We just heard the opening keynote talk by Cameroonian blogger Dibussi Tande (he blogs at Scribbles from the den), who talked about “The state of social justice and digital media in Africa”. Below is a summary of his talk from the Digital Citizen Indaba website:
“In Africa the web is understood as not controlled by the state, it is seen as an opportunity by civil society for a digital voice and to freedom of expression”, says well-known blogger Dibussi Tande from Cameroon, who is the keynote speaker at DCI 4.0. “But now how do we use Internet under the current circumstances, where we are dealing with a largely unwired audience and with the bulk of digital activisist outside of Africa?”
Dibussi: “Civil society still needs a digital voice. They can disseminate alternative views, creating a virtual public sphere, organizing collective action for cross-border activism and online campaigns.” The digital activists’ toolkit exists of blogging tools, micro blogging, mapping, podcasting, social networking, video sharing, photo sharing, mobile activism, feeds and aggregators. But: “if you don’t know why you are using it you’re probably not going to get much out of it”, says Dibussi.
A tool is not a strategy nor a goal. “Your digital media must tell a story.” But now what happens next after the revolution has been Twittered? Dibussi argues that “it is important that civil society does not only do digital activism, they must convert it to offline collective action on the ground. Civil society organisations should go into the community with SMS forms to help people who don’t have wheels. There is a mixture between the traditional and the modern and they complement each other. In Africa both new and old will work hand in hand.”
Dibussi concludes: “Information –> Community –> Action… let’s go for the transformational!”
More
-Dibussi Tande’s blog is Scribbles from the den
-You can follow Dibusse Tande on Twitter at @Dibussi
-You can watch his full powerpoint presentation on “The state of social justice & digital media in Africa” here
highwayafrica.wordpress.com 
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September 6, 2009 at 2:52 am
Habtamu Dugo
I could not agree more with the DCI 09 kenynote speaker, Dibussi Tande from Cameroon. It is possible to have the best of gadgets in the world, but the poorest of stories and vice versa.
The trick is in keeping the balance. The idea makes sense because it is hard even for hardcore IT people to keep abreast with the rapidly occurring technological development and innovations.
So, how can we strike a balance between the use of technology and content??? Perhaps, DCI organizers may want to think of making the theme of the next year’s conference “Balancing new media technologies with conent/ stories”.
What if, say, we maintain the balance between technology and good content, yet our leaders don’t want us to tell stories that are “unfavourable” to their powers?
I am leaving my comment because I recognize the potentials of such conferences in transforming grassroots journalism on the African soil. Of course, I am also a Rhodes University alum and feel optimally connected to the family from the African Diaspora.
Have a fruitful time at DCI and Highway Africa gatherings.
–Habtamu Dugo