1. A Quiet Media Revolution? - Mediatisation, altered media geographies and insurgent citizen tactics Thomas Tufte, Roskilde University, Denmark Presentation given at Centre of Governance and Human Rights, University of Cambridge 19 October 2011

2. Media Content, Technology, Audience  Changing dynamics and relations  Public connection, public sphere engagement, citizen journalism, participatory journalism, citizen media, civic engagement  Media development + civil society development: civil-society driven media platforms

3. Civil Society-driven Media Platforms  Altering relations between decision- makers and citizens?  Leading to new spaces of deliberation and public debate, critique and civic action?  Unpacking the processes of empowerment and citizen participation?

4. Communication, Citizenship and Social Change  Co-evolution of new and old media  Citizenship: a social practice grounded in everyday life  Civic action: active manifestation of citizens as claimants of development  Citizens as media producers, citizen journalists, bloggers

5. Communication Power  ‘in a world marked by the rise of mass self- communication, social movements and insurgent politics have a the chance to enter the public space from multiple sources. By using both horizontal communication networks and mainstream media to convey their images and messages, they increase their chances of enacting social and political change – even if they start from a subordinate position in institutional power, financial resources, or symbolic legitimacy’ (Castells 2009. 302)

6. Civil society-driven media platforms  How civil society-driven media and communication initiatives can enhance processes of empowerment and ultimately good governance

7. Key Change Agents  Civil society – gaining visibilty, articulating change and obtaining political influence  Citizens – (dis)connections with orgs and movements  Government, decision-makers: good governance, accountability, transparency  Civil society-driven media platforms: new formso of content production

8. People Speaking Back? Media, Empowerment and Democrac in East Africa (MEDIeA)  Democratic development: multi-party system, civil society development, free media  3 % internet access  45% mobile phone access  6% economic growth pr year  6.2% HIV prevalence  Young marginalized women: lack voice in public life

9. Introducing Femina HIP  Tanzanian NGO, 1999-  Largest print media producer in Tanzania  Many donors on board, but is a ’homegrown’ organisation  Entertainment-education through real life stories  Multi-media platform

10. FEMA  FEMA. A glossy magazine, 64 pages, 170.000 copies  Published 4 x a year. Targets youth aged 15-24 especially secondary school students in every region of the country

11. SiMchezo  Si Mchezo! 32 pages, 175.000 copies.  6 x a year. Targets out of school youth and their communities particularly in rural areas.

12. Multi Media Platform  Pilika Pilika. A radio soap opera. 4 x week.  FEMA Tv Talk Show. Half ½ hour talk show, national TV 4 times a week.  ChezaSalama (‘play safe’). Interactive website. First of its kind in Tanzania.  5-600 Femina Clubs in schools and communities  Community outreach programme

13. Femina HIP Objectives To build supportive environments in Tanzania where:  Young people in their communities enjoy their right to access information & services and are empowered to make positive informed choices around sexuality and lead healthy lifestyles in order to reduce the negative impact of HIV/AIDS.

14. Femina HIP Objectives To build supportive environments in Tanzania where:  Communities exercise their right to express themselves, participate in public debate & engage in civil society. (Femina HIP Logical Framework, 2007)

15. Outcomes  Continuity sustains engagement  Community mobilization enables engagement  Young people engage in journalistic practice  Sparks motivation and self-confidence  New public spheres emerge  Embryonic civil society

16. Challenges  Upward Accountability: –Gaining political clout –Balancing social critique and political influence  Downward accountability –Balancing a mass vehicle for millions of audiences with space for personal engagment

17. Disjunctions of Citizenship  Global discourse (democracy, good governance, citizenship)  Local realities: poverty, lack of media access, other priorities…

18. Mediápolis - altered media geographies and mediatization of society  A new theory of the public sphere  Mediatisation of society as a basic premise for citizenship and democractic development

19. Mediápolis - a mediated space of appearance  The polis, properly speaking, is not the city-state in its physical location: it is the organisation of the people as it arises out of acting and speaking together, and its true space lies between people living together for this purpose, no matter where they happen to be… (Arendt 1958; 198)

20. Why voice matters - the role of media and technology in carving out space  Allowing voice in public for a vastly increased range of people  A greatly increased mutual awareness of these new voices  New scales of organisation  Understanding what spaces are required for political organization  New forms of listening

21. Citizen Tactics  Efforts made by ordinary peple to create spaces for themselves, overcoming power structures to which they are subjected

22. Citizen Media  The term ’citizens media’ implies, first, that a collectivity is enacting its citizenship by actively intervening and transforming the established mediascape: second, that these media are contesting social codes, legitimized identities and institutionalized social relations: and third, that these communication practices are empowering the community involved, to the point where these transformations and chages are possible (Rodriguez 2001/2006: 774)