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Telling our own stories -singing our own songs

Telling our own stories -singing our own songs

Community Media in Eastern and Southern Africa

by Wangu Mwangi

New vision for community media

The women jumped up and down in excitement - the Minister for Water Development is on the radio announcing that water will soon come to their community. The Minister is responding to their group's appeal which was broadcast on the radio a few weeks earlier. In another community hundreds of miles away, a family is laughing so hard that tears run down their cheeks. They are listening to the local comedian mimicking in wonderful detail the mannerisms of several local people. One of the children stands up and starts to do a drunken song perfectly in time with the voice on the radio. They are all familiar with the singing that often echoes across the ridge late at night. In yet another community even further away, a heated discussion is underway on the cause for recent tensions in an urban slum. But instead of fighting, the situation is being narrated by the local theatre group in the form of drama and song. The group's performance, open to everyone in the neighbourhood, provides a forum for the people to analyse and seek solutions to their differences.

Many such events are happening in one form or other across Africa. But there is also a new vision growing out of these experiences. In the future, the women listening to the responses of various leaders to their concerns will not depend on a producer from the national broadcasting station to record their discussions and interview the people concerned for responses. They will produce the material themselves and they will walk into offices of 'important' people to get direct responses to their concerns. The village comedian will not just entertain as a hobby - the local radio station will allocate him a weekly programme and will be earning enough money through local sponsorship and advertising to pay him for it. And the drama group will become famous throughout the world as their thought-provoking and relevant, yet entertaining, message is relayed on television screens everywhere.

These are a few of the many experiences and visions of community media that were shared at a workshop on community media held from 13 - 16 November, 1996, in Nairobi Kenya. The meeting was co-organized by EcoNewsAfrica ( ENA, a Kenyan based NGO that disseminates information on environmental and development issues) and the African Council for Communication Education, Kenyan Chapter. It was a response to the growing awareness of the potential of participatory community-based media, and especially community radio, as an empowering development tool.

The community media sector embraces not only community radio, but a diversity of other communication channels including locally produced newsletters, audio and video productions, multi-media resource and documentation centres, drama, music and other cultural activities.

Although these 'alternative media' are well developed in some parts of the world such as Europe, North America and Latin America the same is not true in Africa. While there is a short history of community based radio stations that broadcast messages on development issues and other local agenda in South Africa and parts of West Africa, these are far from widespread. In most parts of Africa, innovative and high quality media programmes with a focus on popular participation have mainly been developed as awareness packages in areas that are considered life-threatening - AIDS education, family planning and conflict resolution. Such programmes are relatively well funded and tend to originate from outside the community.

But on the whole, the community media movement is a growing sector that is set to take Africa by storm. It is fuelled by the realisation, by an increasing number of groups, that they must acquire the communication skills to enable them not only to access the kind of information that is useful to them, but also to make decisions on and produce the kind of messages about their lives that they want to send out to the outside world.

The community media workshop

The need to bring these scattered initiatives together so as to get a sense of where community media is in the region and support the growing momentum for its development was the reason behind the Community Media Workshop for Eastern and Southern Africa. Over 80 participants from 14 African countries and beyond participated in this Nairobi meeting. They were drawn from a wide cross-section of media practitioners and development workers including people from community media projects, regional media institutes, radio production groups, commercial and community radio stations, community-based groups and NGOs working in media literacy or interested in exploring community media as an empowering tool for the dissemination of information and for organizing.

The workshop saw an extremely lively exchange of experiences and ideas on the community media sector. Some of the experiences shared were those of the National Community Radio Forum and Bush Radio, a community radio station from South Africa. There was also an overview of the state of community radio in West Africa. An East African initiative to develop community radio stations and community based resource and documentation centres coordinated by EcoNews Africa was also presented. Other media experiences were the women's listening groups, a programme of the Federation of African Media Women, Zimbabwe and community theatre in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. Numerous other participants also shared their particular experiences in various aspects of development communications.

Broad issues

Various issues drawn from the experience of West Africa and South Africa were discussed. A primary prerequisite for the growth of community media is an enabling legal and political environment. The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in South Africa was represented at the workshop and presented its experiences as an independent regulatory body with a mandate to ensure equal access to broadcasting. The South African broadcasting law also recognises community radio as the third sector in broadcasting, after public and commercial radio sectors. While the IBA is still undergoing teething problems, South Africa is a good example of a government that is interested in the democratisation of the media through ensuring equal access to all groups in society. The participants resolved to carry out research and lobby for the growth of independent media, including community broadcasting in the region.

In West Africa, most countries have long experience in rural broadcasting - a decentralised system started by governments to promote rural development. In recent years however, some of the rural radio stations as well as new commercial stations have shifted towards more independent broadcasting. There are now a large variety of independent stations ranging from private to community radio stations. The emergence of independent broadcasting is linked to the people's desire to participate in public debate on public affairs. Although public rural broadcasting has been useful in disseminating social information, it has not allowed its audiences to communicate their own social development and political-economic agendas. Community-base broadcasting has the potential to promote African cultures and to set the national agenda for people's participation in public debate about public affairs, eg in the context of liberalization and Structural Adjustment Programmes, SAPs.

Analysing the West African experience, Alymana Bathily of the Panos Institute in Dakar pointed out that the main lessons from West Africa is that one cannot be dogmatic about what constitutes a 'community' radio station. The important principle is that a diversity of views are promoted and that local people are able to identify themselves with the station.

Another theme running through the workshop was the role of community media as an antidote to the growth of the dominant monoculture represented by a few dominant media agencies - a movement that is often described by the clich, the 'global village'. The danger posed by this global trend is enormous. It results in important information - on politics, on economics, on social amelioration strategies - not being available to the majority of African people. Also it tends to perpetuate western perceptions of the political, economic and social affairs of Africa by its heavy reliance on western news agencies, its use of the traditional media formats and a reliance on 'experts' in a given field for the legitimation of a given position rather than a reliance on the people themselves. As a result it is steadily eroding local cultures and diversity of expression. Only the voices of the powerful are propagated in the global village. Community media is seen as an opportunity to create an alternative power base that would promote local culture and provide a forum for self-expression and people's participation in public debate and decision-making processes.

The workshop addressed practical issues regarding the successful operation of the various community media. Issues of ownership, guaranteeing popular participation in programming, fundraising and sustainability, technical requirements and so on, were discussed at length. Through recounting of real experiences of the workshop participants, various options and considerations that should be taken into account when starting any of the media were shared. Some of the general observations and conclusions focused on the need to:

A number of media institutions, international development organizations and donor agencies participating at the workshop also made contributions on the kind of support they are providing, or can provide to community media.

Workshop results - some of the follow-up activities identified

One of the objectives of the workshop was to bring together community representatives, media practitioners and development organizations to strategize on the promotion of community radio in the sub-region. The strategizing on this issue was successful. Although many participants expressed their support for the workshop, some were not yet sure of the exact nature of their contributions to follow-up. However, following is a list of the commitments that were made by both individual participants and groups of participants, as a result of the workshop:

Conclusion

From the foregoing there are many indicators that the workshop was beneficial to the participants, and a success in terms of achieving its original objectives and more besides. Its success was due to the participants, who came with unique, interesting and relevant experiences which they were ready to share.

The Action Plan (see page 26-27) recognizes that the network's success hinges on the active involvement of all its members in building on existing initiatives as well as in starting completely new ones. The work at subregional level will be informed by and evolve from the work at the base.

This article is based on an article published in EcoNews Africa Vol. 5. No. 1, 12 January 1996 and the workshop report Community Media Workshop for Eastern and Southern Africa which documents the proceedings in more detail and also provides a list of participants and their contact addresses. For more information about these publications as well as about how to link into the network through your national contact points contact: Ms. Wangu Mwangi, Editor/ Media Liason, EcoNews Africa, P.O. Box 76406, Nairobi, Kenya (Tel: 254 2 605127; Fax: 254 2 604682; e-mail: [email protected])

Action Plan:

A coordinated response to the opportunities for new media in East and Southern Africa

Goals

    · to promote the opening of the airways.

    · to promote the growth and development of community media.

Needs

    1. Comprehensive and conducive legislation and policy environment to ensure community radio stations are licensed and allowed to operate unhindered.

    2. Awareness about and for media for development

    3. Research into all aspects relating to the above goals using participatory methodology.

    4. Training to develop skills and resources for community media.

    5. Funding from both traditional and alternative sources.

    6. International support for community media in the region, including information and personnel exchanges and solidarity.

    7. Equipment which is appropriate, adaptable and affordable which draws on and strengthens African technological development.

Actions

1. Support for national lobbying initiatives

    As the broadcasting sectors in some countries in the region ore still monopolized by the state, the aim is to lobby for changes in any legislation either specifically or implicitly disallowing independent broadcasting, whether commercial or community in nature.

    As a variety of state policies - on regulatory bodies for the broadcasting sector, on frequency al location, on import taxes on relevant equipment, etc. can work to impede independent broadcasting, the aim is also to lobby for changes in these policies.

    The starting point will be to convene national networks of stakeholders in the broadcasting sector.

    As the lobbying processes will be non-confrontational, the national networks' stakeholders will include media practitioners, those wishing to begin independent broadcasting initiatives, state representatives, opposition representatives, civic society representatives, NGOs working in media for development, etc.

    The national networks will determine and present alternatives to the broadcasting sector models in their countries, identifying relevant legislation and policies which currently impede the growth of independent broadcasters.

    The national networks will also ensure its representation at any relevant discussions to ensure the continual promotion of independent broadcasting and specifically, of community broadcasting.

    The national networks will be able to draw on the sub-regional network, continental and international organizations for support - thus, the research and lobbying will be initiated and occur primarily at the national level, but also at the sub-regional, continental and international levels.

    The sub-regional network will start its work in Kenya, in collaboration with the newly formed Kenya Community Media Network (KCOMNET).

2. Research

    · into the specific legislative and policy environment of countries in the sub-regions where independent broadcasting has yet to be developed so as to present alternative broadcasting sectors models for change which draw on experiences across the continent.

    · into potential sources and costs of necessary technology and equipment, including maintenance costs and means of cost-sharing at a sub-regional level, with the goal of promoting and utilizing local technologies in as far as that is possible.

    · into participatory methodology for media which will draw on and utilize local/traditional knowledge systems.

    · into participatory audience research methods, which includes the groundwork necessary before project initiation as well as on-going review and evaluation.

    · the documentation and dissemination of subregional and continental experiences in community media.

3. Training for national and local producers, technicians end trainers

    · that all training be locally and regionally based, making use of existing organizations and resources, with a particular focus on 'in situ' training.

    · that all training is to include social-cultural training for development with a particular emphasis on participatory methodologies in media.

    · that all training is to recognize the need for training of specific 'target groups' - such as youth, women and elderly and the relevant curricula be developed for such training.

    · that all in situ training attempts to draw on and develop local human resources and local/ traditional knowledge systems.

    · that models for participatory training review and evaluation be developed and used.

4. Fund raising

    · the initial set-up of community media projects, may draw on traditional sources, eg. donors.

    ··continued viability will require alternative financing sources and mechanisms, eg. community-based strategies.

5. Networking

    · to facilitate the exchange of experiences and strategies among community media groups.

    · to exchange . information in the form of programmes, newsletters, etc.

    · to work as a unified body on relevant issues, eg. lobbying, training, etc.

    · to make full use of Internet for networking (IPS, MISA).

    · to also use bulletins/newsletters (ENA, IPS, MISA, PANOS).

6. Awareness raising

    · about the potential uses and benefits of community media for all stakeholders.

    · about sub-regional and continental experiences in community media.

Organization

    National contact points from each country represented were identified with the responsibilities of promoting national community media networks where none already exist.

    Sub-regional organizations in attendance were assigned the task of implementation, each with a specific focus according to their specific work.

    · EcoNews Africa (Kenya) was mandated to co-ordinate the network's activities. The network will collaborate with relevant international organizations.

    ··PANOS Institute (Senegal) will expand its research activities from West Africa into East and Southern Africa and to assist with fundraising and information dissemination.

    ··Inter Press Service, IPS (Zimbabwe) will assist with networking, information dissemination and training.

    · Media Institute of Southern Africa, MISA (Namibia) will assist with networking and information dissemination.

    ··National Community Radio Forum, NCRF, (South Africa) will carry out documentation and its dissemination.

    ··World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, AMARC (East and Southern Africa) will mobilize funds for the sub-regional network's research in relation to community radio and to assist with training.

    · African Council for Communication Education, ACCE, Continental Body and Kenya Chapter, will look into their organizations' contribution to the network.

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