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Assessing media development in Swaziland using the UNESCO Media Development Indicators

Year when project approved: 
2014
Approved budget: 
US$15 000.00

On the surface, Swaziland appears to have all the necessary ingredients for media development. The Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, the press and other media, while the Information and Media Policy requires the media to eradicate information poverty and reduce community isolation by providing a platform for social interaction and public participation. There is a voluntary regulatory body to protect citizens’ interests and media practitioners are represented by two professional associations and by the Swaziland Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa.
 
However, things are not as they appear, as revealed by Swaziland’s low ranking in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index and MISA’s So This is Democracy Report. These and similar studies, however, have failed to identify the underlying factors stifling media development, such as the operational, structural, constitutional, legal and extra-legal constraints. For example, no study has considered gender representation in the Swazi media, even though Swaziland is known to be a patriarchal society. An assessment of the media landscape using UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators would fill these gaps and offer a more holistic insight into the impediments to media development in Swaziland.

Documents
Full project description: 
Swazilandi_project_proposal.pdf
Full implementation report: 
Swaziland_implementation_report.pdf
Project details
IPDC Bureau meeting nº: 
58

Implementation status :

Project evaluated:

Project scope:

IPDC Priority:

Budget
Budget code: 
354GLO5002.31

Source of funds:

Beneficiary
Beneficiary name: 
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
Beneficiary description: 

This study will be conducted by the Swaziland Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). It has considerable experience in research, having carried out major research including the Democracy and Governance in the Swazi Press 2011, Coverage of children in the Swazi Press 2011and Censorship in the Swazi media 2006. The Mozambique Chapter of MISA carried out the Assessment of Media Development – Based on UNESCO Media Indicators in 2009 -2010.

Beneficiary address: 
P.O. Box 681, Mbabane

Beneficiary country:

Beneficiary phone: 
+268 2404 6677

Beneficiary type:

Location and contacts
UNESCO
Responsible UNESCO Regional advisers: 

Lydia Gachungi

UNESCO Field Office:

Project contacts: 

Mr Vuyisile Sikelela Hlatshwayo, National Director of the Swaziland Chapter of MISA, & Lydia Gachungi(APO), UNESCO Windhoek Office

Project place: 
Mbabane, Swaziland

Project region:

Follow-up and achievments
Summary of the project implementation: 

In October 2014, a two-day workshop was conducted in Mbabane with the members of the research team to define the modalities of applying the MDIs in Swaziland. A round table discussion on assessing the media landscape in Swaziland was also conducted just after the research team’s October workshop. Participants included executive staff from several key media outlets (including The Swazi Observer, The Times of Swaziland, Independent News and Voice of the Church), the chairpersons of Swaziland’s main professional associations (such as the National Association of Journalists, the Editors Forum, the Swaziland Press Club and the Media Workers Union) and key representatives from civil society organizations (including the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations and Lawyers for Human Rights), as well as journalism education institutions. The Government was represented by Annelisa Stoffels, Acting Director of the Information and Media Development Department at the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. UNESCO MDI Coordinator Saorla McCabe also participated in the round table. The project is contributing to media development and will ensure ensure media diversity and access to information by all citizens across the spectrum.