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SUMMARY:Africa's digital communications revolution: Valuing new voices in 
 African public spheres - Dr Sharath Srinivasan (Fellow of King's College\,
  Cambridge)\; Director\, Centre of Governance and Human Rights (CGHR)\, Ca
 mbridge
DTSTART:20131121T180000Z
DTEND:20131121T190000Z
UID:TALK47830@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Pauline Essah
DESCRIPTION:Two decades ago\, state broadcasters and foreign news services
  monopolised African airwaves. Today\, many countries count scores of loca
 l radio stations - commercial\, community\, religious - often in rural set
 tings and broadcasting in local languages.    Moreover\, mobile phones are
  enabling a multitude of African voices to be heard on interactive shows. 
 Such interactions are reshaping relationships and identities - audience an
 d journalist\, constituent and representative\, citizen and state\, media 
 and government - as well as reshaping processes that enact contestations o
 ver political accountability and legitimacy. The development of new\, more
  inclusive and expansive\, public spheres for debate and discussion presen
 ts an important juncture in African political development.\n\nAfrica's Voi
 ces is an applied research project at Cambridge's Centre of Governance and
  Human Rights (CGHR)\, and part of a wider research programme on 'African 
 politics and the digitally-mediated public sphere'. During its pilot year\
 , Africa's Voices worked with 9 radio stations in eight African countries\
 , gathering and analysing SMS texts on interactive shows on agreed topics.
  Drawing on pilot insights\, we are exploring ways to innovate technologic
 ally and methodologically to reconceptualise and analyse 'public opinion' 
 in ways that value voices in their natural forms of expression. With indus
 try collaborations (IBM Research Lab Africa\, FrontlineSMS\, Internews)\, 
 we are developing an innovative new social research platform that can be u
 sed by practitioners\, policymakers and researchers.
LOCATION:Beves Room\, King's College\, Cambridge\, CB2 1ST
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