Media, Empowerment and Democracy in East Africa (MEDIeA) is a collaborative research program between Denmark, Kenya and Tanzania. Three universities –one Danish and two East African– have teamed up for the program, started in 2009 and scheduled to end in 2012: Roskilde University (RUC) from Denmark, the University of Nairobi from Kenya, and the University of Dar es Salaam from Tanzania. The program will comprise six individual research projects with a Kenya focus and a Tanzania focus, supplemented by an International Reference Group of leading experts in media, empowerment and democracy –theorists and practitioners. Dissemination, capacity building and policy dialogue are additional components of the program.
Presentations from the MEDIeA seminar on Media, Empowerment and Development – Strategies to explore information and communication needs of citizens held in Copenhagen on 7th June 2010 are now available online. Click here for access.
This MEDIeA seminar is to be held in Copenhagen, 7 June 2010, 9 to 15 hrs. For full details see the programme flyer. Register here.
The Danida-supported research project People Speaking Back? Media, Empowerment and Democracy in East Africa (MEDIeA) was launched in Dar es Salaam in December 2009. The project, running from 2009 to 2013, comprises of a team of 6 researchers. It explores how civil society-driven media platforms in Kenya and Tanzania enhance – or not – social processes whereby youth in the region can engage in public debate and participatory governance.
With this seminar in Copenhagen, two objectives are pursued:
- To launch the MEDIeA research programme, its sub-projects and its key development objectives, to a relevant Danish constituency of researchers and practitioners working with similar issues
- To share experiences and discuss the methodological challenges of exploring information and communication needs of citizens. How do we in practice research such needs, and how can relevant stakeholders – UN, civil society and academia – make use of the insights generated? We will draw on three international experiences in exploring this question. Firstly, the director of UNDP’s Governance Centre in Oslo will present UNDP’s experiences with ‘communication for empowerment’ as a working methodology to inform policy development. Secondly, the British anthropologist Jo Ann Tacchi, based in Brisbane Australia, will introduce the anthropological method ‘EAR’ (Ethnographic Action Research) which she has developed and applied in a series of Asian countries. Thirdly Jesper Lauridsen, former country officer to MS in Kenya, now head of ActionAid’s global governance program, will speak about how they explore the issue of information and communication needs of citizens from a governance perspective.
Participation is open to all interested and registration is required.
Registration deadline: 3rd June 2010.
Register here.
