Digital Development Debates

issue 04, June 2011

Digital Development Debates – be part of the debates!

Dear Readers, "everything we know about our society, about the world in which we live, we know from mass media." When sociologist Niklas Luhman tried to describe the knowledge society at the end of the 90s, concepts like "Web 2.0" and "community radio" did not exist, let alone "social media", and the commercial use of the internet was still in its infancy. Today this assessment is more accurate than ever...

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Introduction

Governments around the globe spend billions on laudable development programs, but while the charitable industry comes up with endless new acronyms and sophisticated concepts, one of the most powerful and simple tools to enhance change and foster development in societies remains underestimated: the media.

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Political Opposition

The internet and social media in particular have played a key role in the revolutions taking place in the Arabic world. Political opposition use services like Facebook because they are fast and independent media. At the same time, censors are also looking for new approaches - and creatively being outsmarted.

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Democratisation

Tunisia was the starting point for the North African Revolution and has almost been forgotten again. There are also few reports on other Africa countries in post-revolution situations. Free media are an essential element of the stabilisation process in such countries.

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Women's Empowerment

There has been a lot reported about the situation of women, though women themselves are often not involved in the reporting process at all. Media created by women play an important role in correcting this imbalance. They are organised by women for women and represent...

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Economic Development

Both small-scale farmers and managers of huge firms rely on market information to successfully run their businesses. Knowing about current prices helps them to sell their products effectively. Detailed economic reporting is thus crucial...

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Education

What is the connection between mobile learning and a daily soap? Both are formats that make education more playful and entertaining. They support existing educational concepts and are already enjoying great success.

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Disaster Relief

Disaster relief can be organised through social media services quickly and tailored to meet need - as was proven dramatically in Haiti following the earthquake when normal communication channels failed. But media also play an important role in preventing catastrophes...

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Issues

Issues

New! DDD on Facebook and YouTube

Most read articles

01. Crisis Management: Understanding the Real Impact of ICTs...
02. Social Media in Africa
03. Dandelion rubber
04. Transparency in Microfinance
05. Role of Mass Media in Enhancing Education in Bangladesh
06. CSR and Labour Standards in Africa
07. Reinventing Money – A Community Exchange System from South Africa Conquers the World
08. Interview Marco Arana
09. India: Farmer's property rights
10. Editorial

Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum

The media conference will take place in Bonn from 20th to 22nd June 2011in Bonn. It is held annually and organised by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. We were able to engage several panelists of the Global Media Forum to write for this issue of Digital Development Debates.

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