January 2024 – ICT4D Collective

Members of the ICT4D Collective are delighted to announce a new partnership with ACORAB, the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, Nepal, and CIN, their Community Information Network. This follows meetings in Kathmandu in December 2023, mainly concerning the dissemination of resources we have developed collaboratively with migrant organisations in Nepal through our research-practice in the MIDEQ Hub (funded by UKRI GCRF). We are very excited that information about the https://pardesi.org.np portal and our learning resources on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech in the six main languages used in Nepal have already been shared across their network of 382 community radio stations in the country.

The intended outputs of the partnership include:

Jointly convening awareness raising programmes in Nepal on community radio and digital tech
Jointly convening sessions at relevat international meetings on community radio and development
Joint training programs to enhance the technical skills of community radio broadcasters on utilizing ICT tools
Explorations of innovative ways to merge ICT with community radio for better outreach and impact
Identification of resources for joint projects that aim to enhance the role of ICT in community radio and vice versa
Joint development and broadcasting of advice of safe, wise and secure use of digital tech, especially for migrants.

We anticipate that these will help achieve the following outcomes:

Enhanced capacity of commuity radio broadcasters in Nepal
The work of ACORAB and CIN is better known in the international community
More sustainable development and use of community radio in Nepal, especially by migrants and their families
Enhanced well-being of people in Nepal (especially in marginalised communities)
Increased international suport for the work of ACORAB and CIN in Nepal

For more information, please contact Prof. G. Hari Harindranath.

We were delighted to convene public launches on 15th January in Johannesburg and on 18th January in Cape Town for the interventions on which we have worked with migrants and migrant organisations in South Africa. The same format was followed in each location and included four main elements:

Premiere of a documentary film about the lives of the migrants with whom we have been working, entitled Through Their Eyes and produced by Simone Zanetti and Maria Rosa Lorini;
Presentation of videos made by the migrants following training by our work package, and introduction to their YouTube channel Fusion Avenue which features all the videos that they have made;
Information about the training they have been doing for others on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech, following the training that they have received from our work package; and
Refreshments and networking.

These interventions were conceived and facilitated by the Digital Technologies and Migration work package (WP9) of the MIDEQ Hub funded by the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). WP9 is led by Professor G. “Hari” Harindranath and Professor Tim Unwin CMG, with the support of Dr. Maria Rosa Lorini (who led the work in South Africa), based at the ICT4D Collective (Royal Holloway, University of London, UK). The resources were created collaboratively with migrants and organisations in both the Johannesburg and Cape Town regions, including the Scalabrini Centres in Cape Town and Johannesburg, the University of Cape Town, UNISA’s Information Systems Department, Stoneintheshoe, Rainbow Media, and SIHMA. Other organisations involved in the initiative have included Adonis Musati, Cape Town TV, Ubunti-Bethu, and JL Zwane

Johannesburg launch, 15th January

The Johannesburg launch was held at St Patrick’s Catholic Curch in La Rochelle (press release), and attracted people from the local community, migrants, universities and international organisations (click on arrows to go through the slide deck).

Cape Town launch, 18th January

The Cape Town launch was held at Bertha House, Mowbray (press release), and likewise attracted people from the local community, migrants, universities and international organisations (click on arrows to go through the slide deck).