Africa Interactive

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2007
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Africa Interactive An online publisher,
building and maintaining a worldwide,
interactive multimedia platform, focused on
Africa. Publishing www.africanews.com
www.afrikanieuws.nl
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Aim

• Africa Interactive aims to show a better
  balanced and multifaceted image of the African
  continent in international media. AfricaNews
  aims to become the leading source on the Internet
  for news, video, photography, weblogs
  discussion about and on Africa

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Content

• Africa Interactive maintains a network of media
  talent and reporters spread across the African
  continent
• News agencies
• Users from and in Africa

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User generated

• Africa Interactive makes use of leading
  interactive technology
• Users can open personal accounts, rate
  content, share opinions and publish their own
  content online.
• Many websites that currently cover the
  African continent are a typical one-way
  communication process

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Voices of Africa

• New project using cellphones to report in
  partnership with skoeps.nl
• Pilot in Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya and
  Ghana
• Cellphone reporters cover current events in their
  area and produce videos, articles and
  photographs

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• The mobile reporters only need access to a cell
  phone tower, a GPRS enabled phone and some credit

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• Students of the Technical University in Delft
  take part in this pilot. They have a Nokia E61i
  mobile phone for their trip across 20 African
  countries, during which they will test
  the usability of that phone for each of those
  countries

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• We train them to become innovative reporters
• Young media talent is deviced with new technology

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Pilot so far - Costs

• Nana Kofi Acquah, Ghana
• Costs per minute 0,20/min
• Average upload time 30-35 min Text 400
  words Video 8-9MB 7-8

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Evans Wafula, Kenya Costs per minute
0,25/min Average upload time 30-40
min Text 400 words Video 8-9MB 7,5-10
Photo 209 KB Text /-400 words 5-10
min 2,50
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Important conclusions

• Training needed on how to use the cellphones and
  how to interview for a video report
• Look into technical side videos can be uploaded
  from Africa but in most African countries the
  videos cant be viewed online

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Goal

• The ultimate goal is to select, in each African
  country, a number of skilful (young) men and
  women and to equip these people with
  high-technology cellphones where a special piece
  of software is installed to permit direct uploads
  of photos, texts and videos

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First focus

• Kenya 2-4 reporters Kenya election platform
  (Media Focus on Africa Foundation)
• South Africa, Ghana

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• The aim of Africa Interactive is to inform each
  and every person having interest in Africa about
  the multiple facets of that continent to create
  an online community sharing views on Africa