"This publication is a compilation of 19 articles by African researchers, academics, journalists and human and digital rights activists on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on digital rights in Africa. The articles were commissioned by the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (AfDec
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) Coalition as part of its project on “Securing human rights online in Africa through a strong and active ‘African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms’ network”. The AfDec Coalition is a pan-African initiative which promotes human rights standards and principles of openness in internet policy formulation and implementation on the continent, guided by the 13 principles established in the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms. At the time that the papers were commissioned, in June 2020, African states had either invoked existing policies or adopted new policies for prevention of spread, containment and treatment of the virus that had an impact on the enjoyment of digital rights. For example, most governments employed the use of contact tracing applications to track and trace citizens’ movements and put in place measures criminalising free speech when it contained false information about the pandemic. These two examples had the potential to be abused, particularly the latter, which was used to silence journalists and government critics. The pandemic also moved most citizens’ communication, education, work, trade and access to basic services from physical interactions to primilary online interactions. However, the continent is still largely made up of informal economies, has a low internet penetration rate of 28.2% (far below the global average of around 53%), and has seen an increase in reports of digital rights violations resulting from repressive cyberlaws, making the efforts to address the pandemic inadequate and inequitable. These articles offer reflective analyses on government efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of the AfDec principles, with a focus on a number of the principles including privacy and personal data protection, gender equality, freedom of expression, internet access and affordability, and the right to development and access to knowledge." (Introduction)
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"In March 2019, Cyclone Idai brought death and destruction to Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe as a result of heavy rains and extensive flooding (Figure 1). The respective governments together with UNICEF and other partners, responded swiftly to the disaster. Rescue and relief operations were impleme
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nted immediately, saving many lives, and resources were rapidly mobilized to provide food and non-food items to people in the affected areas. As part of the initial response, UNICEF conducted a rapid knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey on the information and communication needs of the most affected people in all three countries. The findings informed the lifesaving multisectoral C4D interventions which played a key supporting role in all three countries (Table 1). The experiences of the three countries in successfully mainstreaming C4D across the Cyclone Idai response offer valuable learning for future humanitarian emergencies." (Introduction)
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"The 10 countries included in this paper all show specific characteristics and contexts but also show similar barriers. Identifying shared characteristics will facilitate the development of shared approaches to deal with shrinking space. Don’t work in silos!
It’s (also) about upholding the law:
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Lobbying parliament and the government to adopt pro-civic space laws can only be part of a solution. Actions to defend civic space must also target the political will and means to uphold the law.
Target state and non-state actors: Campaigns to promote and protect civic space should target both state and non-state actors.
Analyze the international level: The analysis of civic space infringements should go beyond the national level. Changes to civic space are also the result of international developments, like the war on terror following 9/11, the international war on drugs, the globalization of (the fight against) crime and money laundering, the growth of foreign direct investment (e.g. in land). That international level can be operationalized.
Use innovative strategies: Some organizations mention new, innovative ways of reconquering civic space, involving new target groups. There are inspiring examples of CSOs engaging the creative sector and the arts as a way to achieve societal change. Involve art and pop culture. Seek cross-fertilization between CSOs and (new) media.
Collect best practices: To facilitate shared learning an inventory of strategies and practical methods (best practices) used by civic actors to deal with shrinking civic space would be useful. New approaches, tips and strategies should be shared within a global network of likeminded organizations." (Conclusions and observations, page 11)
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"The Routledge Companion to Media and Activism is a wide-ranging collection of 42 original and authoritative essays by leading contributors from a variety of academic disciplines. Introducing and exploring central debates about the diverse relationships between both media and protest, and communicat
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ion and social change, the book offers readers a reliable and informed guide to understanding how media and activism influence one another. The expert contributors examine the tactics and strategies of protest movements, and how activists organize themselves and each other; they investigate the dilemmas of media coverage and the creation of alternative media spaces and platforms; and they emphasize the importance of creativity and art in social change. Bringing together case studies and contributors from six continents, the collection is organized around themes that address past, present and future developments from around the world." (Publisher description)
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"Radio remains the leading source of media news for adult Zimbabweans. Six out of 10 citizens (59%) said they get news regularly (“every day” or “a few times a week”) via the radio, compared to 33% for television and 17% for newspapers. About one in five citizens get news regularly from soci
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al media (21%) and the Internet (18%). But “other people” surpass all media channels as a regular source of news, cited by almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents. News habits have changed little in Zimbabwe in recent years. Only social media shows significant recent growth as a regular news source. Urban and rural residents differ sharply in their news habits. For example, while television beats out radio in cities (69% vs. 63%), only 12% of rural inhabitants regularly get TV news. Most Zimbabweans (95%) own a mobile phone or live in a household where someone else owns one. But only 43% of those phones have access to the Internet. About three-fourths (73%) of citizens own or have access to radios, compared to 48% for televisions and 23% for computers. Poor citizens are less likely to own communications devices and to access the Internet than their better-off counterparts. Religious leaders are the most trusted institution in Zimbabwe, making them a potentially valuable conduit for information during the COVID-19 pandemic." (Key findings, page 2)
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"The government of Zimbabwe is encouraging the use of digital platforms to provide remote learning services during the COVID-19 pandemic, but data showing that most households lack Internet access and reliable electricity suggest that many students will find it difficult or impossible to participate
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. The government should also provide remote-learning services via radio and television, which are more widely accessible, though even this approach will exclude many students. In the longer term, major improvements in electricity supply and Internet connectivity, especially in rural areas, will be needed to move Zimbabwean education into the remote-learning era." (Conclusion)
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"Als die Tonstudios, 1963, noch voll verkabelt sind, beginnt Klaus Jürgen Schmidt, sich durch die Strukturen der Öffentlich-Rechtlichen zu schlagen. Die biografische Erzählung ist ein Einblick hinter die Kulissen von Radio Bremen, aber auch in das Leben des Autors, der immer wieder für sein Idea
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l des Journalismus kämpft. Zahlreiche Anekdoten schildern humorvoll Schmidts Weg vom Tontechniker zum Gründer der Radio Bridge Overseas in Zimbabwe. »Stimmen des Südens für Ohren im Norden« war Idee des Projektes, das afrikanischen Rundfunk-Autoren half, der Welt ihre eigenen Geschichten zu erzählen. Zu Hause gab es dafür eine »Brücken-Sperre«, dennoch bleibt für ihn öffentlich-rechtlicher Rundfunk Voraussetzung für die Möglichkeit, den Horizont sowohl der Stimmen als auch der Hörer zu erweitern und zwar abseits von passgenauen Stücken und unsozialen Netzwerken." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Drawing on over a dozen new empirical case studies – from Kenya to Somalia, South Africa to Tanzania – this collection explores how rapidly growing social media use is reshaping political engagement in Africa. But while social media has often been hailed as a liberating tool, the book demonstra
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tes how it has often served to reinforce existing power dynamics, rather than challenge them. Featuring experts from a range of disciplines from across the continent, this collection is the first comprehensive overview of social media and politics in Africa. By examining the historical, political, and social context in which these media platforms are used, the book reveals the profound effects of cyber-activism, cyber-crime, state policing and surveillance on political participation." (Publisher description)
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"This is a timely and much-needed collection that fills an important gap in the literature. It offers excellent conceptual tools and a selection of case studies that provide a useful map of the digital divide across the African continent and between Africa and the rest of the world. I especially app
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reciate the editors’ efforts to address African issues on their own terms and to problematize interpretive paradigms from the global north. It is a book that many will look forward to reading." (Pier Paolo Frassinelli, Professor, School of Communication, University of Johannesburg, South Africa)
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"This volume seeks to analyse the emerging wave of data journalism in the Global South. It does so by examining trends, developments and opportunities for data journalism in the aforementioned contexts. Whilst studies in this specific form of journalism are increasing in numbers and significance, th
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ere remains a dearth of literature on data journalism in less developed regions of the world. By demonstrating an interest in data journalism across countries including Chile, Argentina, the Philippines, South Africa and Iran, among others, this volume contributes to multifaceted transnational debates on journalism, and is a crucial reference text for anyone interested in data journalism in the 'developing' world. Drawing on a range of voices from different fields and nations, sharing empirical and theoretical experiences, the volume aims to initiate a global dialogue among journalism practitioners, researchers and students." (Publisher description)
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"[...] there seems to be an understanding that the media is important and that society needs the media. In October 2018, KAS Media Africa, therefore, gathered the CEOs of media houses, publishers and editors-in-chief from 16 different countries, both from Anglophone and Frenchspeaking Africa, in Acc
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ra. In the Ghanaian capital, they heard about different models of how to make one’s media enterprise economically stronger. Questions such as whether Africa needs or accepts a paywall featured. Along with several other key sustainability issues, the critical question of how the media can make itself more independent from government advertising – often a vital cog in the media’s sustainability in most parts of Africa – was also debated. There is no one-size-fits-all model of a good media enterprise, but we do encourage the exchange between people who realise that making an online publication in Cape Town is completely different from defending one’s publication in Bamako, Mali against government interference and terrorist threats. Some media in Africa will not survive the gathering storms, while others will make it through diversification, innovation, an exchange with other players in the African market, and with the passion of their publishers." (Foreword)
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"In many African countries, including Zimbabwe, journalists have been subjected to various policy regulations that have widely been criticised for making the practice of journalism difficult. Part of the reason has been the advent of competitive politics that have left the ruling regimes scrambling
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to limit freedoms and stopopposition onslaught on their power. One way the Zimbabwean government has limited freedom of expression has been through the introduction of the Interception of Communications Act, a surveillance regulation law that has had a chilling effect on the practice of journalism. This paper utilises Pierre Bourdieu’s journalistic field as theoretical lenses, focusing on the concepts of journalistic field to explore how journalists have been affected by the threats posed by this law in their daily newsgathering and production activities. The study is based on qualitative interviews with Zimbabwean journalists and civil society activists with an interest in the media, sampled from the private print media. The article argues that state surveillance has disrupted the journalistic field in the country by damaging the relationship between journalists and their sources, thus compromising one of the basic tenets of journalism. Journalists can no longer follow the widely held newsgathering routines as a result of state surveillance policies. Furthermore, investigative journalism, which was already under pressure from political influence, has been further eroded. We argue that Zimbabwe journalists need to develop reporting practices that expose surveillance and find creative ways to negotiate and resist surveillance." (Abstract)
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"When Zimbabwe attained her independence from colonial powers in 1980, prospects of a peaceful nation were high, especially following the pledge made by the Prime Minister Elect in his victory speech. Isaiah 2:4b was quoted as a metaphor of peace, but things did not turn out as expected in the follo
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wing years. The vicious cycle of violence that was inherited from the colonial legacy continued and the worse phase of that cycle was the Midlands and Matabeleland crisis, commonly known as Gukurahundi. Approximately 20 000 people died in the state-sanctioned violence (genocide). Using Cue-Dependent Forgetting Theory, this paper critically appraises possible reasons why the promised bliss through reconciliation did not materialise. Among the reasons cited in this paper are the lack of a serious Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and also the phenomenon of amnesia as the major contributory factors to this cycle of violence." (Abstract)
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"This book focuses on the reporting of human rights in broadly defined times of conflict. It brings together scholarly and professional perspectives on the role of the media in constructing human rights and peacebuilding options in conflict and post-conflict environments, drawing on case studies fro
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m Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. It also provides critical reflections on the challenges faced by journalists and explores the implications of constructing human rights and peacebuilding options in their day-to-day professional activities." (Publisher description)
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"The collection of essays in this volume seek among other things to draw attention to the virtues of conflict-sensitive journalism as a way of transforming the negative effects of ‘war’ journalism. Contributors to the handbook include journalists drawn from the following countries: eSwatini, Les
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otho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, who participated in a workshop in Windhoek in July 2018." (Foreword)
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