Cinetoile promotes African cinema to create new audiences and business models
Leaving aside Nollywood films and their imitators, most African films actually have only a very small chance of being seen in the country where they were made. African cinemas have collapsed over the past several decades and have not had the resurgence of investment interest found elsewhere in the developed world. As a result, most of the African film industry lives without both box office revenues and secondary income from DVDs, most of which are pirated. Where support for national film-making does exist, it is almost exclusively focused on production and training. Russell Southwood talks to Aurelien Bodinaux of Cinetoile about what it’s trying to achieve with its film distribution and promotion initiative.
In issue 57
Content
South Africa’a public broadcaster SABC nears meltdown, ‘haemorrhaging (money) from every pore’, says Board member
Promoting African cinema, "L' Héritage" soon on Africable
Spanish reality TV show mistreats Namibian San tribe family members, claims NGO
Nigeria: Lagosians Troop Out for MTN Project Fame
Broadcast
Vislink CEO says that sports is likely to drive HD uptake in Africa
Botswana: Bakgatla paid US$58,000 upfront for TV Rights of initiation ceremony
South Africa’s Spescom offers TV in a box for US$370,000 aimed at community TV stations
Africa: AU to Start Radio in Somalia
Distribution
Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI) now showing in 40 countries on CanalSat Horizons bouquet
South Africa: SABC Has Left Us in Dire Straits, Say Production Houses
Investment
Rwanda: Tanzanian Media Mogul Investor Raps Western Media Over Genocide
Eritrea: Independent Satellite Radio Station for Eritreans Begins Broadcasting from Paris
More
Regulation & policy
Technology & convergence
Events
People
Opportunities
Top story
Cinetoile promotes African cinema to create new audiences and business models
Leaving aside Nollywood films and their imitators, most African films actually have only a very small chance of being seen in the country where they were made. African cinemas have collapsed over the past several decades and have not had the resurgence of investment interest found elsewhere in the developed world. As a result, most of the African film industry lives without both box office revenues and secondary income from DVDs, most of which are pirated. Where support for national film-making does exist, it is almost exclusively focused on production and training. Russell Southwood talks to Aurelien Bodinaux of Cinetoile about what it’s trying to achieve with its film distribution and promotion initiative.
The Cinetoile project was set up by Brussels-based Africalia with funding from the European Commission. According to Aurelien Bodinaux:”The main aim of the project is to encourage the promotion and distribution of African films in Africa. Promoting and distributing African cinema is a means of increasing awareness among the general public of the works produced and the issues of social development that they tackle. Making films accessible is therefore a social, economic and educational necessity. The specific objective of Cinetoile is to strengthen the capacities and strategies of operators in the field.”.
The Cinetoile initiative has been developed with 8 African partners for the first phase but may be expanded in 2010 to include others. The initiative will run until Fespaco in 2011. The partners come from a mixture of Anglophone and Francophone countries and include: mobile cinema company Cinéma Numérique Ambulant Burkina (CNA Burkina); Cinéma Numérique Ambulant Mali (CNA Mali); DRC’s Studio Malembe Maa; Lola Screen Kenya; Ugandan film festival organisers Kampala Cultural Foundation (Amakula); the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF); Zimbabwe International Video Fair Trust (IVFT); and South Africa’s Red Flag.
Five African films will form the focus of this promotion and distribution experiment. The first of these was selected at Fespaco 2009 and awarded the Cinetoile prize. The other four will be voted for (under specific criteria) at the 2009 Zanzibar International Film Festival. Among the things that the partners will be doing to promote African films being seen are:
* Cinéma Numérique Ambulant Burkina (CNA Burkina) will organize 50 screenings within 10 villages in Burkina Faso. During Fespaco 2011, CNA Burkina will conduct a seminar presenting CNA Africa and the advantages of building efficient networks of distribution to better promote African Cinema.
* Cinéma Numérique Ambulant Mali (CNA Mali) is part of the CNA Africa. During 2010, le CNA Mali will organize 20 screenings within 4 villages in Mali.
* Studio Malembe Maa operates in the huge Sankuru region in the heart of the DRC badly affected by the civil war. It will have a programme for training young cultural entrepreneurs to run screenings and will carry out 50 screenings in the Sankuru region.
* Lola Kenya Screen will organise 50 screening shows in 5 neighbourhoods (through schools) of Nairobi in 2010. Lola Kenya Screen will also organise a critical writing workshop as well as a documentary filmmaking seminar aimed at children from Nairobi.
* The Kampala Cultural Foundation organises the annual Amakula Kampala International Film Festival. The festival showcases films from around the world with a special focus on African cinema, offers workshops and seminars, and organizes the annual Congress on East African Cinema. During 2010, Amakula will host a seminar in Kampala which look at how to develop a film distribution system based upon existing networks. The meetings will bring together the film industry (filmmakers, producers, distributors) with community and video halls owners/managers. Amakula will also put on 50 screenings during 10 - two day festivals around the country.
* The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) attracts over 1,000 film professionals every year. During 2010, ZIFF will set up a seminar focusing on the specific problems of film distribution in Tanzania. The meetings will be attended by producers, distributors and television broadcasters from Tanzania as well as European experts who’ll share their experience of European distribution schemes such as MEDIA. ZIFF will also organize 50 screenings in 10 villages in Tanzania.
* Zimbabwe International Video Fair Trust (IVFT) will organize 50 screenings in 10 tertiary institutions (tomorrow’s leaders). During Fespaco 2011, IVTF will also conduct a seminar on how to use African cinema as a tool to promote social changes.
* South Africa’s Red Flag produces the annual Africa on Screen African film festival which is a national celebration of Africa Day through film. It will organize 25 screenings in 5 tertiary institutions.
The projects will be evaluated by a Committee which includes Mozambican producer Pedro Pimenta.
Cinema distribution in most African countries is distinctly two track: firstly, a small number of recently invested multiplexes in cities for the newly emerging African middle classes and secondly the video halls (called by many names in different countries) that use pirated material to provide entertainment (along with drink) for the less well-off. Occasionally, there are mobile cinema showings supported by advertising but these are not a weekly occurrence in one place. Only South Africa (see Distribution news below) is making any effort to break down this heavily socially segregated approach to film viewing.
Cinetoile is a massively ambitious project with a range of cultural, social and economic objectives that seem to spread out in all directions. Nevertheless it has identified a very real ground for opening up a new type of cinema distribution. If it can somehow bring the video hall operators of Africa into some form of coherent distribution system, then it may well end up being something that will be remembered long after its funding has finished.
Content
South Africa’a public broadcaster SABC nears meltdown, ‘haemorrhaging (money) from every pore’, says Board member
Massive debts and a spate of top-level resignations have pushed South Africa's public broadcaster to near-collapse, threatening a network once styled as the voice of the country's democracy. The resignation of eight of the SABC's 12 board members as well as its chairman in recent weeks are just the latest in a string of scandals plaguing the debt-ridden broadcaster.
The board no longer has enough members to take binding decisions. Workers are on strike over a pay dispute, independent producers fume over lack of payment and a deadlock over how to proceed means no decisions are being taken at any level. "If the board does not function, the SABC does not function. The legal constraints and protection of its own statutes (mean) that if the board does not meet, the SABC literally grinds to a halt," said board member Alison Gillwald.
She was addressing parliament's communications committee, which on Thursday opened an inquiry into what committee chair Ismael Vadi termed a "lack of effective corporate governance." Gillwald said members had resigned in the middle of an incomplete audit process. The hamstrung board cannot now take decisions on salary increases or on critical expenditure for coverage of the 2010 football World Cup.
The SABC is crippled by over 800 million rand (US$98 million) in debt and is seeking a two billion rand cash injection from the government. Newspaper reports have outlined 40 million rand owed to producers, threatening to sink popular local soap operas, the network's bread-and-butter advertising vehicles. Even parliament seems unsure how to proceed, with the committee struggling to agree whether the enquiry should continue and where the blame lay for the rot at the SABC.
Television only came to South Africa in 1976 as the Calvinist apartheid government feared the medium's influence on its segregationist rule. Once TV arrived, the government used it purely as a propaganda tool. After the transition to democracy in 1994, the SABC became one of the most visible signs of the new nation, with a new cast of multiracial presenters broadcasting in all 11 official languages.
Now the SABC is accused of being a propaganda outlet for the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Around this year's elections, the network yanked a documentary about political satire that included cartoons of President Jacob Zuma. Similarly, a documentary on former president Thabo Mbeki never made it to air, while the network was outed in 2006 for blacklisting commentators critical of the government.
In 2008, scandal arose again when chief executive Dali Mpofu was suspended for insubordination, just hours after he had suspended the head of news as tensions rocked a heavily divided board. Shortly thereafter the previous administration sped through controversial legislation allowing government to dissolve the board, which would be appointed by the president and speaker of the National Assembly.
Mpofu, who also appeared before parliament this week, said the SABC was in a crisis of "the highest magnitude."
Opposition parties and the ANC were united in slamming the SABC for what they say is outlandish spending and failure to perform its function. Mpofu told the committee that protecting the jobs of the more than 4,000 SABC workers was vital. The workers were, he said, "sitting at a public institution on auto pilot, with no leadership."
Parliament will summon more board members to explain themselves so they could decide whether to dissolve the board, or appoint interim members to salvage the network. "It is haemorrhaging from every pore," Gillwald said. "It is unable to perform its basic duties."
What follows is an edited version of a statement from SABC :
« Over the last five years, the SABC has grown the local content budget from R230million to R1.1 billion. The SABC has seen the growth of local content on television in the last three years from ratios of 60% international: 40% local to 70% local: 30% international content at present.
Alongside that has been the growth of the independent production industry from 20 companies 2004 to 408 in 2009, as a consequence of the SABC’s strategic investment in the industry. The SABC sources 100% of it’s its local content from the independent producers except for sports and reversioning which is done in-house.
The SABC acknowledges the challenges faced by the industry, and acknowledges what is due to them. However, at this moment it is difficult for the public broadcaster to make a definitive commitment in terms of how much we can pay our suppliers each month. We are also working block-by-block to create more certainty to our local industry creditors. It is difficult for the SABC to make this commitment at this stage, as the corporation’s cash flow varies on a month to month basis.
In as much as we are facing a cash flow problem, we have however made inroads in trying to process payments due to our vendors in the Production Industry. Last month the industry was owed R129 Million by the SABC, and this amount has been reduced to R60 million. This clearly shows that we are gradually dealing with this issue. The SABC is in the process of finalising a payment plan which will soon be shared with the Industry, as agreed upon in a meeting held on 2 June 2009 between both parties.
Around the issue of systems and processes, the SABC acknowledges that proper systems and processes need to be in place in any organisation. Over the past five years, the organisation has invested in systems such as SAP, TVBMS and IPM, which are geared to assist with processes such as budgeting and commissioning.We acknowledge that there will be glitches, but the SABC is committed to perfecting all systems and processes in place.
The Corporation takes the issue of intellectual property quite seriously, which is why the SABC has funded research around this matter. A report was received in April with recommendations, and the report was shared with the Production Industry.We are expecting the Industry to interrogate this report, and the IP subcommittee exists to deal with these issues arising from the report.
An Indaba also needs to be finalized with all stakeholders such as the SABC, Production Industry and Government being involved to engage the matter.
It must be stressed that it is not the SABC’s sole responsibility to deal with this matter, but together with the Industry we need to approach government for assistance and guidance. Some of the issues raised in the memorandum are not the SABC’s responsibility and should be referred to the relevant stakeholders. These issues are:
Price fixing on actors and presenter’s fees (Actors and Presenters are not directly employed by the SABC but by the respective Production Companies); therefore this issue should be dealt with collectively by all affected stakeholders (Actors, Presenters, Musicians, Producers and the SABC )
A mandatory provision for Industry representation on the SABC Board (This matter should be referred to the Portfolio Committee on Communications in Parliament as they recommend the names of Board members to the Presidency and the SABC is not involved in the selection of Board members.)
The SABC supports the enquiry on a suitable public service broadcast model. However, it must be stated once again that the SABC is constantly delivering on its local content quotas as set by ICASA.
During the 4th quarter which was between January-March 2009, both radio and television continued to surpass the minimum requirement on local content quotas. For example, the ICASA quota is 55% for SABC 1 and 2, and 35% for SABC 3, in this regard SABC 1 had 75.01% for full day and 73% for prime time local content and SABC 2 was at 74.93% for full day and 88.49% for prime time local content respectively. In regards to SAB3, they performed at 46.50% for full day and 44.82% for prime time local content.
In closing, the SABC reaffirms its commitment to building a vibrant, growing and transforming production industry and appeals to the industry to assist the SABC in these trying times, because the SABC depends on the production industry, as equally as the industry depends on the SABC. The production industry must also give credit where it is due, and acknowledge the enormous work the SABC has done in the arena of promoting local content ».
To see the TVIEC Memorandum of Demands go to www.screenafrica.com/news/television/172423.htm
(sources : various)
Promoting African cinema, "L' Héritage" soon on Africable
After the success recorded by TV series Marc and Malika, launched on 4 April 2009, Africable is about to launch a new series entitled “L' Heritage”. In partnership with the Azimuth Group’s, Atene Production, Africable will broadcast the new TV series “L' Heritage”, which includes 52 episodes over 6 months.
Half of the series has already been produced and each episode lasts for 26 minutes. “L' Heritage” is a production carried out by a film maker from Ivory Coast, Hassan Lacina David. The film is about a young man named Julien who should legitimately inherit a large fortune but who does not manage to get in possession of the inheritance because of his uncle who got hold of it. His uncle Daniel, a sharp opportunist and wizard, wastes this money with his own children instead.
Full of suspense, l' heritage is a film of love, money, passion, jealousy, power and selfishness. Winner the Yennega Grand Prix of the FESPACO in 1993 with his film “In the name of Christ”, Hassan David has his own theatre Company, “Les Oliviers de Cocody”.He is the author of a short film entitled “Faya 1 and 2 in 2007 and of “the witch and the beautiful girl” (« La sorcière et la belle fille ». ). “L' Heritage” was selected in competition at FESPACO 2008.
Spanish reality TV show mistreats Namibian San tribe family members, claims NGO
A reality television show which placed three Spanish families with indigenous tribal communities was accused on Wednesday of mistreating members of one of the tribes involved, the San bushmen of Namibia. Participating tribe members abandoned their harvest in exchange for meagre wages in order to take part in "Lost in the Tribe" while their children missed school, a non-governmental organisation which works with the San said.
The show, broadcast on private channel Cuatro on Sunday nights (the format has also been produced by broadcasters in other countries such as Australia and New Zealand) was also accused of misrepresenting the daily lives of the tribes. It portrays three middle-class Spanish families as they live with tribes, two from Namibia and one from Indonesia, for three weeks.
The Molina-Herrera family, made up of a couple and their four children, were sent to live at a San camp, which was depicted as a dozen huts arranged in a semi-circle. But in reality the San were moved more than 700 kilometres from where they are usually based in the Kalahari desert to make filming the show easier, according to the Spanish Commission of Refugee Aid which has worked with the tribe for the past three years.
"The children have not been able to go to school for one month," a spokesperson for the organisation, Arantxa Freire, said, adding the move meant the tribe members are away from their land during harvest time. The San tribe are also far less primitive than they are being depicted on the screen as they do not live in huts and wear shorts, T-shirts and skirts and not loincloths, she added. The San tribe were repeatedly "shown in an exotic, paternalistic and disrespectful" way which reinforces stereotypes in the show, which has enjoyed favourable ratings since it started two weeks ago.
"It is another lost opportunity for these communities to show first-hand their values and culture and for us to show a respectful way to get closer," it said, adding the show was an attempt at "cheap anthropology". In one scene of the show, the San express in translated comments their belief that the Molina-Herrera came from the sky and express their astonishment at their white skin and beauty. In another scene a mother and her two daughters from another family who are spending time with a different tribe in Namibia, the Himba, were seen being told that female members of the tribe did not have the right to bathe.
But University of Salamanca anthropology professor Francisco Giner Abati, who lived for nearly three years with the Himba, said this was "totally false". "They bathe less than we do because water is difficult to access, but whenever they get water they take advantage of the opportunity to bathe," he said, adding "the image given is far from reality". Abati, who said he could only bear to watch five minutes of the first episode of the series, said it was a shame that "these tribes are being exploited commercially".
A spokesperson for Cuatro said the series aims to show the contrast between Western culture and the participating tribes. Asked about the accusation that the San were depicted stereotypically, he said producers had sought out "the most picturesque and rudimentary aspects" of the participating families.
Nigeria: Lagosians Troop Out for MTN Project Fame
Following the success of the maiden edition of MTN Project Fame competition, Nigerians youths turned out in their thousands at Fantasyland, Ikoyi and Ultima Studios, Ogba, for the auditions of MTN Project Fame Season 2 which kicks off next month. The competition is facilitated by MTN, Nigeria's leading GSM service provider.
The audition which took place simultaneously at both venues on Friday June 12 and Saturday 13th had in attendance youths from the nooks and crannies of the city and neighbouring cities.
Excited applicants engaging themselves in a dance competition during the season 2 of the MTN Project Fame West Afrca audition at the Ultima Studio, Ogba, Lagos.
According to the organisers of the show, over twenty thousand youths registered for the Project Fame audition in Lagos, a figure that out_numbered previous editions, as well as any other reality show audition in any single state.
The MTN Project Fame West Africa Season Two auditions had already taken place in major cities across the country like Kaduna, Calabar, Enugu, Abuja, Ibadan, Benin, as well as other West African cities like Accra (Ghana), Monrovia (Liberia), and Freetown (Sierra Leone), where several thousands of people were auditioned and over a hundred shortlisted to compete with qualifiers from the Lagos auditions for a chance to be among the lucky fifteen contestants that will make it to the Musical academy for the duration of ten weeks.
The fifteen lucky talents will be admitted into the academy where they will be groomed in the general art of music, which comprises of voice training, dance exercises, song writing, stage performances and other qualities to turn them into music stars.
The contestants will also be made to dig it out in a competitive weekly performance before a panel of highly experienced judges, academy faculty and a huge crowd of audience, were they will have to knock one another out until the ultimate winner eventually emerged after several weeks of probations and evictions.
The maiden edition of the show saw Nigerian Inyanya Mbuk, emerge the ultimate winner of the show after defeating other finalists including Ghanaian Nii Ankra, the first runner_up; Nigerian Praise Adejo, the second runner_up and Annette Cookey, the third runner up respectively. Inyanya smiled home with N2.5 million, a 2008 modelled, Toyota RAV 4 and a one year recording deal.
Inyanya has since joined the Nigerian music scene with two hit singles entitled, 'Love Truly' and 'No Time' currently enjoying the radio air waves in Nigeria at the moment.
(source: Vanguard)
In brief:
- A new South African reality-type show called MAN's premiering on SABC3 in October. TVSA reports that the documentary-soap features four South Africa men, of different races and sexual orientations; Two are straight, one's gay and the other's bisexual. They talk about what it means to be a man and date in the city. It evolves as a debate between the four men. No-one needs to get to married so there's no competition element to it. Rather the show follows them as they give their take on being men, being-with men and women; and how they see each other.
- To highlight the return of two series’ to MNET’s Action Channel, ‘24’, an Emmy and Golden Globe award winning series starring Keifer Sutherland, and ‘The Contender’, MNET has again partnered with indoor advertising specialist The Letter Corporation. The local broadcaster will also use this space until the end of June this year to launch the Series Channel’s new medical talk show called The Doctors.
- The SABC has laid charges of theft against the Mail and Guardian newspaper at a Johannesburg police station for allegedly being in illegal possession of the public broadcaster’s property. This after the M&G website posted the uncut material of a Special Assignment documentary on political satire. The Special Assignment show was meant to be on political satire featuring cartoonist Zapiro. Minutes before it was due to air in April it was pulled off by management. On Tuesday night it was once again pulled off. SABC spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago says: “We have seen that the M&G is in possession of SABC material, we feel as the SABC that the material belongs to us so we've opened a charge for possession of material that is unlawfully theirs."
Broadcast
Vislink CEO says that sports is likely to drive HD uptake in Africa
Last week African Broadcast, Film and Convergence interviewed Duncan Lewis, CEO of Vislink, a an international supplier of broadcast solutions. Lewis spoke about the forthcoming Workd Cup in South Africa and the impact of sports events on take-up of HD on the continent.
Q: Could you please tell us about your broadcast business?
A: We believe that through various Group companies, we have served nearly every broadcaster in the world; this is because of the comprehensive range of our products - Microwave, Wireless Cameras and Satellite systems - and our international reach. We expect this to continue, as we are investing heavily in the next generation of ENG products, we have reorganised the company around our customers, and we are expanding our international presence.
Q: Who are your broadcast clients?
A: We serve broadcasters, independent production houses and film producers.
Q: Have you secured any contracts with African companies in the media segment?
A: Yes, Globecast South Africa uses our satellite communications equipment and we have sold to many of the African broadcasters. We believe that this is going to be an increasingly important market for us in the future. For this reason, we are establishing a new sales and service office in Africa. We believe that if we are to look after our customers properly, we have to be located near them.
Q: How do you see the market for HD in Africa? The transition to HD has been very much spurred by the World Cup, but because it is more costly (in terms of additional satellite bandwidth) it may have less relevance elsewhere on the continent. That said, AIT in Nigeria is in the process of setting up an HD pay TV channel.
A: Until recently, satellite capacity has been a limiting factor in Africa, due to scarcity of bandwidth, but we are seeing a lot of investment in launching satellites for Africa and there is going to be a much greater capacity on the transponders for broadcasters to use. That coupled with the arrival of new technologies such as MPEG-4 encoding and DVB-S2 modulation means that it will be possible to transfer large amounts of data on narrow satellite bandwidth for a relatively low cost. HD will become big when the digital transition takes place and broadcasters will be able to migrate quite quickly. We foresee that HD will be very attractive for Sports applications.
We know that in many parts of Africa, broadcasters are intending to upgrade their equipment as it comes to the natural end of its life. We believe that HD will be progressively adopted, and indeed, a lot of modern equipment can be quickly converted to be HD.
Q: What level are your products addressing security issues? At the wholesale level to prevent capture of signal? Or at the retail level to prevent piracy at the card/set-top box level?
A: Our interest of course, is at the wholesale level for we sell ENG kit to the broadcasters; piracy at the retail level is a matter for the broadcasters and their suppliers of set-top boxes and all the related encryption systems.
Q: What is your view of the African market compared to Europe?
A: Many parts of the European market are quite quiet at the moment due to the economic slowdown. By contract, we are seeing signs of continued demand in Africa.
Q: How can you help support the 2020 (2010) FIFA World Cup in South Africa?
A: Our Link wireless camera systems are often chosen for sports events and they have some special features that are essential for sports broadcast, like camera control, reverse video and Triax interfaces. One of the considerations when covering a large stadium with wireless cameras is how to ensure that there will be stable reception as the cameramen move around during the game. We are using Diversity reception with multiple antennas to cover these large events and we are continuing to invest in enhancing our wireless camera technologies. For example, we have just released our Deep Interleaving firmware which fills in some of the tiny breaks in coverage that are typical of wireless camera outputs. This was used live at the recent London Marathon, with great success. The Premier League, the Champions League, the 2006 World Cup and the Euro 2008 competition were all captured in High Definition with our Link wireless camera systems so it should not be a surprise if our systems are used for the 2010 World Cup.
Q: Are there other major African football events (like the African Cup of Nations) where these same products might be relevant?
A: Any major outdoor event will be enhanced by using these products.
Q: Do you have any other plans in Africa?
A: In addition to opening an office, the details of which will be announced in due course, we shall increasingly be attending the major media events. We were recently at one in Jo'burg, and we will be going to MediaSat in July.
More details at (http://www.vislink.com/broadcast.php)
Botswana: Bakgatla paid US$58,000 upfront for TV Rights of initiation ceremony
Bakgatla have been paid US$58,000 upfront as part of the broadcast rights for the Bojale initiation ceremony by Botswana Television and RB1 broadcast over the weekend, their paramount chief has announced.
Kgosi Kgafela II says his intention to commercialise Bakgatla culture is paying handsome dividends. Speaking in Mochudi over the weekend, he also announced that he has already registered a Bakgatla ba Kgafela royal communications company to spearhead the commercialisation of Bakgatla culture through, films/documentaries and books, among other things.
Kgafela described the US$58,000 he has received as television rights as just "an installment", and said more money would soon come into Bakgatla coffers. Through the same company, he added, they will soon launch the Bakgatla history book, authored by Dr John Makgala, and urged every Mokgatla to buy a copy.
(source: Mmegi/The Reporter)
South Africa’s Spescom offers TV in a box for US$370,000 aimed at community TV stations
With the relaxation of broadcasting laws, a number of community TV transmission licences have been issued. Come 2012 and the introduction of Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) in South Africa, the demand for community TV stations is expected to rise sharply.
The biggest barrier to entry, however, remains the cost of establishing a broadcast operation. Spescom Media IT, a veteran in the provision of broadcasting solutions, has come up with a unique offering: a solution incorporating a selection of best of breed equipment and systems that provides full broadcasting capabilities - starting at mere R3 million (US$378,000) rather than the R20 - R30 million normally required.
Says Sean du Toit, Managing Director of Spescom Media IT: "With the appearance of new regional players such as Tshwane TV and Cape TV, combined with the shrinking of the larger broadcaster's budgets as the global economic crises makes itself felt locally, the demand for low cost studio infrastructure has increased. The introduction of DTT in 2012 is expected to intensify this demand. DTT will provide more channels and better quality picture and sound, typically requiring HD content. It is, however, expected that the broadcasters granted one of the few 16-channel DTT licences will be required to support a high percentage of community stations.
The Spescom Media IT "TV station-in-a-box" package includes three Sony XDCam EX high definition cameras, a Ross' CrossOver HD studio mixer, Miller camera pedestals and PlayBox Technology's playout solution. Du Toit explains the reasoning supporting this combination of technologies: "A typical studio, such as a news studio, will require three HD cameras, video editing and audio final mix facilities, a server transmission system with automation for playout. In addition, an electronic news gathering (ENG) kit would be required for external news gathering, interviews and footage. This usually comprises a tripod, lights, camera, microphone and lapel mike. The technology that Spescom Media IT has selected for inclusion in the package, although entry level, meets all these requirements."
The package allows a TV station, depending on the physical building requirements, to be up and running within six weeks. Says Du Toit: "Spescom Media IT can provide a turnkey solution, from site assessment to design, diagrams, implementation and commissioning, and training of staff. It's not only our technical expertise but our keen understanding of operational and workflow requirements - and knowledge of how the industry works - that enables us to provide solutions that meet practical needs and budgets."
The 'TV station in box' is designed to enable operations to easily scale up and out. "As a station's operations expand, its needs will change," explains Du Toit, "and we have taken this into consideration. Whether a station wants to add more editing suites or boost shared storage capacity or even add a new studio, the 'TV station in a box' technologies offer suitable upgrade paths. In addition, they are built on open standards that allow integration to other technologies.
For more information about Spescom visit www.spescom.com .
Africa: AU to Start Radio in Somalia
The African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia will soon start a radio station in Mogadishu.
The Defence/Army Spokesperson, Maj Felix Kulayigye last week told Daily Monitor that African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) has already procured the radio equipment.
"The machines are already in East Africa. We are training those who will be handling radio programmes," he said
According to a military source, the radio will be a mouthpiece of the Transitional government led by Sheikh Sharif to bolster its campaign against the Islamist hardliners who have been calling for general upraising in the country against the AU force. However Maj. Kulayigye denied that the setting up of the radio is intended to counter war propaganda by the Islamist fundamentalists in Somalia.
He said the radio will broadcast educative programmes and the need to have a peaceful Somalia. "I don't want to speculate. Let us wait for the radio to start. But, what I can tell you is that, it will run educative programmes," he said.
(source: The Monitor)
In Brief
- Owners of electronic media (radio and television) in East Africa region have been urged to change from analogue to digital technology in their operations. The call was made last week in Arusha at a meeting for Eastern African Communications Organization (EACO) technical committee by the East African Community Director for Infrastructure, Philip Wambugu. He said the whole of Eastern Africa region would go digital in electronic communication from 2012 so the media people have to make the necessary preparations for the change over.
- As from July 2009, international dramas like Desperate Housewives, Lipstick Jungle and Prison Break will be stripped on SABC3 and shown in the 9pm drama slot on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. “This means that viewers will get to see entire series in a shorter space of time, rather than weekly episodes over a long period. We’ve decided to go this route as we’ve noticed that people who hire TV series on DVD like to watch episodes in bulk,” explained SABC3 Communications manager Gesh Conco, at the SABC3 press screening in Johannesburg on 9 June.
- A midnight fire gutted vital facilities at Nigeria’s Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS) in Warri and put television and radio transmission temporarily off air.
- Veteran broadcaster, Geoffrey Motshidisi, popularly known as 'Rraagwe Malaakatse' or 'Moshombororo' is back on the airwaves with Radio Botswana (RB1). Moshombororo, who re-joined the radio station in November, handles the afternoon 12 to 3pm shift.
Distribution
Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI) now showing in 40 countries on CanalSat Horizons bouquet
Ivorian state broadcaster RTI will now be broadcast in 40 countries globally as part of CanalSat Horizon’s bouquet. The country’s President said he believed that this will promote the country’s interests and activities.
The channel, which is broadcast free-to-air in analogue form in its home country, will now appear in digital format in the 40 countries it will be distributed to. “As a public window to its country, this is a revolution for the TV channel "which deserved more than a monopoly and some kind of amateurism" commented a fan.
South Africa: SABC Has Left Us in Dire Straits, Say Production Houses
Jocelyn Newmarch - 8 June 2009 - Johannesburg - THE SABC's financial woes have grabbed headlines but the plight of independent companies that rely financially on the broadcaster has received less attention.
Charl Blignaut, of Mojo Movie Factory, which produces the programmes Tshisa, Moferefere Lenyalong, and Mtunzini.com, said his firm had waited for final payment from the SABC for a year. "After eight months, they came up with a dodgy claim that we owed R40000 in breakages and had us resubmit the invoice.
"We have it on record that those producers whose programmes have been delivered are at the bottom of the pile when it comes to payment," Blignaut said.
"Our doors are closing, our houses are on the market, our children are being pulled out of varsity and actors are starving. "
South Africa: Libraries and cinemas will be built in rural areas
Libraries and cinemas will be built in rural areas across South Africa as part of the ministry of arts and culture's efforts to bring art to the people, Parliament heard on Friday. "As part of our efforts to bring the arts to all our people, we shall continue to ensure that community libraries are built in all our communities," Arts and Culture Minister Lulu Xingwana said during the ministry's budget vote.
Xingwana said the ministry was working with the National Film and Video Foundation to bring cinemas to rural areas. "Together with the foundation we are looking at the best ways of setting up co-operatives in rural areas that focus on bringing cinemas to our people and developing skills in areas related to film production."
SAPA - (http://www.news24.com)
In Brief:
- Over 4000 South Africans picked up free tickets this past weekend to watch the opening games of the 2009 Confederations Cup at Ster-Kinekor Theatres (SKT) - who is screening all the matches live and free at its cinemas nationwide. From this Saturday, 20 June, alcohol will be available for sale at 4 of the 16 cinemas screening the games: SK Sterland (Pta), SK Gateway (Dbn), SK The Zone (Jhb) and SK Bayside (CT). No under-18s will be allowed into these screenings; proof of ID will be requested, when tickets are collected at these cinemas. The other 12 cinemas screening the matches will remain family-focused. Each cinema has been transformed into a festive soccer experience. Special catering - such as hotdogs and pies - are on sale at participating cinemas for the duration of the Confederations Cup-screenings. Some cinemas will also have football tables and speed cages for everyone to hone their soccer skills. Free tickets are available to public at participating cinemas 5 days prior to each match; limited to 4 tickets per person per game, on a “first come, first served” basis.
Visit www.sterkinekor.com for more information.
- The 5th annual Rwanda Film Festival is still on. There are lots of film screenings at different venues in Kigali city. Last Friday, Shokola, a newly established restaurant in Kiyovu, teamed up with Rwanda Cinema Centre and screened a couple of films.
The restaurant was jam-packed, as movie lovers flocked in from different parts of the city to catch-up with the day's films. Admission was free, but food and drinks were on sale. The first film to be screened was; "Children of Congo" (2008), directed by Dan Ballaf. It lasted two hours, but other films which included: "Mob Doc", by a Kenyan actor Egregious Jitu and many others were screened until late.
Investment
Rwanda: Tanzanian Media Mogul Investor Raps Western Media Over Genocide
A Tanzanian investor has lashed out at the international media for only portraying Rwanda as a Genocide-stricken country and paying less attention to achievements it has registered over the years. Reginald Mengi, who IPP Group in Tanzania, made the remarks during the first East African energy conference that kicked off yesterday in Dar es Salaam.
The investor is also the chairman of the East African Business Council (EABC) a body that organized the three-day conference."There is a lot of peace and security in Rwanda. Actually there are more chances of being shot on the streets of New York or Paris than being shot in Kigali, but the media chooses to report only unfortunate events," he said.
Mengi was discussing challenges partner states of the East African Community (EAC) are facing in attracting investors to the energy sector, and said negative publicity of Africa in the West is one of them. "We are not asking people to praise us, we want them to report accurately and objectively. They should report the truth and not exaggerations," he added.
He called on Africans to do anything within their ability by starting up medium income investments other than waiting for investors to come from overseas.
Eritrea: Independent Satellite Radio Station for Eritreans Begins Broadcasting from Paris
Radio Erena (“Our Eritrea”), a Tigrinya-language station broadcasting by satellite to Eritrea, began operating today in Paris, five days ahead of World Refugee Day. The result of an initiative by Eritrean journalists based abroad and supported by Reporters Without Borders, the station is offering freely-reported, independent news and information to Eritreans in Eritrea.
“The glaring absence of independent news media in Eritrea convinced us to support this historic project,” Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard said. “Only a few countries such as Burma, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea are subject to so much repression that there are absolutely no independent media.”
Independent of any political organisation or government, Radio Erena is offering news, cultural programmes, music and entertainment. A network of contributors based in the United States, Italy, Britain and the Netherlands is providing the Paris-based staff with Tigrinya-language programmes that are broadcast via Arabsat’s Badr-6 satellite. Eritreans can tune into Radio Erena on the 11,785 Mhz frequency with vertical polarisation (SR 27500, FEC 3/4). The station’s programming will soon be broadcast on the Internet as well, so that the Eritrean diaspora will also be able to listen to it.
In Brief:
- Vislink, the broadcast solution provider will be opening an office in Africa soon said Vislink CEO last week. Details will be announced in due course.
Visit: http://www.vislink.com/
More
Regulation & policy
Nigeria: Union Leaders of Ekiti Radio, TV Redeployed
As the crisis rocking the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES) continues unabated, the State government has redeployed three union leaders of the corporation believed to be at the vanguard of the crisis, which paralysed all activities of the stations.
But following the redeployment of the three union leaders to the Ministry of Establishment and Training, where they were asked to report for further details, other workers of the two stations, radio and television have downed tools, a development which led to the closure of the corporation for the past three days.
Those redeployed are Yemisi Ayokunle, Chairman of the Radio and Television Workers Union (RATAWU), Akinwale Olaoye, Chapel Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Arije Kemi of the National Union of Confidential Secretaries of Nigeria.
Workers of the corporation have been at loggerheads with the Director General of the organisation, Dr Segun Aderiye, for over three months, over various allegations ranging from highhandedness, lack of modern equipment to work with, poor workers' welfare and executive censorship of the news items among others.
The workers also accused Aderiye of being fetish, alleging that he had invited some priests during the crisis to sprinkle table salt within the station complex to ward off evils.
However, the DG, in his defence of the allegations, blamed the State government for not releasing funds for the purchase of modern equipment for the two stations, just as he said several efforts were made over the promotions of the workers, which he said were frustrated by the actions of the workers who chose to embark on strike, while negotiation was on.
It would be recalled that during the regime of the former Acting Governor, Hon Tunji Odeyemi, the workers staged a peaceful protest, giving a 21-day ultimatum with which the state government must remove the DG or face the consequence.
Odeyemi subsequently set up investigative panel to unravel the circumstance leading to the unrest in the corporation.However, while reacting to this latest development, the State Chairman of the NUJ, Akogun Tai Oguntayo, said the incident at the BSES was avoidable but went out of hand because of breach of agreement by the government.
(source: This Day)
Somalia: Journalists Stop Work to Mourn and Condemn 'Savage' Killing of Colleagues
A somber mood engulfed Somali capital Mogadishu last week after journalists downed their tools and shut down their broadcasting stations to mourn and to protest the latest killing of Radio Shebele director, Muktar Mohamed Hirabe. 15 senior radio journalists of editors, producers, reporters, and anchors held a press conference at Hotel Sahafi today and announced the work stoppage.
Zuktar Hirabe who was in the company of his colleague Ahmed Omar Hashi, was on Sunday (7 June) shot five times by a gunman at Bakara market in Mogadishu. Ahmed Omar who described the attack and killing as “vindictive and barbaric” was also injured in the attack. Muktar is the fifth journalist to be killed in Somalia by gunmen this year alone, and according to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) the death is a confirmation that the Somali journalist has become a serious target of those who are averse to truth.
“We are sad but we won’t relent, we are concerned but won’t be afraid. We will march on as journalists despite the assassins' bullet that has been falling us one by one,” said NUSOJ secretary-general, Omar Faruk Osman, while supporting and commending the journalists decision to engage in the black-out picketing in protest to the killing of their colleagues.
But as the journalists carried on with their protests, six journalists have reported to NUSOJ having received death threats from named people, whom they said would be held responsible should they be killed. “We would go further than just to condemn this killing by calling on all parties engaged in the Somali conflict to respect the life and work of a journalist. Let the killing end. We condemn the continued murders with impunity in Somalia. We now demand that the international community should take serious attention in this Horn of Africa country that has been transformed into more or less a butchery of journalists,” Omar said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists urges the Canadian and Australian governments to work for the immediate release of two freelance journalists who have been held captive in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, since August.
On Wednesday, a woman claiming to be captive journalist Amanda Lindhout called the Canadian broadcaster CTV, saying she fears for her life and pleading for the government to assist her. Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan were abducted along the Afgoye-Mogadishu road, just outside the capital.
"I have been held hostage by gunmen in Somalia for nearly 10 months. I am in a desperate situation," the woman told CTV. "The Canadian government must have some duty to help its citizens in such a crisis."
In Brief:
- As Nigerians continue to clamour for the immediate passage of the Freedom of Information Bill (FoI) by the National Assermbly, the Lagos State Government has explained why some government officials were barred from making comments on state matters, saying it was in line with its policy of centralised information management.
Technology & convergence
Togo Telecom set to provide Triple Play with new FTTC network solution
Togo Telecom, the incumbent fixed-line operator of Togo, has selected Israeli firm ECI Telecom to deliver an end-to-end turnkey solution for a new high-speed IP network in the country, becoming one of the first fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) networks in West Africa.
ECI Telecom will be fully managing and executing the project, including the network audit, planning and design of the FTTC solution, sites survey, installation and commissioning, network integration and solution optimisation. The flexible infrastructure platform is described as allowing Togo Telecom to scale up its network to provide high-bandwidth services in the future, including IP-TV. No date has been set for the roll-out of IP-TV but it may be within the next 12 months.
ECI is currently implementing the first phase of the three-phase project, deploying its XDM 1000 Multi-Service Provisioning Platform (MSPP) across the network, and installing its Hi-FOCuS Multi-Service Access Node (MSAN) platforms in over 300 street cabinets nationwide.
MTN Ghana launches 11 mobile TV channels with DSTV, Nokia
Cellular operator MTN Ghana has launched 11 mobile television channels in Accra and Tema, in partnership with pay TV company DSTV and Nokia.
The mobile TV service will include programs from Africa Magic, BBC, Cartoon Network, CNN and Super Sport. MTN will offer soccer matches from the FIFA World Cup soccer matches in 2010 in South Africa. The mobile TV protocol being used is DVB-H. MTN and DStv have a joint venture company to promote mobile TV.
People
Youngsters of the World know his face, but few know the name of the new '24' villain, Hakeem Kae-Kazeem, playing Colonel Iké Dubaku. The actor is well known globally since he appeared in 'Lost'. Hakeem Kae-Kazeem also played in "Wolverine", Pirates of Caribbean and became known in SA for his Fresca TV ads.
Hakeem recently contributed to the film 'Darfur' - filmed in South Africa - which is due to comes out in 2010. Hakeem Kae-Kazim is a Nigerian-born, English-raised South African actor now living in Los Angeles, California. On the television movie 24, he appears in Redemption (2008) and Season 7 of the action series 24, in 2009.
Samuel L. Jackson has been cast in the indie cop thriller "Mixed Blood," reports Variety. Phillip Noyce will direct the movie, which is scheduled to begin principal photography early next year in Cape Town.
East London movie director and producer Dirk Joubert has just finished shooting the movie Politrix, which takes a comic look at politics and how people manipulate situations to further their own agendas. Politrix was shot at different locations in and outside East London, using only local actors. by Lindile Sifile
Eleven-year old acting sensation Sobahle Mkhabase has won the Best Actress Award for the feature film Izulu Lami at the recent Tarifa International Pan African Film Festival, held in Tarifa, Spain. The film, a story of two young children who leave their rural home for the city after their mother's death, mainly features children who have never acted professionally before. They were taken from townships and informal settlements around Durban and in rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. Among them is Mkhabase who hails from Chesterville in Durban : she said she could not believe it when her name was called out for the Award.
19 - 29 June 2009
ENCOUNTERS SOUTH AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL
Johannesburg
27 June - 4 July 2009
ZANZIBAR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (ZIFF)
Zanzibar, Tanzania
28 June - 7 July 2009
NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL
Grahamstown
South Africa
23 July - 3 August 2009
DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Email: diff@ukzn.ac.za
23 - 25 August 2009
Mediatech Africa 2009 EXHIBITION
The Coca-Cola Dome
Northgate
Johannesburg
South Africa
10h00 - 18h00 (Thursday and Friday)
10h00 - 17h00 (Saturday)
Mediatech Africa 2009, South Africa’s only all-inclusive Broadcast, AV, Media, Film and Entertainment exhibition is building momentum for a truly innovative and well timed event in 2009, as the country prepares for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Mediatech Africa showcases cutting edge technologies and services from industry leaders in Television and Broadcast, Sound and Audio, Lighting and Staging, Animation and Film, System Integration and Communications, and for the first time in 2009 Musical Instruments and Computer Music & Production Tools, and every related field. The combination of technology, demonstrations, networking opportunities and special events attracts top quality visitors from all parts of the media, entertainment, broadcast and communication industries from Southern Africa.
The exhibition was started in 2001 at the Sandton Convention Centre and is run every second year. 2009 will see Mediatech Africa in a new venue: The Coca-Cola Dome and in an exciting new format.
24-26 August 2009
PAMRO (Pan-African Media Research Organisation): 11th Annual Meeting
To be held at Laico Regency Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya.
(http://aitecafrica.com/event/view/39)
The objectives of PAMRO entail the creation of a forum for industry organisations; media research providers, media owners, marketers and advertising agencies in different African countries to exchange knowledge and to learn from one-another’s successes and failures, to ensure the highest quality and to harmonize our research methodologies so that we will eventually have a continental media research database. The latter will make Africa the leader in the world in providing a research database for the growing number of global media owners, marketers and agencies. We are including the Indian Ocean Islands into all our activities and under scribe the rules of market research bodies such as those of the World Organization for Research Professionals [ESOMAR]
5 - 13 Sept. 2009
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF ZAMBIA (IFFOZ)
Lusaka - Zambia
Email: iffozfest2008@gmail.com
16 - 18 Sept. 2009
DISCOP AFRICA 2
Hilton Nairobi Hotel - Kenya
This edition will combine 3 days of individual meetings between participants organised in advance of the event by Discop in-house research staff and a conference programme addressing 5 important issues related to the current development of television business in Africa. Topics to be addressed in the conference programme will include:
How to create a compelling programming bouquet that can attract viewers and advertising revenues
How to build and manage an efficient television air-time sales department
How to establish distribution deals with mobile operators
The importance of television to provide health care and medical news
The emerging roles of China, Brazil and India in the African television landscape
In addition, a series of 3 training and case-studies workshops specifically aimed at African audiovisual content producers will cover the formating, funding and distribution of programs "Made In Africa".
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tatjana PAVLOVIC / Head of Sales and Marketing
Cherise BARSELL / Head of TV Stations Relations Africa
(http://www.discop.com/ci/pages/show/about_discop_africa)
3 - 19 Oct. 2009
ARCHITECT AFRICA FILM FESTIVAL (AAFF)
Johannesburg,Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth
E-mail: Gail Robbins dgrwrite@iafrica.com
11 - 14 Oct. 2009
SOUTHERN AFRICA BROADCASTING ASSOCIATION GENERAL MEETING
Maseru
Swaziland
21 - 23 Oct. 2009
AFRICAST
Sheraton Hotel & Towers
Abuja
Nigeria
22 October to 1 November 2009
Africa in Motion Film Festival
Edinburgh is home to Africa in Motion, the UK's biggest African film festival.
Africa in Motion 2009 Short Film Competition - Call for entries now open!
African filmmakers are invited to submit short films of up to 30 minutes for the annual short film competition.
Films entered must have been completed in 2006 or after. A shortlist from all the entries will be selected in July and announced by the end of August 2009.
Contact: +44 (0)7807 485 058
E: info@africa-in-motion.org.uk
November 2009 (date tbc)
IPTV World Forum Middle East & Africa - Dubai - Informa Telecoms & Media Conferences
(http://www.iptv-mea.com/register/register)
2-6 November 2009
Africa Media & Broadcasting Congress 2009
Venue: Sandton Convention Centre - Johannesburg
The Africa Media and Broadcasting Congress 2009 is a dedicated forum where key stakeholders gather to share knowledge, network and find solutions that enable you to maximise revenues and profitably leverage emerging markets…
(http://www.terrapinn.com/2009/mediaza/)
February 2010 (date TBC)
DISCOP AFRICA
4-4 March 2010
Mobile Commerce World Africa 2010
Venue: Sandton Convention Centre - Johannesburg
Mobile Commerce World Africa 2010 is your best chance to find out the latest strategies in Africa’s mobile arena and discover how to cut costs and enhance your mobile strategy. This is where key executives will share strategies and evaluate the latest mobile technology available today.
(http://www.terrapinn.com/2010/mobileza/)
12-15 April 2010
SatCom Africa 2010
Venue: Sandton Convention Centre - Johannesburg, South Africa
Africa’s premier satellite event bringing you the entire satellite supply chain
(http://www.terrapinn.com/2010/satcomza/)
followed by SatCom Star Awards
13-13 April 2010
Venue: Sandton Sun Hotel - Johannesburg
Africa’s premier satellite event brings you the industry awards for best practice
(http://www.terrapinn.com/2010/satcomza/)
19-21 May 2010
Broadcast & Film Africa 2010
Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) Nairobi
(http://aitecafrica.com/event/view/43)
Opportunities and requests
The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) invites applications for fellowships in 2010-2011. Named in honor of NED’s principal founders, former U.S. president Ronald Reagan and the late U.S. congressman Dante Fascell, the program enables democracy activists, scholars, and journalists from around the world to deepen their understanding of democracy and enhance their ability to promote democratic change.
Dedicated to international exchange, the program offers a collegial environment for fellows to reflect on their experiences and consider lessons learned; conduct research and writing; develop contacts and exchange ideas with counterparts in Washington , D.C. ; and build ties that contribute to the development of a global network of democracy advocates.
Program: Based at the International Forum for Democratic Studies, the research arm of the NED in Washington , D.C. , the program offers fellowships for practitioners to improve strategies and techniques for building democracy abroad and for scholars to conduct original research for publication. Fellows are in residence at the Forum and work full-time on their fellowship projects, which focus on the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural aspects of democratic development and include a range of methodologies and approaches. Fellows make a presentation of their work and prepare a written product during their stay. The program organizes an active calendar of events for fellows, including an introduction to the NED and its partner institutions, roundtables, and seminars with leading democracy experts.
Eligibility: The fellows program is intended to support practitioners and scholars from developing and aspiring democracies. Distinguished scholars from the U.S. and other established democracies are also eligible to apply. Practitioners may include activists, lawyers, journalists, and civil society professionals, and are expected to have substantial experience working to promote democracy. Scholars may include professors, research analysts, and other writers, and are expected to have a PhD or academic equivalent at the time of application. The program does not pay for professional training or fund students working toward a degree. A working knowledge of English is a prerequisite for participation in the program.
Support: All fellows receive a monthly stipend, health insurance, travel assistance, and research support through the Forum ’s Democracy Resource Center and the Reagan-Fascell Research Associates Program.
Dates: The program hosts two five-month sessions per fellowships year. The fall session will be held October 1, 2010 through February 28, 2011; the spring session will be held March 1 through July 31, 2011.
Application: For further details, including online application instructions, please visit (www.ned.org/forum/reagan-fascell.html) Application materials must be in English.
Deadline: Applications for fellowships in 2010-2011 must be submitted no later than Monday, November 2, 2009. Notification of the competition outcome is in April 2010.
For more information, please visit (www.ned.org) site or email fellowships(at)ned.org.
Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP) Fellowship Programme
Climate Change Media Partnership invites applications for the 2009 fellowship programme for journalists in developing countries who report on climate change. Forty journalists will be awarded fellowships which will give them skills training including editorial mentoring by senior environment editors, networking with other environmental journalists from around the world, and accessing experts through a matchmaking service with hundreds of key climate experts. The fellowships will include attending the United Nations Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. Women journalists are particularly encouraged to apply.
Working with the deadline of December 2009 set by governments from around the world to agree on a new treaty for addressing climate change, the CCMP intends to involve journalists from across the global South in a programme of activities over several months, including reporting on the summit. Here, in addition to receiving training and mentoring, they will take part in a media clinic and interview sessions with leading climate change experts and negotiators. In preparation for the summit, the partnership will commission articles and run a regional workshop at the pre-Copenhagen climate change negotiations in Bangkok, Thailand, beginning in late September. The programme is organised by the CCMP partners Internews, Panos, and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), along with numerous regional groups. This year the programme funding consortium is led largely by a grant from EuropeAid. The CCMP is seeking additional financing to expand the number of journalists it can bring to Copenhagen. Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP) contact: CCMP@panos.org.uk
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