[FoME] African Media Development Initiative (AMDI)

[Christoph Dietz]

The Africa Commission report "Our Common Interest" highlighted the critical role of the media in creating government transparency, internal accountability and greater responsiveness, as well as recommending that this be addressed through the establishment of an "African media development facility" to boost support for the sector. 

In response to this, the African Media Development Initiative (AMDI) was launched by the BBC World Service Trust in January 2006 as a process which aims to mobilise a range of African and international stakeholders to boost support for the development of the state, public and private sector media in Africa. AMDI is a consortium of partners that hope to provide funds and expertise to create an African media development facility. 

Main Communication Strategies
The project has three components:

Research and analysis:
The work of the initiative will be underpinned by the widest independent assessment of media development undertaken in recent years. This will be based on a survey of the media landscapes across the continent as well as sub-regional and sector reports.

Seventeen in-depth country reports will cover Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 

This "mapping" of the media landscape will include qualitative interviews with practitioners - including state and public broadcasters, private and community media, large and small - as well as a set of overview assessments by leading practitioners. 

The findings will emphasise lessons learned and critical gaps, and set out areas for reform and development. The research activity will generate 17 individual country reports and one stand alone report that summarises the key findings across the 17 countries. 

Sector Planning: 
The research will be considered at a high level technical workshop led by the members of the Advisory Group, which will be held in July 2006. This workshop will review the reports, and identify the priority areas which the initiative should address. 

It will set out options for the design and logistics of the AMDI facility to be presented to stakeholders at a Media Development Forum. The aim of the technical workshop will be to agree an overview analysis, and to outline costed, specific programme activities which support the four sub-sectors set out above. 

Mobilisation:
A Media Development Forum in September 2006 is planned to take place in South Africa. The Forum will bring together practitioners, donors/investors, governments, civil society and other stakeholders to discuss and agree the arrangements for a new programme, and set out a plan to establish it. 

The Forum will consider the report of the Advisory Group and the set of specific recommendations prepared at the technical meeting. It will include preparatory meetings of donors, the private sector, government regulators on the day prior to the Forum. 

Development Issues
Democracy & Governance

Key Points
The overall goal of the project is to promote the development of pluralistic media as a key information and accountability mechanism for democratic development in Africa.

The project will aim to generate a common understanding of and agreement on specific steps to: 

Provide support for the development of more effective and responsive public service models of broadcasting 
Stimulate a better investment climate and operating environment for the private media 
Improve the range and scale of professional media training (to include journalism and media management) and a system of accreditation 
Improve advocacy with African and multilateral bodies to develop policy in favour of a strengthened and more pluralistic media throughout Africa. 


Partners
BBC World Service Trust, Ahmadu Bello University, Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies. 

For more information, contact:
BBC World Service Trust
Room 301NE 
Bush House
Strand 
London 
WC2B 4PH 
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7557 0507
Southern Hub (Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa)
Dr Lilian Ndangam 
Professor Guy Berger 
School of Journalism and Media Studies
Rhodes University
P O Box 94
Grahamstown
6140
Tel: +27 (0)46 603 7100
Fax: +27 (0)46 603 7101
l.ndangam at ru.ac.za 
g.berger at ru.ac.za 


Western Hub (Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone)
Dr. Mohammed Umar-Buratai 
Ahmadu Bello University
P.M.B. 1044
Samaru
Kaduna State
Zaria
Fax: +234 (069) 50563
Tel: +234 (069) 50581 - 5 



Source: AMDI Website on April 25 2006: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/specials/1552_trust_amdi/index.shtml.