You may download the address in PDF here

Please feel free to share.

Also note that the proceedings will be published before the end of November. All panelists are currently being invited to send us their paper versions so be sure to check in here if you missed the presentations or if you want to get further information.

Venue: University of Mauritius – 16 & 17th September 2010

Day 1: Thursday 16th September (ELT2 – Engineering Tower)

Opening Ceremony
13.30 – 14.00 Registration
14.00 – 14.05 Welcome Remarks – Dean FSSH
14.05 – 14.15 UNESCO Representative
14.15 – 14.20 Ag Vice Chancellor, UOM
14.20 – 15.00 Keynote address: Mr Amadou Mahtar Ba – CEO African Media Initiative
15.00 – 15.15 Floor Discussion
15.15 – 15.30 Tea Break

Session 1: Freedom, Media and Democracy
Chair: Ibrahim Koodoruth, UOM
15.30 – 15.45 Constitutional and Legal Frameworks: Opportunities and Constraints for the Media Industry – Maneesh Gobin
15.45 – 16.15 Freedom and Transparency: A Journalistic Appreciation – Subash Gobine and Gilbert Ahnee
16.15 – 16.30 Enlarging the Mauritian Democratic Space: Creating an Informed Citizenry – Catherine Boudet
16.30 – 17.00 Floor Discussion

Day 2: Friday 17th September (LT1 -NAC)

Session 2: Media Systems and Policies
(i) Chair: Amadou Mahtar Ba – African Media Initiative
9.30 – 9.45 Integrity of Public Institutions: The Case of the MBC – Dan Callikhan
9.45 – 10.00 Private Radio: Serving Public or Commercial Interest – Striking the Right Balance – Abdoollah Earally
10.00 – 10.15 21st Century Broadcasting: The Need to Revisit and Reinvent Established Systems – Roukaya Kasenally
10h15 – 10.30 Floor Discussion

(ii) Chair: Roukaya Kasenally – UOM
10.30 – 10.45 The Role of Regulation – Gilbert Ithier – IBA
10.45 – 11.00 Experiments in Self Regulation: The NEPA Code of Conduct – Lindsay Rivière
11.00 – 11.15 State or Self Regulation: The Search for Common Ground – Christina Chan-Meetoo
11h15 – 11h30 Floor Discussion
11h30 – 11h45 Tea Break

Session 3: Media, Politics and Democracy
Chair: Sheila Bunwaree – UOM
11.45 – 12.15 Mainstream Political Parties and the Media: Cehl Meeah (FSM ), Steven Obeegadoo (MMM), Nita Deerpalsing (LP)
12.15 – 12.35 Extra-parliamentary Dynamics and the Media: Ashok Subron and Nilen Vencadasamy
12.35 – 12.50 The Media and the notion of ‘Free and Fair’ Elections – Mayila Paroomal
12.50 – 13.10 Floor Discussion
13.10 – 13.40 Lunch

Session 4: Citizens and the Media
Chair: Caroline Ng Tseung Wong – UOM
13.40 – 13.55 New Spaces, New Challenges: The Relevance of Regulation – Trilock Dwarka
13.55 – 14.15 The Advent of Digital Content: Experiences in Online Journalism – Rabin Bhujun and Avinash Meetoo
14.15 – 14.30 The Emerging Digital Environment: Opportunities and Constraints – Azhagan Chenganna
14.30 – 15.00: Floor Discussion
15.00 – 15.15: Tea Break

Session 5: Challenges to the Journalism Trade: Training and Professionalism
Chair: Christina Chan Meetoo
15.15 – 16.15 Round Table: Kiran Ramsahye, Jean-Claude de L’Estrac, Henri Marimootoo, Axcel Cheney and Jean-Luc Emile
16.15 – 16.45 Floor Discussion

16.45 – 17.00 Concluding Remarks and Vote of Thanks

The objective is to allow key stakeholders to:
- Take stock of the existing battery of legal and regulatory framework with respect to the media in Mauritius.
- Revisit the various debates / exchanges about the changing role of the media in a democracy.
- Examine the relationship between the media and the different institutions such as the government, regulatory bodies and civil society.
- Explore the good practices available in the area of media regulation / self regulation.
- Engage into dialogue with key stakeholders in relation to the above and ensure a way forward for its prompt implementation.

For more information, read the concept note.

The opening ceremony will be held on Thursday 17th September at 2 p.m. in ELT2 (Engineering Tower). Mr Amadou Ba, CEO of the African Media Initiative will give the keynote address. His profile can be found here.

Read the detailed programme for both days Unesco Dialogue programme-9sep-small. Note that the first day (Thursday 16th) will be in ELT2 whereas the second day (Friday 18th) will be in ELT3 Lecture Theatre 1 of NAC.

Please drop me a line if you are interested in attending. Entrance is free and open to everyone and you can attend any number of sessions on any day. Feel free to disseminate.

The Unit of Media and Communication of the Faculty of Social Studies and Humanities has the pleasure of inviting you to a Public Lecture on
“Africa’s Media: Between Professional Ethics and Cultural Belonging”
By Professor Francis Nyamnjoh (University of Cape Town)

Date: 21st June 2010
Time: 14.30
Venue: RBLT (UOM)

(The lecture addresses the different interactions and tensions between established power systems, the media and citizens)

Bio: Francis Nyamnjoh joined the University of Cape Town from the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), where he served as Head of Publications from July 2003 to July 2009. He has taught sociology, anthropology and communication studies at universities in Cameroon and Botswana.
His most recent books include Negotiating an Anglophone Identity (Brill, 2003), Rights and Politics of Recognition in Africa (Zed, 2005), Africa’s Media and Democracy and the Politics of Belonging (Zed , 2005), Insiders and Outsiders: Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa (Zed, 2006). Professor Nyamnjoh is also an accomplished and prized writer, having published six ethnographic novels.

Global Issues US Department of State eJournal March 2006 – Media Emerging This issue looks at how new technologies shape the news media. It includes articles about the print media, broadcasting, public libraries, culture, the OLPC, photo albums, online communities, universities, online crime, consumer advocacy, wireless devices and an article about blogging by Dan Gillmor, the author of ‘We the Media. Grassroots Journalism by the People, For the People’.

Global Issues US Department of State eJournal Feb 2003 – Seeking Free and Responsible Media. This issue includes articles about US foreign policy in terms of freedom and democracy, the legal foundation of press freedom in the US, financial independence and viability of the media, journalism schools and public trust, and training for broadcast journalism.

These are very interesting complements to the very lively discussion we had at the DVC which featured Elizabeth Bryant, a Paris-based American print/radio journalist and editor. The latter told participants about her experience of journalism in Washington and Egypt. The relative freedom of the press in Mauritius was highlighted as well as the major constraints faced by local journalists (no Freedom of Information Act but an Official Secrets Act), the lack of in-depth investigative reporting, the coverage of politics and elections and the impact of new media on journalism.

Today is World Press Freedom Day and UNESCO has chosen the theme ‘Freedom of Information: the Right to Know”. In this context, Communication students have produced a series of material for a virtual exhibition. Their texts, photos and videos can be consulted at http://comstudies.wordpress.com/world-press-freedom-day-exhibition/
More material will be added during the week. Many thanks to all students who have contributed to this project and to Ketan Ramhit, technician at the Mediacom Studio.

Aujourd’hui. c’est la Journée Mondiale de la Presse et l’UNESCO a choisi le thème de ‘La Liberté d’Information. Dans ce contexte, les étudiants en Communication ont produit une série de textes, photos et vidéos pour une exposition virtuelle sue le lien suivant: http://comstudies.wordpress.com/world-press-freedom-day-exhibition/
Des productions additionnelles seront postées au cours de la semaine.
Un grand merci aux étudiants qui ont participé à ce projet et à Ketan Ramhit, technicien du Mediacom Studio.

Check Elections.mu, the new blog about politics in Mauritius.

First video on the UOM Printing Press produced by Sandra Selvara, Stephania Mellier and Melhia BIssière

Video on the Mauritian Creole language and the first monolingual dictionary (featuring Jocelyn Chan Low and Arnaud Carporan and his team) produced by Stephania Mellier, Melhia Bissière and Naima Dauharry

Video on the UOM Farm produced by Axelle Nanette and Sandra Selvara