Voices of Africa

Through this initiative, organisers want to give Africans, whether in cities or in the countryside, the opportunity to have their voice heard all over the world. Those who take part in the Voices of Africa project are known as "camjos", a short term for "camera journalists". Each camjo receives training on the use of the phone and is coached during the first 6 months. A camjo writes, takes photos, and makes videos about daily life in Africa on subjects he or she finds newsworthy. For example, one journalist from Ghana who took part in this project addressed issues such as: access to clean drinking water; disposal of waste in Accra; impact of pollution on the environment; challenges associated with the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP); poor road networks; the growing influence of China and India on Ghana; poor drainage systems in Accra; introduction of the Intel e-learning tool in Ghana; and demonstrations against the sale of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone.

Voices of Africa has so far taken place in 2 phases. The preparatory phase consisted of work in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Mozambique, where journalists tested the programme and gained experience in uploading text, photos, and videos. At a later stage, they were equipped with a Nokia E61i mobile phone for their trip across 20 African countries, during which they tested the usability of the phone for each of those countries. The results of this process were published on the Voices of Africa website.

The second phase, which started in June 2008, was a 6-month project in Cameroon involving 3 reporters located in Yaoundé, Douala, and Buea. They received training and reported on developments taking place in their respective areas, including nature conservation initiatives. Other reporters were also trained in Kenya and Tanzania. According to Voices of Africa, they hope to replicate this project in all African countries.

Democracy and Governance, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Media Development

The Voices of Africa Project seeks to use currently available technologies that are not yet financially affordable in Africa. Organisers report that, although the communication channels are greatly progressing, the number of African journalists, reporters, photographers, filmmakers, and internet experts taking advantage of them is still relatively low. Also, the number of citizen journalists - who are very active in Western countries through mobile communication and internet - is very low in Africa.

The Voices of Africa Media Foundation is trying to gather funds for the project to be able to start new pilots in various African countries and to roll out the project in the countries where the pilot projects have become successful.

Voices of Africa received recognition when it was honoured with the award for Best Videoblog by an international jury at the Deutsche Welle's 2008 Best of the Blogs (BOBs) competition. It was also selected as an Official Honoree for the News category in the 12th Annual Webby Awards.