In the heart of the Rwenzori region, where a tapestry of tribal histories weaves a complex narrative, Media Focus on Africa (MFA) embarked on a poignant journey in 2019 to bridge divides that had lingered for five decades. This region, fraught with intertribal clashes between the Bakonzo, Bamba, and Batooro, had become synonymous with conflict, casting a shadow over cultural and media development.

Understanding the potential of culture and media as catalysts for conflict resolution, MFA initiated a groundbreaking project. The core objective was clear: to foster peace, reconciliation, and cultural harmony. With a focus on building the capacity of local media practitioners, the project delved into the realms of scriptwriting, video and audio film production, and the effective communication of culturally contextualized content across various media platforms.

This initiative was not merely about imparting skills; it was a holistic approach deeply rooted in the diverse cultures of the Rwenzori people. MFA recognized the power of storytelling, particularly through the medium of radio, to transcend boundaries and bring communities together.

As the capacity-building journey unfolded, culminating in the empowerment of the region’s media practitioners, a transformative endeavor took shape. The brainchild of this collective effort was the creation of ‘The Fire Place,’ a radio drama series with a profound historical inspiration.

The concept of ‘The Fire Place’ harkens back to a time when conflict resolution was an art woven into the fabric of community life. Elders and community members would gather around the warmth of the fireplace, discussing matters of importance. It served as a communal court, where disputes were deliberated upon, and the elders had the final say. This cultural practice, common to both the Batooro and the Bakonzo, became the thematic cornerstone of the radio drama series.

The radio waves became a conduit for change, echoing the sentiments of unity and understanding. ‘The Fire Place’ aimed not only to entertain but to rekindle the spirit of communal dialogue and resolution.

As we reflect on this transformative journey of 2019, we celebrate the resilience of the Rwenzori region and the profound impact of MFA’s commitment to fostering peace through media. The echoes of ‘The Fire Place’ continue to reverberate, reminding us that in the embrace of culture and the power of media, harmony can indeed rise from the ashes of conflict.

MFA implemented a project to advance women’s human rights with a focus on ending Domestic violence and Gender Based Violence in the most affected regions in Uganda, through using media and dialogue. The project was in response to the reported significant increase violence against women and girls during COVID19 lockdowns. By May 2020 Uganda Police registered over 3000 cases of domestic violence against women and girls. Women facing GBV were even more accessible to their aggressors during the lockdown or as a consequence of restrictions.  In addition there was a notable rise in cases of defilement, rape and teenage pregnancies which shot up in the wake of the pandemic . With schools closed many young girls were exposed to unsafe conditions both at home and in their communities.MFA used media and dialogues in the most affected regions- Northern, Busoga and Western, to address the problem of Violence against Women and girls in those regions. Through community dialogues, radio skits and talk shows, there was a raise in awareness and increased understanding on women’s rights. The project also increased conversation on Gender Based Violence and discrimination against women and girls. By engaging leaders and duty bearers in these actions, there was enhanced accountability and follow up in upholding the rights of women, and promoting them. There was an increase of women’s voices in the media through use of dedicated media spaces on partner regional radio stations where women shared their experiences. MFA and partner community based organizations sensitized the public on the rights of woemen and girls, and rallied for support to end gender based violence.

Quotes:

“My neighbor would send her 13 year old daughter to look for food for the family because her husband had stopped her from working yet he was not providing for them.  The girl ended up sleeping with men for money, now she is pregnant. Who is to blame?” A participant in the community dialogue in Jinja.

“Poverty is the main cause of GBV here. We have a saying in lusoga that obwavu lumbe meaning poverty is death. Women despise their poor husbands, this angers the men into beating them up to humble them, “Samwiri Walube

“Women get loans to pay school fees for children while the men spend money in bars and on other women. The men turn off their phones and leave home till the wife borrows money to return the children to school.” Kasifa Kibirige, Vice chairperson for women

“Men give women money/capital for businesses but those refuse to contribute to the home even when the businesses are profiting. Instead, they save up and buy property like land and houses but do not contribute to the development of their marital homes. When men discover this they beat up their wives, “ Mujuni Steven a trader, LC finance

“Couples should solve problems from the bedroom first. The bedroom is the central office of the home. Families should also have weekly meetings between Children and parents. Listen to each other in the home.” Serugo Isma

“We had another successful radio talk show las night, more engaging this time with a good number of listeners calling in to report GBV cases they had witnessed in their communities.  On the panel we had a police Officer in charge of child protection and Family unit from Mbarara Central police station who took contacts of the callers to follow up on the cases brought forward on the show”, Juliet Rukwanzi, Project Officer, Integrated Community “Development Initiative (ICODI),Mbarara

“On Mighty Fire FM, very painful stories of defilement were shared by relatives of victims. A man who defiled an 11 year old nanny who had been brought by his wife to take care of their baby bribed the police with 4 million shillings and is a free man now. That is just one of the 15 cases shared by listeners on today’s show. The police officer has got some of their numbers to follow up on the cases.” Francis Watum , Talk show host, Mighty Fire FM, Kitgum

“Men would call in to discuss serious issues to advocate for women’s rights. While women would call in and laugh about issues like child marriages because some of them had been married off when they were still young. Female callers would blame the victim, even on issues like rape and defilement. We need to speak out more to empower women. Thank you Media Focus on Africa for supporting us on this show, we are getting somewhere with advocating for women’s rights.” Rosemary Wakesho, Programs Officer, Anti-Domestic Violence Center (ADOVIC),Jinja

Impact

5 community dialogues with 40 participants each.

9 radio presenters trained on producing edutainment programs for promoting social change

9 community based representatives training on conducting dialogues against GBV

“Speaking up against GBV publicly, and giving GBV victims’ voice is so fulfilling

With support from DW Akademie, MFA trained representatives from Radio Pacis, Voice Of Karamoja, Mama FM, Voice Of Toro, Speak FM, Elgon FM, Etop Radio, Unity FM and Crooze FM. Participating radio representatives included news reporters and anchors, talk-show hosts, marketers and social media managers. With a special focus on female media practitioners, MFA facilitated online trainings to strengthen rural based journalists’ capacity in Media Viability and Innovation. The training aimed at promoting and increasing women’s skills in the use of new media technologies. After conducting a needs assessment survey, the training was segmented into three main areas of training were: Social media training, Gender sensitive reporting, and digital skills,  use of digital communication tools such as; Jam board, Menti.com, Padlet, Canva, Google Forms, free audio and photo editing softwaretools. articipants managed to obtain more than sufficient knowledge,training such as audience research, content development, empathy mapping to understand the needs of their audiences through developing personas, the use of a content calendar and the knowledge and ability to adapt their business model using the business model canvas.  The training was in response to the: digital skill gaps; challenges small and medium rural based media houses were facing in  adapting and integrating technology in their business.

“I came to this training with so many questions about Media Viability but now things are getting more interesting. Very impressed with the fact that Community engagement is at the core of what we do and that Data is the new currency.” Joshua Imalingat

“I enjoyed the first session when you delved on content creation before thinking of money,” Aaron Olao

“I can see now that Blogging and Vlogging can be done by women and men. Social Media can be used for more than just personal posting.” Dorcas

“I am dearly impressed by the different tools I can use to generate funds for my media house and individually as well. Thanks team” Emmy Daniel Ojara

“The business model stood out for me, I think things can work putting it into practice things can work

out well.” Gloria Lalam

“I am so glad that every end of the training day, I have new knowledge added. Joe Wacha

“With this knowledge, we are more focused and will discuss with senior management based on facts in order to argue our cases” Joseph Akiiso, Etop Radio

“I think I will never be the same again. with this training and all these tools I will be a digital expert soon”, Joshua Imalingat, station manager, Crooze FM

Impact

10 radio stations

30 radio presenters’ skills and knowledge strengthened  in producing content on women were strengthened.

Uganda Media Week is a multifaceted annual journalism event hosted by MFA since 2019. It is mainly made up of media trainings and dialogues aimed at contributing to professional journalism across multimedia platforms. The two main events are the pre-media week regional trainings, and the two-day Uganda Media Week Conference.

1. Pre-Media Week regional trainings

With support from the African Digital Fund(ADRF)  through  Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), MFA held regional training for journalists on reporting on digital rights for marginalised persons. This was the 4^th regional media training and dialogue ahead of the Uganda media week conference. Journalists from radio, print, television and online were trained on covering under reported stories on digital exclusion, digital security for media houses and journalists, and digital literacy. Rural based journalists in West Nile, Northern Uganda, and North Eastern Uganda benefited from the training. The training strengthened the knowledge and skills of journalists to report on the diverse digital divides in their regions.

Impact

1. 1. A table showing number of trained journalists per region

Fig 2. A table showing Gender representation of trained journalist per region

Quotes

“I now understand the importance of including all voices especially of the marginalized persons in my community when reporting on digital developments. Usually, our stories focus on the digital developments and not the end user. Going forward, I will be more intentional about including voices rural women and persons living with disabilities when reporting on digital issues” Hellen Onepur, Reporter, Etop Radio

“Most of the journalists in rural areas lack digital skills to operate digital tools for news gathering. Rural based journalists are lagging behind on digital skills because most trainings target urban based journalists in the central region. Some journalists are technophobic, and prefer to continue using the old technology that they are used to.” Olandason Wandera, Reporter for New Vision in Karamoja

“The high cost of data bundles has compelled some journalists to limit their practice to reporting for radio rather than reporting for online news platforms or print that requires one to continuously file stories via email or uploading them to the news websites. Majority of the rural based media houses do not provide internet services for the employees so the journalists have to improvise by buying their own data.” Felix Warom, Bureau Chief Daily Monitor West Nile.

1. Uganda Media Week Conference

On the 3rd and 4th of November 2022, Media Focus on Africa held the fourth Uganda Media Week Conference themed Journalism, innovation and the future. The annual conference brought together key actors in Uganda’s media industry-news editors and reporters owners, regulators, and support organizations.  to reflect on the challenges facing the industry and deliberated together to find workable solutions. The conference comprised of panel discussions, keynote conversations, presentations and debates on key issues in the journalism industry. Topics discussed include – safety for journalists, women in media, local news, and innovations in media. 65 participants attended the conference on Thursday 3rd, and 69 on Friday 4th November 2022.  The conference is supported by Deustche Welle (DWA), United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), and Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA).

Quotes

“We are faced by perpetrators who are trying to take away our space and to sabotage our work. We also need to do our part because we are quickly being replaced by non-journalists who have got the tools.  Anybody with a smartphone can broadcast or publish a story from wherever they are,” Joachim Buwembo

“What exactly does it mean to be relevant? It also goes back to the question I asked in the 2021(Uganda Media Week) conference, that what is the difference between journalism and media? Everybody feels like they are a journalist as long as they have a phone and can record something and share it, which is really our typical definition of Journalism. The citizen is the journalist now, so what difference then does the trained journalists make?  What difference are we making as trainers, why should somebody be in my class for three years to earn a degree in journalism if they’re going to compete for space with somebody who didn’t need a primary seven school certificate to be able to use tick tock?” Dr. Emilly Maractho

“About two or three years ago two years ago, we were having a Uganda Media Week Conference   like this and in the room there were people media owners who believed that having women in the Newsroom was quite expensive. They presented practical explanations like when she gets pregnant and goes on maternity leave you have to keep her on payroll. That is why MFA has partnered with DWA to train different media houses on implementing Gender sensitive media policies ”Jan Ajwang