"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation."
A new project dedicated to African media has seen the light of day. The TV channel Africanews24 will be launched following the success of the partner project Euronews24. The channel was presented on May 21 at the “Africa 53 countries, One continent” conference in Bologna.
The world’s media eyes will soon squarely focus on South Africa, with millions from across the globe tuning in via multimillion-dollar broadcasts. Yet, as Deborah Walter points out, even as the international media and big broadcasters move in, and journalists descend from all over the world, in South Africa, like much of Africa, community radio is still a key source of information and news for many communities, linking local activities and issues with international perspectives.
African blogs are becoming more and more influencing and relevant to understand African media and the reality of African civil society. While thinking about the possibility of introducing our new bloggers’ section, we decided to let their words explain our audience the world they have contributed to create and to make understand better this growing wave running over African media through their thoughts.
Do the African media manage today to allow African voices to be heard: the voices of African citizens, including those who are generally marginalized and excluded? Do they contribute to the emergence of a democratic culture?
They build a public sphere in which citizens are committed: not only do citizens receive information which allows them to form an opinion; but also they can make their voices heard and participate in decisions which affect their lives; in other words strengthen their influence.
Ory Okolloh, the Executive Director of Ushahidi , is from Kenya but currently lives in Johannesburg. Her blog is "outlet for her opinions. While it is primarily focused on Kenya, she reserves to write about whatever she wants."
Sokari Ekine is a Nigerian social justice activist living in Spain, with a background in technology, gender issues and human rights. She is interested in creating a community of grassroots African bloggers as a way for Africans to exchange ideas, share experiences and tell their own stories in our own words.
Native of Cape Town, Sean Jacobs lives in Brooklyn, New York and teaches in Manhattan. He obsesses about the relationship between politics and popular culture, but the main rationale for his blog is to comment on what passes for media coverage of the African continent.
Rosebelle Kagumire is an experienced Ugandan Journalist. She won the best Journalist blogger English category at the Panos hosted competition in 2009. Currently she is a student of MA. Media, Conflict and Peace studies at University for Peace (UPEACE), Costa Rica.
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