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Abstract
The authors reflect on the establishment and rapid evolution of an African electronic newsletter, Pambazuka News, an initiative rooted on the one hand in the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs), and (on the other hand) in the struggle against impoverishment and injustices. Among the main learning points are that electronic publishing is a long-term commitment, because of the trust established between the organisation providing the service and those using it. The immediacy of the medium enables information to move around in a range of different ways, and exerts new forms of mutual accountability. There remains, however, the critical issue of how to guarantee the resources to maintain such a service without compromising the content or diluting the purpose.
Notes
1. Pambazuka means ‘arise’ or ‘awaken’ in Kiswahili.
2. These statistics are taken from www.internetworldstats.com/ (retrieved 25 May 2006).
3. RSS: Really Simple Syndication, a method for sharing the latest information from a website with users who are using news aggregators to read information posted on the Internet. A news aggregator is a piece of software that enables syndicated content to be put together and displayed in one forum.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Firoze Manji
Firoze Manji, a Kenyan with more than 20 years' experience in international development, health, and human rights, is Director of Fahamu – Networks for Social Justice, and Managing Editor of Pambazuka News.
Patrick Burnett
Patrick Burnett is a South African with a background in journalism. He works at Fahamu and is the Online News Editor of Pambazuka News.