Transcript Something about HANA

Africa’s emerging
engagement with the
Information Society.
Guy
Berger
Rhodes University, South Africa
“AfroGEEKS: Global Blackness and the Digital
Public Sphere”, University of California, Santa
Barbara. May 19 – 25, 2005.
Sivu Mzamo
Invented cycle-powered
cellphone charger
 Story symbolises:

– tech grasp, empowerment,
economic rights,
development significance,
and a culture spin.
COMING UP:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Theory: Media & Development
Research 1: ICTs in newsrooms
Research 2: Coverage of IS policy
Highway Africa
Conclusion
SECTION 1: THEORY
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Development “business”
– Subject-object; developer-developee
– Western-style destination
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Paradigms:
– Modernisation
– Dependista
– Participatory
Modernisation paradigm
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Assumption of desirable devt:
Urban, affluent, informed, rational.
Cause: exposure to the “modern”
 Media as “magic bullet” (1 way flow)
 Temp hurdle: tech haves, have-nots
 In ICTs, the Digital Divide (widening)
 Answer: disseminate (Rogers)

Challenge! Dependistas
Media = force for
underdevelopment, not development.
 Cultural imperialism: individualistic,
escapist, consumerist, materialist.
 Rather: break dependency
 Use media for national development
 = Nationalisation, devt journalism

rd
3
approach: participatory
Developees should define devt
 Need human rights and democracy
 People are subjects, just need capacity
 Not recipients, but message makers too
 = Horizontal comms critical
 Focus on community radio

The ‘new’ ICTs
Internet, cellular (mobile)
 Individual & mass media
 Not only participatory, interactive
 View of “ICT4D”
 Dominant strand: - access to “global” (i.e.
Western) knowledge
 Infostructure needed (modernisation)
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Synthesising paradigms & ICTs
Modernisation: yes, some info is NB
 Dependista: yes, need local info
 Participatory: yes, “louder voices” reaching
the “info-haves”
 Still 3 questionable assumptions:

– ICTs neutral (but can be –ve?);
– ICTs disseminate ex-centre (but bottom-up?)
– Info = power (interests more fundamental?)
SECTION 2: RESEARCH STUDIES

PARADIGM SYNTHESIS
– Uneven mix, modernisation still on top
Research 1: ICTs in newsrooms
 Research 2: Coverage of ICT policy
 Findings: give credence to
modernisation paradigm’s relevance
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General: journos & ICTs
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Barely use cameraphones, PDAs.
Poorly skilled at web research.
Inadequate access in newsrooms.
Not multi-skilling, SABC bi-media reversed.
CMS deployment is rare.
Negligible convergence of native & online
newsrooms.
Websites just hanging in there.
Research 1: ICTs in newsrooms
Findings = “laggards on
input side”
 Drew from
Modernisation:

– ICTs increase
productivity
– Early adopters NB.
9 Southern
African countries,
MA student
project (IDRC)
Research 1: findings
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Computers, not connected
– Limited access (hence, cybercafes)
No training policy or practice
 All interviewed use Net for email
 Only 1/2 use it for research, poor skill
 Early adopters - unclear
 Critical of content and language
 Interpretation: “catch-up!” (Modernistn)
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Research 2: ICT policy coverage
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Public sphere, agenda-setting,
framing
Six countries (Catia)
Most have, or developing, an ICT
policy
Minimal coverage (except Ethiopia)
Seen as tech/business story
No gender or Info Society concerns
Research 2:
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Framing as simple liberalisation/privatisation
“Africa is behind” – catch-up ethos.
ICTs seen as side-issue to democracy and
development
Grasp of media role in political policy, but not
see role in ICTs and IS policy.
Reinforces modernisation view: media “don’t
get it”.
Summing up:
Research 1: need access and training
 Research 2: need education and
sensitisation
 No sense of Africa’s info riches
 No sense of participatory possibilities
 = i.e. an empty space!

SECTION 3: HIGHWAY AFRICA
Highway Africa history:
2001: all African countries connected
 1997: HA commenced – 65 people
 2004: 430 external delegs, 17 sponsors
 Aims:

– Raise awareness
– Impart skills
– Bridge industry-academy
– Continental networking
Conf. themes:
97
New media 2000
98
Bringing the highway south
99
Net, media & democracy
Conf. themes:
2000
Africa’s new
media century
2001
Digital
renaissance
Conf. themes:
2002
Wiring journalism for development
(wssd)
2003
Mainstreaming media in the
Information Society (wsis)
2004
Media making the Information Society
2005
Reinforcing journalism in the
Information Society
Highway Africa since 2000:
Award for innovation
 Exhibitions
 SABC as co-host
 Newsroom of the Future
 Website, daily paper
 Radio, TV, cellular

HA content management system
Going open source:
2004: Highway Africa vision:
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A vibrant & growing
network of African
journalists empowered to
advance democracy &
development through
understanding & use of
appropriate technologies.
Highway Africa mission:
sensitize journalists on role of ICT in society &
media;
 train journalists & journalism teachers in
understanding & using technology to access,
generate and distribute information;
 network journalists, & link them with key
stakeholders (academics, policy makers, civil
society etc)

Networking examples
Highway Africa mission cntd:
Advocate for a media & technology environment
which enables journalists to play their full role in
democracy and development
 Research the use and impact of ICTs in Africa
with particular ref to the media
 Publish and disseminate research and
information across a range of platforms
 Celebrate innovation & excellence & to promote
better practice thru peer review
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Celebrate example - awards:
Highway Africa programmes:
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Five complementary interventions:
1.Research
2.Training
3.Policy reform
4.Information
5.Conference
1. HA research
Viability of news-sites;
 Web software used;
 Africa Media Online booklet (& French)
 Goldmine for journalists (booklet)
 Configuring convergence (booklet)
 05: Content management in 6 states.
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2. HA training
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Conference workshops x 20 p.a.
2003: 10 day intro course;
 2004:
 Intro course (22 journos)
 Advanced course to IS (26);
 2004: Advocacy (Kenya)
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2005: Zim online, short courses.
Training: to report on, and use
Digital tech
 Policy
 Internet governance
 Intellectual property
 Indigenous knowledge
 ICT reporting
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3. HA advocacy
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Objective: to expand media role as
stakeholder in IS policies:
– Conference Declarations
“03 Media & the Info Society”
– WSIS prepcoms
– IS policy database
4. Information - HANA
HANA history:
2002: WSSD x 15
 2002: launch of African Union x 15
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2003: WSIS – prepcoms, Geneva x 25
 2004: Africa Telecoms, WSIS prepcom, Aitec,
Marrakesh, Icann. x 20
 2005: Accra prepcom, Tunis in Nov
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200 outlets …
5: Conference:
Pulling it all together:
 Conference objective: To create a platform for
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sharing information, knowledge and experience
in media and ICTs and to celebrate excellence
Research feeds training, and conference;
 Training feeds HANA;
 All feed advocacy.
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For HA, Info Society spans:
freedom for new & old media.
 quality of information, African voices, policy
issues.
 global ICT potential.
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And: it frames this big pic
 = Participatory paradigm in practice!
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SECTION 5: CONCLUSION
Modernisation, dependista, participatory
paradigms.
 2 research projects: = modernisation

– But journos are subjects, not objects:
 Visit cybercafes; own cellular; critical
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HA: fuse paradigms, stress participatory
 Intervention to empower and make space.
Prognosis:
Not just what Info Soc can do for Africa,
but vice versa as well.
 Media a vital bridge from First to Third
and back;
 New media esp critical –
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– African elites
– Link to mass audience via old media.
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But question:
tech flow; tech neutrality; info power.
Thank you
Guy Berger
[email protected]
http://www.highwayafrica.ru.ac..za