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General.
General description
An overall objective of the cooperation is to promote active civic participation, democracy and
development in all partner countries through high quality radio and cross-media journalism training.
The training puts emphasis both on strong practical skills in radio journalism and on good
theoretical understanding of the role of the media, and radio in particular, in democratic
development of societies and communities. This objective will be put into action by developing
cooperation between the higher education institutions (HEI) in Finland, Liberia, Namibia and
Tanzania.
Project puts a specific emphasis on ideals and practices of civic journalism and on local community
radios and student radio stations. This emphasis serves the goal of making media more accessible
to individual citizen and various communities of the three countries where the partner institutions
operate, especially in the rural areas where information technologies have been under-developed.
In the context of this project accessible has two meanings: there is a need for access to the media
and information by citizen as receivers of information. But to enable the citizens to fully act as
active members of the society and to participate in democratic processes there is also a need for
the citizens to have access to the media as participants in the media content. This means bringing
out their topics, interests, concerns, viewpoints and voices, whether through a professional
journalist using citizen-based civic journalism practices, or by participating in doing community
radio themselves, as volunteers.
Generally, in the project, journalism and media, particularly community media, are seen as an
agent of social change, as a resource for civic participation on a local and national level, and as a
means of community empowerment and development.
In the project the partners from Finland, Liberia, Namibia and Tanzania will develop student and
expert exchange for media students and teachers. Furthermore, the partners will organize one
intensive course focusing on running a student radio station.
The project meets a growing demand for cooperation in the educational sector in Africa. It is also
very relevant and topical in respect to the principles and objectives of the Finnish Development
Policy Programme (2007) which puts emphasis on socially, environmentally and economically
sustainable development. In the programme, for example access to information and education,
environmental protection and democratic decision-making processes are seen as prerequisites of
sustainable development. All these conditions have largely to do with a free, accessible and
diverse media system taking care of informing, educating and involving local citizen and
communities.
Moreover, it is stated in the "Global education 2010 proposal for an action programme" of the
Finnish Ministry of Education that "Global education supports young people's growth into critically
thinking and media-critical citizens who have the knowledge and skills for acting as part of their
own community in a globalising world. Global education comprises human rights, equality, peace
and media education; education for intercultural understanding; issues relating to development and
fair practice; and education for sustainable development." Many of the important aims of the future
global education are also the focus of the Jocid Network II actions and objectives.
As the result of the cooperation, experiences about the training methods and pedagogical
expertise in the field of media are shared between the European and African partners using
teacher exchange, an intensive course, network meetings and regular communication via e-mail.
All partners gain new insights and methods to their training programmes.