"In this moment of unprecedented humanitarian crises, the representations of global disasters are increasingly common media themes around the world. The Routledge Companion to Media and Humanitarian Action explores the interconnections between media, old and new, and the humanitarian challenges that
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have come to define the twenty-first century. Contributors, including media professionals and experts in humanitarian affairs, grapple with what kinds of media language, discourse, terms, and campaigns can offer enough context and background knowledge to nurture informed global citizens. Case studies of media practices, content analysis and evaluation of media coverage, and representations of humanitarian emergencies and affairs offer further insight into the ways in which strategic communications are designed and implemented in field of humanitarian action." (Publisher description)
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"In April 2014, Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group, abducted over 200 Nigerian girls from the town of Chibok in Nigeria. The kidnapping caused global outrage and the local community responded by designing an online social media campaign they called "Bring Back Our Girls" that used Facebook and Tw
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itter and quickly went viral. The campaign garnered worldwide attention and as interest grew, celebrity participation increased. In the United States, First Lady Michelle Obama was part of a massive appeal for the terrorist group to return the community's children. Dorothy Njoroge seeks to understand the role of online community activism. Questioning whether such campaigns provide opportunities for global citizenship, her research grapples with the debate over whether social media campaigns should be understood as mere "clicktivism," or if they are able to lead to other forms of political participation and off line involvement. She explores the discursive constructions of the Facebook postings using three action frames drawn from social movement literature-diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational. She concludes that given broad global lack of effective institutionalized leadership, social media campaigns may perhaps speak to the beginnings of a growing people's movement powered by technology." (Introduction to part 8, page 436-437)
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"This book probes the vitality, potentiality and ability of new communication and technological changes to drive online-based civil action across Africa. In a continent booming with mobile innovation and a plethora of social networking sites, the Internet is considered a powerful platform used by pr
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o-democracy activists to negotiate and sometimes push for reform-based political and social changes in Africa. The book discusses and theorizes digital activism within social and geo-political realms, analysing cases such as the #FeesMustFall and #BringBackOurGirls campaigns in South Africa and Nigeria respectively to question the extent to which they have changed the dynamics of digital activism in sub-Saharan Africa. Comparative case study reflections in eight African countries identify and critique digital concepts questioning what impact they have had on the civil society. Cases also explore the African LGBT community as a social movement while discussing opportunities and challenges faced by online activists fighting for LGBT equality. Finally, gender-based activists using digital tools to gain attention and facilitate social changes are also appraised." (Publisher description)
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"This volume documents from historical and contemporary perspectives, the situations, trends and issues of cartooning in a number of African countries, and profiles the individuals, forms and phenomena that stand out. All types of cartooning are covered, including comic books, comic strips, gag and
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political cartoons, and humour magazines. The contributors are scholars, writers, and practitioners of comic art who are either residents of or research visitors to Africa. Their approaches run the gamut from historical/contemporary overviews, to problem analysis of the profession and cartoonists, to textual analysis." (Publisher description)
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