Feb 22nd, 2010
by Elvira.
“I’m 1 of the people who were there this morning, & I really enjoyed the 1st course. You really know your stuff. Thembeni” – Twitter message to @Elviravannoort.
My first Citizen Journalism class at local Grahamstown community newspaper Grocott’s Mail (GM) is history. Eleven participants this morning learned what a citizen journalist is, what news is and how they can generate their own story ideas.
It’s exciting to be part of the project named Iindaba Ziyafika (The news is coming). “The project focuses on developing innovative ways of using new media technologies to facilitiate community journalism, and is funded by a grant from the US-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation“, explains the GM website concisely.
Continue reading →
As published in Grocott’s Mail – Grahamstown, South Africa
By Zimkhitha Mbunge 
Applications for the third Grocott’s Mail Citizen Journalism course close at 5pm on Monday 15 February – go to www.grocotts.co.za/cj to register now.
The course, which is free of charge, takes place in the Grocott’s Mail Citizen Journalism newsroom, and will run for six weeks, from Monday 22 February to Thursday 1 April 2010, from 9am to 11am.
Continue reading →
Jan 22nd, 2010
by Elvira.
To constantly be at the forefront of academic research is an easy task w
hen you work as the associate researcher at the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership in Grahamstown. The knowledgeable staff of this prestigious 
institute keep me on my toes. I write proposals about mobile news applications, brown-envelope journalism and South Africa’s digital migration – these topics really are just as interesting as they sound.
The search for funders is ongoing. We apply with Hivos, FreeVoice, OSISA and Samdef on a regular basis. It is not easy to receive funding but we keep our hopes up. We are now moving quicker, producing more and more interesting research proposals, to different funders to ensure that we can work on a project this year.
There is still a lot to research within the Southern African media landscape, especially when it comes to mobile media and using new media for social justice and activism. EvN will continue writing research proposals that aim to uplift the standards of journalism and fight for the voiceless in 2010.
EvN Media Solutions would like to thank all the people involved in our work and all the clients who make it possible to continue our business into it
s third year. Special mention goes to the School of Journalism in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and the Digital Citizen Indaba sponsors who are kind enough to ask for EvN’s services on a continuous basis.
In 2009 EvN extended its practical skills on multiple media platforms, including mobile. Keeping up-to-date with new media technologies and social media is necessary to grow EvN into a company that keeps on the foreground of offering new media solutions to media companies and media projects. The year also presented many new insights with projects related to press freedom and digital activism.
Continue reading →
This is the third time I am involved in coordinating the Digital Citizen Indaba (DCI) in Grahamstown, South Africa and this year promises to be the best so far. Not only do we expect 300 delegates, DCI is now also a two-day event! It takes place on 5 and 6 September. Our theme is ‘Digital civil society and journalism in Africa’ and you can follow our live updates on our DCI website.
Continue reading →
