More than 2,300 journalism students and expert journalists from 29 nations have actually up until now participated in an online course developed within the CoMMPASS Initiative. The effort– co‑funded by Erasmus+ of the European Union and supported by a network of 37 partner universities throughout the African continent– commemorated its conclusion with a conference at Uganda Christian University in Mukono. The CoMMPASS course on migration in Africa was released in 2024 by speakers and scientists from the Erich Brost Institute together with associates from 6 African universities in Uganda, Malawi, and Burkina Faso, with additional support from partners in Portugal. Developed as a versatile, multilingual online program, it integrates academic research study with editorial practice and promotes ethical, data‑driven reporting.
The final conference combined university partners and decision‑makers from throughout Africa to discuss the future of online journalism education. It marked the culmination of an extensive dialog procedure that started in 2023. Current discussions focused, to name a few things, on how African universities can take greater ownership of migration stories in mentor, get rid of stereotypical representations, and utilize digital storytelling to promote social change. In previous years, the partners had actually already exchanged views with agents of the International Labor Organization, leading regional media, and the United Nations on the relationship between media and migration.
At the Intersection of International Media Dynamics and Regional Knowledge Production
“The CoMMPASS Initiative develops on the Erich Brost Institute’s longstanding research study on migration reporting in Africa and Europe,” says EBI Director Prof. Susanne Fengler. “By focusing on the professional training of journalists and, in future, likewise on geopolitical media impact, we place ourselves at the intersection of international media dynamics and local understanding production– and strengthen our academic collaborations, which extend far beyond specific tasks.”
The brand-new task, released in February at Makerere University in Uganda, examines disinformation and adjustment campaigns by foreign state stars in Sub‑Saharan Africa and analyzes how geopolitical competitions are improving the region’s media landscapes. Entitled The ‘Great Video Game’ of Media and Politics in Africa: Geopolitics and Media Intervention post‑2022, it is moneyed by the Daimler and Benz Foundation. In addition to TU Dortmund University and Makerere University, eight additional academic partners from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Burkina Faso, and Tanzania are included.
The scientists evaluate how China, Russia, and Turkey– as well as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and possibly other BRICS states– exert impact on media systems in Sub‑Saharan Africa. Particular attention is paid to these actors’ relationships with newsrooms, journalism teachers, and media policy decision‑makers, as well as to the effects on selected African countries. By producing empirical information on foreign media intervention, the job aims to enrich both academic argument and media policy discussions in a period of increasing international competition.
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