All posts by Natalie El-Mazjan

Who are you calling helpless!

In the Information Age, where new media has stolen the spotlight, old media such as radio are left unnoticed. However, if we want to be realistic, radio, and particularly community radio is sometimes the only means people have to communicate and receive news and information. Pieterse (2005) contends that “media such as community radio allow more local input and have greater outreach and development potential than the fancy digital media” (p.23). The case I will depict in this post is a collaboration between the BBC and a community radio in the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states in India to raise awareness about bonded labour and human rights. Continue reading Who are you calling helpless!

India: The World’s Oldest Profession Meets New Media

It is not a secret that prostitution is the world’s oldest profession. In fact, prostitutes are the people everybody loves to hate. They are diabolized, criminalized, and assaulted in many communities. So, what does the “network society” have to offer those who are marginalized in their own society in countries like India? I would say a lot!  Continue reading India: The World’s Oldest Profession Meets New Media

Community Media – Key Words

This blog aims to highlight the centrality of the role of community media to questions of participation, democracy, and social change. It is thus important, as an introductory step, to provide a basic definition of concepts such as community, civil society, and community media as they figure in Ellie Rennie’s book Community Media: A Global Introduction.

CM

According to Rennie, community is not a static, uniform entity, but rather an ongoing process shaped by interaction and communication. It is a relation that is frequently negotiated. Community does not only denote a geographical location, but also figures in “terms of interest, language, cultural or ethnic groupings”. Although it is thought to be “pre-political”, unplanned, and dependent on a sense of belonging, community can be a type of governance through furthering political aspirations.  Continue reading Community Media – Key Words

Welcome to our blog!

First and foremost, we would like to welcome you to our blog! We are 4 students interested in ICT4D and participatory media. Our goal is to establish this site as a place of exchange where we negotiate meanings and concepts related to the mentioned topic  with you. Your comments complete our blog so please get posting!

Our group is composed by four MA students at Malmö University.

Natalie was born in Lebanon, but is now living in Malmö with her husband and two kids. Her academic background is in Translation.

Sean is an Australian/Irish dual citizen studying in Sweden and working in Denmark. His academic background is in literature.

Kim was born in Germany and is now living in Canada. Her academic background is in history, international business, and project management.

Fernando was born in Colombia but has mostly lived in Iceland and The Netherlands.  His academic background is in Cultural Studies, Linguistics, Anthropology and Film Studies.