state. All this raises fundamental questions regarding the quality of democracy in a context of datafied administration and governance. Whereas a democracy requires that the people adopt the role of the sovereign, in a datafied society this sovereign does not have much knowledge, understanding, or say in how it is treated. Key questions arise: What are avenues for people to participate in decisions about the use of predictive analytics by public institutions? How can they intervene into an increasingly automated state? How can the datafied society be democratised? To investigate these questions, this report addresses six themes: 1. Institutional dynamics; 2. Initiatives of civic engagement; 3. Oversight and advisory bodies; 4. Civil society strategies; 5. Alternative Imaginaries and Infrastructures; 6. Data literacy." (Executive summary)
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"Africa's Voices Foundation in partnership with Rift Valley institute (RVI)'s Somali Dialogue Platform implemented a 3-month project between February 8th - May 7th 2022. The project promoted public dialogue around elections so as to understand citizens' perspectives on Somalia's national elections.
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It also amplified citizen voices in political processes and promoted peaceful messaging by using media spaces to contribute to the prevention - of violence. AVF utilized its existing Common Social Accountability Platform (CSAP) to deliver the project. The project aimed to contribute to RVI's Somali Dialogue Platform program by facilitating dialogue amongst Somalis on contentious political issues. At the end of the radio programming, AVF analyzed the rich audience engagement that emerged from the six interactive radio shows to generate insight from public opinion on the election and political processes from different demographic groups. The insights were synthesized to generate actionable recommendations for our partner, RVI, based on citizens' experiences and feedback on elections." (Executive summary)
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"Die Ausbeutung natürlicher Ressourcen und Infrastrukturprojekte bedrohen die Lebensgrundlagen indigener Bevölkerungen in vielen Staaten Lateinamerikas. Wie der Konflikt um das Territorio Indígena Parque Nacional Isiboro Sécure (TIPNIS) zeigt, stellte Bolivien während der Amtszeiten des ersten
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indigenen Präsidenten des Landes Evo Morales (2006-2019) keine Ausnahme dar. Bei diesem Konflikt stieß ein staatliches Straßenbauprojekt, das mitten durch das Schutzgebiet im bolivianischen Amazonas-Tiefland führen sollte, auf großen Widerstand. Unterschiedliche Akteur*innen aus Indigenenorganisationen, Zivilgesellschaft und der katholischen Kirche formierten sich in der sozialen TIPNIS-Bewegung und mobilisierten gegen das Projekt und dessen Auswirkungen. Diese Arbeit erklärt den Widerstand aus Sicht der selbstbezeichneten Verteidiger*innen des Territoriums. Dazu stützt sie sich auf den theoretischen Framing-Ansatz, der den Blick auf die Bedeutungskonstruktionen (Framings) der Akteur*innen lenkt. In einer qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse wurden die Daten von 52 semistrukturierten Interviews ausgewertet und zentrale übergreifende Deutungsmuster (Masterframes) der heterogenen Akteursgruppe identifiziert, die sich aus Diagnosen, Prognosen und Motivationen zusammensetzen. Dadurch ist es möglich, den Widerstand der sozialen TIPNIS-Bewegung, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Konfliktphase von 2017 bis 2019, in seinen komplexen Erscheinungsformen zu verstehen: Als Kampf um Legitimität in einer Situation der Fragmentierung und Spaltung der Indigenenorganisationen, als Versicherheitlichung (securitization) des Konflikts angesichts sozio-ökologischer Bedrohungen, als Anfechtung des staatlichen neoextraktiven Entwicklungsmodells sowie als Forderung nach einer Umsetzung der Menschenrechte, indigenen Kollektivrechte und der Rechte der Natur." (Abstract)
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"Los 63 editoriales analizados confirman que quiénes tienen la posibilidad de hacer uso de la palabra (Ranciere, 2014), a través de las vías institucionales, continúan siendo las élites. Si tuviéramos que contar la historia de lo ocurrido entre el 18 de octubre y hasta el 15 de noviembre del 2
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019, solamente a partir de lo señalado a través de estos textos del diario El Mercurio, lo primero que podríamos señalar es que quiénes emiten palabras son las élites, y quiénes son los destinatarios de dichas palabras transformadas en discursos, son también, mayoritariamente, las élites. En este dominio del discurso que se evidencia, monopolizan también los contenidos, pues aún cuando la macroestructura semántica mayoritaria que se aborda son “las causas del conflicto”, nunca son convocados quiénes manifiestan el malestar inicial. Los subalternos, es decir, la mayor parte de las personas que conforman la sociedad chilena, quedan fuera de esta suerte de intercambio, en tanto no tienen forma de acceder a él, pues no basta con leer estos editoriales, el punto radica en que el medio de comunicación estudiado no considera a los subalternos como su destinatario ni como fuente y, por lo tanto, el tratamiento de la información y la consecuente influencia que se busca generar no está dirigida a este grupo social mayoritario." (Conclusión, página 143-144)
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"Theoretical scholarship on media democratisation neglects the role of representing groups in civil society, which in new democracies emerging from authoritarian regimes are frequently marginalised. These groups may also contest the form of democracy that has been implemented, and the way in which i
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t deals with key transitional issues such as past human rights violations. This study focuses on how such groups are represented in one postauthoritarian society: Uruguay, which returned to democracy in 1985. Through examining media access for civil society groups in the newspaper coverage of two critical plebiscites on transitional justice issues (1989 and 2009), combined with interviews with journalists and civil society representatives, it argues that there are significant barriers to media access for civil society actors in the return to democracy, which relate both to changes during the democratisation process and domestic journalistic norms. This signals the need for both greater attention to the normative media role of representation during processes of democratisation and a more critical approach to media democratisation theory." (Abstract)
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"Das Open Access Buch bietet eine aktuelle Bestandsaufnahme zum freiwilligen Engagement in Deutschland. Die Ergebnisse basieren auf dem Deutschen Freiwilligensurvey, der zum fünften Mal im Jahr 2019 durchgeführt wurde und vom Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (BMFSFJ) gef
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ördert wird. Die Autor:innen klären Fragen wie: Wer engagiert sich aus welchen Beweggründen? Wie ist freiwilliges Engagement ausgestaltet und wie hat sich freiwilliges Engagement gewandelt? Wie gestaltet sich der Zusammenhang von politischer Partizipation sowie Einstellungen zur Demokratie mit dem freiwilligen Engagement?" (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Multifaceted, uncensored, promoting democracy - that is the internet, many people had long hoped. But from today's perspective, this is not true - or only partially. Because the big digital platforms and the world wide web are both: media of freedom and control. In many places, they support civil s
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ociety, but often they also pose a massive threat to it. On the one hand, civil society organisations, activists and bloggers use digital tools to organise their work and make it more efficient: Through them, they disseminate reports and campaigns and exchange information. On the other hand, governments restrict freedom of expression and the press through online censorship: They block access to certain websites or platforms or shut down the internet entirely and monitor activists and journalists with digital technologies, often made in Europe. Policymakers, platforms and civil society face major challenges: They have to negotiate and decide how to deal with hate on the web and in social media without compromising freedom of expression. How more people, especially in the Global South, can get better access to the internet. And, how the data collection frenzy of the big tech companies and the dangers posed to democracy by Facebook & Co can be contained. Civil society voices call for more human rights based regulation and containment of digital capitalism." (Summary, page 6)
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"Vielfaltig, unzensiert, demokratiefördernd - das ist das Internet, hofften viele Menschen lange. Doch diese Attribute passen aus heutiger Sicht nicht - oder nur teilweise. Denn die großen digitalen Plattformen und das World Wide Web sind beides: Medien der Freiheit und der Kontrolle. Sie helfen d
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er Zivilgesellschaft vielerorts, gefährden sie aber oft auch massiv. Denn einerseits nutzen zivilgesellschaftliche Organisationen, Aktivist:innen und Blogger:innen digitale Tools zur Organisation und Effizienzsteigerung ihrer Arbeit: Sie verbreiten über sie Analysen und Kampagnen und tauschen sich darüber aus. Andererseits schränken Regierungen weltweit durch Online-Zensur die Meinungs- und Pressefreiheit ein: Sie blockieren den Zugang zu bestimmten Webseiten oder Plattformen oder sperren das Netz ganz und überwachen Aktivist:innen und Journalist:innen gezielt mit digitalen Technologien, oft Made in Europe. Die Herausforderungen an Politik, Plattformen und Zivilgesellschaft sind groß: Sie müssen aushandeln und entscheiden, was dem Hass im Netz und in den Sozialen Medien entgegengesetzt werden kann, ohne dass die Meinungsfreiheit eingeschränkt wird. Wie mehr Menschen gerade im Globalen Süden einen besseren Zugang zum Internet bekommen. Und wie sich die Datensammelwut der großen Tech-Konzerne und die damit für die Demokratie von Facebook & Co. ausgehenden Gefahren eindämmen lassen. Die zivilgesellschaftlichen Stimmen mehren sich, die mehr menschenrechtsorientierte Regulierung und eine Eindämmung des digitalen Kapitalismus fordern." (Zusammengefasst, Seite 6)
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"This study examines the use of social media by individuals during protests in China (Hong Kong), Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon. Method: Surveys in the four countries assess the relationship between people's attitudes toward the protests and their selection bias on social media, manifested through selecti
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ve sharing and selective avoidance. Findings: Regardless of the different political and media systems in each country, social media usage was largely similar. Overall, our findings established that people's attitude strength toward the protests was associated with their selective sharing behavior; those who scored high on supporting the protests were more likely than those who scored high on opposing the protests to share news that supports the protests, and vice versa. As for selective avoidance, social media protest news use emerged as the strongest predictor. The more individuals followed and shared protest news on social media, the more likely they were to engage in selective avoidance by hiding or deleting comments, unfriending or unfollowing people, and blocking or reporting people for posting comments with which they disagreed." (Abstract)
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"The pandemic made inequality, discrimination, exclusion and structural inequity more palpable, and rather than stagnating in indignation, it reactivated a sense of rebellion and contestation. The strength and sharpness with which we connect social justice, gender justice, environmental justice, eco
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nomic justice and racial justice with the potentials and limitations of digital technologies is undeniable. Using this intersectional lens, we need to document and build our own narratives about the challenges that we face related to the impacts of the pandemic and reflect on how our advocacy priorities as well as the ways we do advocacy are changing and keep being modified and adjusted. At APC we have strengthened capacity to design and implement collective and contextual community responses to the multiple challenges and crises that we face, while having a greater awareness of the kind of global responses that should be prioritised, based on shared but differentiated responsibilities [...] GISWatch 2021-2022 focuses on responses to some of the fundamental questions brought by the pandemic to inform civil society’s advocacy around digital technology issues and their potential to shape future horizons. As illustrated on our cover, a sustained struggle will be necessary in the years ahead, but not only in the public spaces. A nuanced approach to advocacy will be essential to open multiple ways to bring about positive change." (Preface, page 6)
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"In partnership with International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Farm Radio International led On Air Dialogues to gather thousands of small-scale farmers' and other rural peoples' perspectives on climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience. We worked with seven radio stations in Burkin
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a Faso and Ethiopia to create 21 original episodes of radio programming, complete with mobile phone-based polling. On air, broadcasters invited local experts, farmers, and guests to speak their mind and share their knowledge. Off air, we engaged listeners to join in the discussion with their own thoughts. We wanted to know: What changes have had the biggest impact on their farms? How have their communities taken action in response to climate change? What kind of information and advice is needed to help them adapt? And what message did they want to send to governments and global leaders?" (Page 2)
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"The movement that mobilized to oppose Alyaksandr Lukashenka in August 2020 was notable for its ability to bridge divisions of social class, geography, age, and identity. Almost uniquely among post-Soviet revolutionary movements, the Belarusians who rose up were not divided from those who did not al
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ong clearly discernible sociodemographic, ethnic, linguistic, or regional lines. They were, however, separated by one very stark barrier: the one separating the country’s two distinct media systems, one controlled by the state, and one independent. Drawing on an original survey conducted in September 2020, just as the protest movement was reaching its peak, this article finds that respondents’ choice of news media was the strongest and most consistent predictor of their political opinions. Media, then, appear to have served not merely as aggregators of and conduits for social processes generated elsewhere, but as the producers of social and political force in their own right." (Abstract)
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"This study uses TikTok as a novel medium to extend the literature on online activism. It adds to the emergent body of knowledge about playful political participation among youth. It also explores how creative micro-videos can be a force to create momentum and shape opinions around social and politi
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cal topics. A content analysis of 203 TikTok videos reflecting the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict that took place in Sheikh Jarrah in 2021, was used to understand the extent to which TikTok's platform's affordances were used and examine the message frames that emerged when online users disseminated messages of affect and solidarity with the Palestinians during the Sheikh Jarrah incident. Findings: The study showed that TikTok affordances encourage virality and creative crafting of direct and indirect political content, making the platform a space for political expression, mobilization, and online activism. The affordances used during the TikTok Intifada were visibility, editability, association, and persistence. The two most prominent frames were the use of hashtags to promote the cause, followed by direct political content. Practical implications: Researchers are given guidance on how TikTok design elements are now allowing a very young segment of users to become producers of political content in a way where messages are creatively crafted using the platform's affordances." (Abstract)
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"En el primer capítulo se expone cómo se están dando las dinámicas de participación ciudadana en la TV abierta. El segundo capítulo ahonda en la caracterización de los controlantes de los operadores de TV abierta. El tercer capítulo expone las tendencias en materia de pluralismo de los progr
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amas informativos y de opinión y el cuarto capítulo presenta los hallazgos obtenidos con la aplicación del instrumento para determinar tipologías, factores y niveles de riesgo, tanto en el pluralismo informativo como en la independencia de los medios, que fue desarrollado mediante talleres focales y acompañamiento del equipo consultor, en los cuales participaron expertos, académicos y periodistas, además de miembros de la autoridad regulatoria." (Introducción, página 4)
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"This is a ‘cookbook’ full of ingredients to design and implement youth-led accountability initiatives. The content is based on research, evidence and learning documented on a programme called the Development Alternative, a consortium of youth and international development organisations that cam
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e together to strengthen young people’s voice and agency in development. We have tried to boil down what we have learnt about the key ingredients for youth-led accountability - youth leadership, transparency and access to information, community awareness and engagement, mechanisms to gather and listen to feedback, trust and collaboration with development actors, and supporting development partners to respond to feedback - and how these ingredients can be combined into a programme. We also reflect on ‘the model for change’, our own model for youth-led accountability implemented as part of the Development Alternative." (Back cover)
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"In March 2015, a group of feminist writers and academics in Argentina organized a marathon reading event to protest femicide, using the slogan “Ni Una Menos.” Less than three months later, more than 250,000 Argentines participated in the first #NiUnaMenos demonstration in Buenos Aires. Since th
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en, #NiUnaMenos has transformed into a transnational feminist movement and has shifted the conversation about gender violence in digital and physical spaces. Drawing from critical discourse analysis and feminist theory, this article examines the discursive strategies employed by #NiUnaMenos. It analyzes key texts from the months leading up to the first demonstration and argues that these texts were strategically constructed as “sites of struggle” in order to reach diverse groups. The analysis reveals four discursive dichotomies in which the movement’s discourse oscillates between seemingly opposing ideas and channels. This discursive oscillation allowed #NiUnaMenos to reach the masses and, in turn, spark a cultural shift toward gender equality." (Abstract)
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"Between January 2019 and May 2022, Amnesty International recorded at least 328 physical and/or digital attacks directed against civil society, resulting in a total of at least 834 victims. The victims include human rights defenders (HRDs), activists, journalists, environmental defenders, students,
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and protestors, while the alleged perpetrators of the attacks and intimidation include both state and non-state actors. This report highlights recent repressive tendencies in Indonesia with reference to some of the cases recorded by Amnesty International between January 2019 and May 2022. The report is based on 52 interviews carried out with HRDs, activists, students, lawyers and journalists, as well as media reports and case files. The report exposes how the space for civil society in Indonesia has shrunk during this period as a result of an ongoing assault on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, personal security and freedom from arbitrary detention." (Executive summary)
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