SPEAKING UP AND TALKING BACK? SPEAKING UP AND TALKING Media, Empowerment and Civic Engagement among East and Southern African Youth among East and Civic Engagement Media, Empowerment Yearbook 2012/2013 The book questions whether and how young citizens in Africa engage with media and communications technologies and platforms in a desire to be included in the change processes of their societies. The theme echoes some of the claims made by disenchanted and frustrated youth and other citizens in the streets of North Africa’s cities in 2011 and 2012. They were severely critical of the gover- nance structures in their countries, mass social mobilizations took SPEAKING UP AND place, governments fell and, in the aftermath, the slow process of transition continued, now with one tyrant less but still with uncertain outcomes and huge challenges for the social and economic develop- ment of these countries. TALKING BACK? Youth in particular engaged massively, visibly, loudly and dramati- cally around demands to be involved and included in their countries’ Media, Empowerment development processes. This yearbook taps into the less visible and dramatic, but nevertheless highly dynamic and influential, process of media development and the enlargement of youth-driven, delibera- and Civic Engagement tive spaces which sub-Saharan Africa is currently experiencing. among East and and Winnie Mitullah Hansen-Skovmoes, Anne Sofie Wildermuth, Norbert Editors: Thomas Tufte, Southern African Youth The International Clearinghouse on Editors: Thomas Tufte Children, Youth and Media Norbert Wildermuth Anne Sofie Hansen-Skovmoes NORDICOM Winnie Mitullah Nordic Information Centre for Media and Communication Research University of Gothenburgh Box 713, SE 405 30 GÖTEBORG Tel. +46 31 786 00 00. Fax +46 31 786 46 55 www.nordicom.gu.se The International Clearinghouse on 8 5 Children, Youth and Media 5 3 2 5 Yearbook NORDICOM 6 8 2012/2013 University of Gothenburg 1 9 8 7 9 ISBN 978-91-86523-55-8 The International The International Clearinghouse Publications from the International Clearinghouse Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media, at on Children, Youth and Media on Children, Youth and Media A UNESCO INITIATIVE 1997 Nordicom Yearbooks University of Gothenburg Cecilia von Feilitzen, Ulla Carlsson & Catharina Bucht (Eds): New Questions, New Insights, New Box 713 In 1997, the Nordic Information Centre for Media and Approaches. Contributions to the Research Forum at the World Summit on Media for Children and SE 405 30 GÖTEBORG, Sweden Youth 2010. Yearbook 2011. Web site: Communication Research (Nordicom), University Ulla Carlsson (Ed.) Children and Youth in the Digital Media Culture. From a Nordic Horizon. www.nordicom.gu.se/clearinghouse of Gothenburg, Sweden, began establishment of Yearbook 2010. the International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth DIRECTOR: Ulla Carlsson and Media. The overall point of departure for the Thomas Tufte & Florencia Enghel (Eds): Youth Engaging With the World. Media, Communication and SCIENTIFIC CO-ORDINATOR: Social Change. Yearbook 2009. Clearinghouse’s efforts with respect to children, youth Maria Edström Norma Pecora, Enyonam Osei-Hwere & Ulla Carlsson (Eds): African Media, African Children. Telephone: +46 31 786 66 40 and media is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Yearbook 2008. Fax: +46 31 786 46 55 Child. [email protected] The aim of the Clearinghouse is to increase Karin M. Ekström & Birgitte Tufte (Eds): Children, Media and Consumption. On the Front Edge. Yearbook 2007. INFORMATION CO-ORDINATOR: awareness and knowledge about children, youth and Catharina Bucht media, thereby providing a basis for relevant policy- Ulla Carlsson & Cecilia von Feilitzen (Eds): In the Service of Young People? Studies and Reflections on Media in the Digital Age. Yearbook 2005/2006. Tel: +46 31 786 49 53 making, contributing to a constructive public debate, Fax: +46 31 786 46 55 Cecilia von Feilitzen (Ed.): Young People, Soap Operas and Reality TV. Yearbook 2004. [email protected] and enhancing children’s and young people’s media literacy and media competence. Moreover, it is hoped Cecilia von Feilitzen & Ulla Carlsson (Eds): Promote or Protect? Perspectives on Media Literacy and that the Clearinghouse’s work will stimulate further Media Regulations. Yearbook 2003. research on children, youth and media. THE CLEARINGHOUSE Cecilia von Feilitzen & Ulla Carlsson (Eds): Children, Young People and Media Globalisation. The International Clearinghouse on Children, Yearbook 2002. IS LOCATED AT NORDICOM Youth and Media informs various groups of users – Nordicom is an organ of Cecilia von Feilitzen & Catharina Bucht: Outlooks on Children and Media. Child Rights, Media co-operation be tween the Nordic researchers, policy-makers, media professionals, Trends, Media Research, Media Literacy, Child Participation, Declarations. Yearbook 2001. countries – Denmark, Finland, Ice- voluntary organisations, teachers, students and Cecilia von Feilitzen & Ulla Carlsson (Eds): Children in the New Media Landscape. Games, land, Norway and Sweden. The over- interested individuals – about Pornography, Perceptions. Yearbook 2000. riding goal and purpose is to make the media and communication efforts Cecilia von Feilitzen & Ulla Carlsson (Eds): Children and Media. Image, Education, Participation. undertaken in the Nordic countries • research on children, young people and Yearbook 1999. known, both throughout and far media, with special attention to media Ulla Carlsson & Cecilia von Feilitzen (Eds): Children and Media Violence. Yearbook 1998. beyond our part of the world. violence, Nordicom uses a variety of chan- Other publications nels – newsletters, journals, books, databases – to reach researchers, • research and practices regarding media Catharina Bucht & Maria Edström (Eds): Youth Have Their Say on Internet Governance. Nordic Youth Forum at EuroDig, Stockholm June 2012. students, decisionmakers, media education and children’s/young people’s practitioners, journalists, teach- participation in the media, and Sirkku Kotilainen & Sol-Britt Arnolds-Granlund (Eds): Media Literacy Education. Nordic Perspectives, ers and interested members of the in cooperation with the Finnish Society on Media Education, 2010. general public. María Dolores Souza, Patricio Cabello (Eds.): The Emerging Media Toddlers, 2010. Nordicom works to establish and • measures, activities and research concerning strengthen links between the Nordic children’s and young people’s media Young People in the European Digital Media Landscape. A Statistical Overview with an Introduction research community and colleagues environment. by Sonia Livingstone and Leslie Haddon. 2009 (For the EU conference ‘Promoting a Creative in all parts of the world, both by Generation’, July 2009) means of unilateral flows and by link- Cecilia von Feilitzen: Influences of Mediated Violence. A Brief Research Summary, 2009. ing individual researchers, research Fundamental to the work of the Clearinghouse is groups and institutions. the creation of a global network. The Clearinghouse Ulla Carlsson, Samy Tayie, Geneviève Jacquinot-Delaunay and José Manuel Pérez Nordicom also documents media publishes a yearbook and a newsletter. Several Tornero (Eds): Empowerment Through Media Education. An Intercultural Dialogue, in trends in the Nordic countries. The co-operation with UNESCO, Dar Graphit and the Mentor Association, 2008. joint Nordic information addresses bibliographies and a worldwide register of organisations Ulla Carlsson (Ed.): Regulation, Awareness, Empowerment. Young People and Harmful Media users in Europe and further afield. concerned with children and media have been Content in the Digital Age, in co-operation with UNESCO, 2006. The production of comparative media compiled. This and other information is available on the statistics forms the core of this Clearinghouse’s web site: Maria Jacobson: Young People and Gendered Media Messages, 2005. service. Nordicom is funded by the Nordic Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen & Jonas Heide Smith: Playing with Fire. How do Computer Games Influence the Player?, 2004. Council of Ministers. www.nordicom.gu.se/clearinghouse SPEAKING UP AND TALKING BACK¿¿ SPEAKING UP AND TALKING BACK? Media, Empowerment and Civic Engagement among East and Southern African Youth Editors: Thomas Tufte Norbert Wildermuth Anne Sofie Hansen-Skovmoes Winnie Mitullah The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media NORDICOM University of Gothenburg SPEAKING UP AND TALKING BACK? Yearbook 2012/2013 Media,SPEAKING Empowerment UP AND and CSPEAKINGivic Engagement UP AND amongTALKING East and BACK? SouthernMedia, A fricanEmpowerment Youth and Civic Engagement among East and Southern African Youth Southern African YouthEditors: Thomas Tufte Norbert Wildermuth AnneEditors: Sofie Hansen-Skovmoes WinnieThomas Tufte Mitullah Norbert Wildermuth Anne Sofie Hansen-Skovmoes Winnie Mitullah The International Clearinghouse on The International Clearinghouse on CThehildren, International Youth Clearinghouse and Media on Children, Youth and Media NORDICOM University of Gothenburg University of Gothenburg of Gothenburg Yearbook 2012/2013 Speaking Up and Talking Back? Media Empowerment and Civic Engagement among East and Southern African Youth Editors: Thomas Tufte, Norbert Wildermuth, Anne Sofie Hansen-Skovmoes and Winnie Mitullah © Editorial matters and selections, the editors; articles, individual contributors ISSN 1651-6028 ISBN 978-91-86523-55-8 Published by: The International Clearinghouse on Children,