"The study examines the coverage of solar energy in East African news media, specifically focusing on 63 stories from a leading daily newspaper and television station in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania from January to December 2023. Reporters and editors have reported limited coverage of solar energy du
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e to various factors, including: lack of knowledge; budget constraints; market unattractiveness of solar energy stories; lack of knowledge among farmers, solar technology suppliers, and stakeholders; and lack of reporters specialising in solar energy coverage. The study found that solar energy stories were rarely featured on the front page of three publications over the 12 months monitored. Most stories in the three studied publications appeared on pages beyond page 5. News stories dominated coverage of solar energy across the three countries, accounting for 8 out of every ten solar-related stories in newspapers and television. Conventional news reporting (he-said-she-said) made up most of the coverage. Solar energy use in agriculture (Productive Use of Solar Energy in agriculture) Findings reveal that out of the total coverage, 30 stories (representing 47.6%) focused on solar energy use in agriculture. The highest number out of these 30 stories addressed issues of financing off-grid solar solutions and community impact. Stories on solar entrepreneurship and innovation came second, followed by PUSE stakeholder coordination and ecosystem support." (Executive summary)
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"Africa is a diverse and complex continent, consisting of 54 countries, 5 regions and about 2,000 languages. This report identifies what influences African youths' attitudes and decisions. It is based on a survey of 4,500 people, aged 18–35, in nine African countries: Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Ivory
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Coast, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Zimbabwe. These nine countries act as proxy for the continent and provide evidence of a wide range of attitudes to the issues raised." (Page 2)
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"This policy paper highlights significant threats to press freedom in Kenya despite legal protections and media development progress. These challenges encompass various aspects, including legal, political, economic, and internal issues within the media industry. Both civil society and the internatio
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nal community, usually key defenders of press freedom, have faced limitations in their efforts to protect the media from these diverse challenges. The political environment poses significant challenges, with the government and politicians showing little tolerance for press freedom. Troublingly, government officials, including high-ranking figures, have been involved in attacks on journalists, raising concerns due to their influential positions. The government‘s manipulation of advertising exacerbates the assault on media freedom, as advertising revenue is crucial for media sustainability. Financial stability is essential for countering external pressures. The financial strain on media organizations has worsened due to Covid-19-related austerity measures, resulting in staff cuts, wage reductions, and limitations on content development. This financial hardship has driven government officials, advertisers, and media owners to exert control over media content, leading to self-censorship in newsrooms. To address these challenges and promote media freedom in Kenya, civil society and the international community must reengage actively. Their advocacy and support can counterbalance the identified challenges. Implementing the recommendations outlined below is crucial to improving the media landscape in Kenya and protecting press freedom." (Conclusions, page 14)
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"Hidden information, double meanings, double-crossing, and the constant processes of encoding and decoding messages have always been important techniques in negotiating social and political power dynamics. Yet these tools, "cryptopolitics," are transformed when used within digital media. Focusing on
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African societies, Cryptopolitics brings together empirically grounded studies of digital media to consider public culture, sociality, and power in all its forms, illustrating the analytical potential of cryptopolitics to elucidate intimate relationships, political protest, and economic strategies in the digital age." (Publisher description)
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"This study enabled countries in East Africa to produce national statistics on e-waste generated that are harmonized and comparable across countries because the same methods and tools have been used in the assessment. In addition, households and businesses surveys were piloted in Kenya and Burundi t
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o find out more on the possession rates of EEE and disposal routes of the e-waste generated within the countries. E-waste generated was calculated separately, using the e-waste generated tools. The two tools, the E-waste generated Tool on one end and the survey on the other, are complementary and provide useful insights on the e-waste generation and management status in the countries and can be used as a basis for policy making purposes, such as designing e-waste collection and management systems. The households and businesses surveys conducted in Kenya and in Burundi revealed that the higher possession rates in Kenya apply to mobile phones, flat display panel televisions and laptops. While in Burundi the products with the highest possession rates are mobile phones and personal care equipment. This indicates that high numbers of these items can be found in the e-waste stream and will be disposed of by the user. Overall, this study highlights that the amount of e-waste in the region is increasing rapidly while there is a lack of e-waste recycling infrastructure in the region. The rapid increase of e-waste generated represents a challenge where the only available formal e-waste recycling facility is located in Rwanda with an annual capacity of approximately 7 kt." (Conclusion)
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"The main objectives of the study were: to assess the perceptions of vowed religious people towards social media; to explore the uses to which vowed religious people put social media; to find out the experiences of vowed religious people regarding their social media utilization. The study employed m
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ixed method – explanatory sequential research design. Data was collected through questionnaires and in-depth interviews, and analyzed through descriptive and thematic analysis. The findings revealed that, although 98.4% of the respondents had embraced social media use, only 49.2% were open to using social media for evangelization. However, there is a willingness and with sensitization, they can maximally utilize social media for evangelization. It was also evident that, the positive experiences on social media outweigh the negative ones, hence, social media is a viable channel for evangelization. The study recommended that vowed religious people be sensitized to embrace social media for evangelization purposes. The study also recommended that the Catholic Church should periodically train religious people on the ethical use of social media platforms." (Abstract)
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"This research is based on 28 in-depth interviews with Kenya-based journalists who report terrorism. The objective of the research was to recount their lived experiences. The theme of safety of journalists comprised psychological and physical safety of the newspeople, and there were various ways in
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which the psychological and individual safety of the journalists covering terrorism and related events was at risk. The psychological safety included traumatic events leading to sleeplessness and nightmares, loss of memory, and some journalists resorting to alcohol abuse in a bid to cope with the traumatic experiences. These physical safety concerns for some journalists included threats of death by fanatical religious groups, while other participants said that they were threatened with death because of their coverage of terrorism and related activities in Kenya." (Abstract)
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"Drawing on field observations and extensive interviews, this study investigates how Kenyan media practitioners exercise their agency when interacting with Chinese stakeholders. When dealing with Chinese stakeholders or China-related stories, Kenyan media practitioners developed three strategies to
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exercise their journalistic agency: (a) situational negotiation, (b) collective reflection, and (c) resistance, through which they have approached, negotiated with, and resisted their relations with their Chinese counterparts. This article challenges the misconceptions that Chinese media organizations always hold a powerful position vis-à-vis African media organizations, and that African agents are dependents or innocent victims with neither agency nor creativity." (Abstract)
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"Die kenianische, auch mit deutschem Geld produzierte Serie "Country Queen"läuft auf Arte und weltweit auf Netflix. Sie ist raffiniert erzählt - und ein Glücksfall für das globale Lagerfeuer." (Einleitung)
"This book explores how television in the global South is 'future-proofing' its continued relevance, addressing its commercial, social and political viability in a constantly changing information ecosystem. The chapter contributions in the book are drawn from countries in East, South and West Africa
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, the Middle East and Latin America, specially selected for their illustrative potential of the key issues addressed in the book. Scholarly attention on television in the global South has largely been limited to studying evolving television formats with broader structural issues covered almost entirely by industry reports. Major gaps remain in terms of understanding how television in the global South is changing within the context of the significant technological developments and what this means for television's future(s). The chapters reflect on these futures, not in the sense of predicting what these might be, but rather anticipating important areas of intellection. The contributors contend that much of the scholarship on the global South, by scholars from the South, is often stilted by a reluctance to anticipate. This failure leads to a largely reactionary scholarship, constantly oppositional, and unable to recentre conversations on the South. This volume finds intellectual incentive in this urgent need to anticipate, hence its particular focus on television futures." (Publisher description)
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"Radio Waumini 88.3 FM is a project of Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB). It was officially launched on 6th July 2003 by the late Vice President Michael Kijana Wamalwa. It is a Catholic radio at the service of the gospel, an instrument of evangelization and promotion of all initiatives and
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activities of the Catholic Church in Kenya. Radio Waumini is for all Kenyans and transmits its programmes in both English and Kiswahili, celebrating the rich diversity of contemporary Kenya - affirming all that is life - giving and striving to promote justice [...] During the twenty years of its existence, the radio has brought immense benefits and successes to the Church in the country [...] Through the radio, the listener's faith has been greatly enhanced. There has been awakening of the faith of the Catholic community within the reach of the radio programs. Testimonies of our listeners attest to this. As a result of its programs, the Catholic media network has increased with the launching of sister radio stations in most Catholic dioceses across the country. All these sister radios have had some of their presenters and managers trained at Radio Waumini." (The History of Radio Waumini, page 8)
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"Global land and resource grabbing has become an increasingly prominent topic in academic circles, among development practitioners, human rights advocates, and in policy arenas. The Routledge Handbook of Global Land and Resource Grabbing sustains this intellectual momentum by advancing methodologica
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l, theoretical and empirical insights. It presents and discusses resource grabbing research in a holistic manner by addressing how the rush for land and other natural resources, including water, forests and minerals, is intertwined with agriculture, mining, tourism, energy, biodiversity conservation, climate change, carbon markets, and conflict. The handbook is truly global and interdisciplinary, with case studies from the Global South and Global North, and chapter contributions from practitioners, activists and academics, with emerging and Indigenous authors featuring strongly across the chapters." (Publisher description)
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"[...] Tonny Njuguna ist Schauspieler und einer der beiden Moderatoren von Shamba Shape Up, einer Reality-TV-Show aus Kenia. "Shamba" bedeutet Farm in der Landessprache Kisuaheli, "shape up" ist Englisch und heißt so viel wie aufmotzen oder pimpen. Allein in Kenia schauen Woche für Woche bis zu ne
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un Millionen Menschen zu – und das bei 55 Millionen Einwohnern. Das Format ist so erfolgreich, dass Shamba Shape Up mittlerweile fast in jedem großen kenianischen Fernsehsender Nachahmer hat und das Original in andere ostafrikanische Länder exportiert wird.
Shamba Shape Up gibt es seit 2010, und während das Team die dreizehnte Staffel dreht, läuft im Fernsehen die zwölfte. Die Idee hat Ähnlichkeiten mit MTVs Pimp My Ride, wo der Rapper Xzibit Anfang der 2000er Schrottautos tunen ließ. Bei Shamba Shape Up geht es dagegen um andere Dinge: um das richtige Futter für die Kühe, wie man seine Farm an die Klimakrise anpasst und wann es sinnvoll ist, sich gegen Ernteausfälle zu versichern. Um finanzielle Bildung für Bauern, darum, was es heißt, sich gut zu ernähren, und was man tun kann, wenn der eigene Hof von eingewanderten Pflanzen überwuchert wird. Das Wichtigste dabei ist, dass nicht nur den Bauern geholfen wird, sondern die Zuschauer etwas lernen. Zum Beispiel, wie man Passionsfrüchte richtig pflanzt. So wie Vivien Machanury jedenfalls nicht. Ihre ersten Pflanzen waren zu widerspenstigen Büschen herangewachsen, deren mickrige Früchte sie aus dem Gestrüpp herausschütteln musste. Drei Tage lang wird das Filmteam auf ihrem Hof drehen, am Ende soll sie wissen, was sie besser machen kann: "Ich kenne das aus meinem vorigen Job: sich auf ein Projekt konzentrieren, dann das nächste angehen."
Vivian Machanury ist 50 Jahre alt. Vor drei Jahren hat sie ihren Beruf bei einem Telefonnetz-Betreiber aufgegeben. An der Wand ihres Hauses hängen noch Auszeichnungen als Mitarbeiterin des Monats und Zertifikate von Weiterbildungen. In ihrem Job hatte sie zuletzt ein Team von 50 Mitarbeitenden unter sich. Dann wurde sie Bäuerin. "Weißt du", sagt sie zu Tonny Njuguna, "ich habe mir das nur zugetraut, weil ich immer eure Sendung geguckt habe." Der ist sichtlich gerührt. "Das müssen wir gleich noch mal vor der Kamera machen", sagt er. [...]"
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