Founded | 1992 |
---|---|
Headquarters | Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia |
Key people | Gwen Lister |
Website | www.misa.org |
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is a non-governmental organisation with members in 11 of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries. Officially launched in September 1992, MISA focuses primarily on the need to promote free, independent and pluralistic media, as envisaged in the 1991 Declaration of Windhoek.
MISA seeks ways in which to promote the free flow of information and co-operation between media workers, as a principal means of nurturing democracy and human rights in Africa. The role of MISA is primarily that of a coordinator, facilitator and communicator, and for this reason MISA aims to work together with all like-minded organisations and individuals to achieve a genuinely free and pluralistic media in southern Africa.
A Secretariat, based in Windhoek, Namibia, coordinates:
MISA has national chapters in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
MISA is a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), a global network of non-governmental organisations that works to defend and promote the right to freedom of expression.
It also belongs to the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group, a coalition of 16 free expression groups that lobbies Tunisia to improve its human rights record.
The Windhoek Declaration for the Development of a Free, Independent and Pluralistic Press, the Windhoek Declaration for short, is a statement of press freedom principles by African newspaper journalists in 1991. The Declaration was produced at a UNESCO seminar, "Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press," held in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, from 29 April to 3 May 1991.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.
IFEX, formerly International Freedom of Expression Exchange, is a global network of more than 120 independent non-governmental organisations that work at a local, national, regional, or international level to defend and promote freedom of expression as a human right.
Internet censorship in Tunisia significantly decreased in January 2011, following the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as the new acting government removed filters on social networking sites such as YouTube.
PEN International is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous International PEN centres in more than 100 countries.
The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters is the international umbrella organization of community radio broadcasters founded in 1983, with nearly 3,000 members in 110 countries. Its mission is to support and contribute to the development of community and participatory radio along the principles of solidarity and international cooperation.
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian non-governmental organization supported by Canadian journalists and advocates of freedom of expression. The purpose of the organization is to defend the rights of journalists and contribute to the development of press freedom throughout the world. CJFE recognizes that these rights are not confined to journalists and strongly supports and defends the broader objective of freedom of expression in Canada and around the world.
The Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG) is a coalition of 21 free-expression organisations that belong to the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), a global network of non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
Article 19 is an international human rights organisation that works to defend and promote freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide. It was founded in 1987. The organisation takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.
The Namibian is the largest daily newspaper in Namibia. It is published in English and Oshiwambo.
Censorship in Tunisia has been an issue since the country gained independence in 1956. Though considered relatively mild under President Habib Bourguiba (1957–1987), censorship and other forms of repression became common under his successor, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Ben Ali was listed as one of the "10 Worst Enemies of the Press" by the Committee to Protect Journalists starting in 1998. Reporters Without Borders named Ben Ali as a leading "Predator of Press Freedom". However, the Tunisia Monitoring Group reports that the situation with respect to censorship has improved dramatically since the overthrow of Ben Ali in early 2011.
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is the only regional organization focused on promoting and protecting press freedom and freedom of expression in Southeast Asia. Established as a non-profit organization in November 1998, the alliance works to unite independent journalists and press-related organizations in the region into a force for free expression advocacy and mutual protection.
Gwen Lister is a Namibian journalist, publisher, anti-apartheid and press freedom activist.
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) was a non-governmental organization devoted to promoting freedom of expression across the Middle East and North Africa. It was founded in the year 2004. Based in Cairo, Egypt, the organization was founded by prominent Egyptian attorney and human rights activist Gamal Eid, who also served as the ANHRI's executive director. The ANHRI collected publications, campaigns, reports, and statements from almost 140 Arab human rights organizations across the region and republished them in a daily digest on its website. The group focused on supporting free expression, especially via the internet and mass media, and worked on behalf of persons regarded as having been detained on political grounds. It also advocated against censorship by Arab governments.
The Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) is a network that comprises 14 non-profit organizations that are spread across 10 different countries in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. Their collective network is centered around feminism, activism, and pan-Africanism. The mission of CAL is to progress the freedom, liberation, and autonomy for all women who reside in Africa or in any other part of the world. Additionally, CAL strives to advocate and build the capacities of lesbian women while promoting African agency.
Media development involves capacity building for institutions or individuals related to freedom of expression, pluralism and diversity of media, as well as transparency of media ownership. Media development plays a role in democracy and effective democratic discourse through supporting free and independent media.
MISA Malawi, registered as the National Media Institute of Southern Africa (NAMISA), is the local chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), a regional media Non Governmental Organization established to promote and defend media freedom and freedom of expression across southern Africa in line with the Windhoek Declaration of 1991 on promoting a free and pluralistic African press. It was established in 1997. Since its establishment in 1997, MISA Malawi has implemented a number of projects with funding from local and international partners focusing on various fields including Access to Information, Law Reform, Elections Monitoring and Reporting and the Environment. But the flagship programme for MISA Malawi has been media freedom monitoring, which culminates into annual state-of-the-media reports called 'So This is Democracy?"
Human rights in Namibia are currently recognised and protected by the Namibian constitution formed in 1990 by a 72-seat assembly. The assembly consisted of differing political parties. After a draft, the constitution was agreed upon by all members of the seven political parties involved. 21 March 1990 marks the first day Namibia operated under the Constitution and also marks the recognition of Namibia as an independent nation. Chapter 3 of the constitution entitled Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, also referred to as the Bill of Rights, outlines the human rights of all Namibian citizens.
Fatou Jagne Senghore also known as Fatou Jagne Senghor is a Gambian Jurist, human rights advocate, women's rights and free expression activist. She is well known for her work in human rights in West Africa especially in The Gambia and Senegal She earned the nickname of "Senegambian Iron Lady" for her efforts defending human rights in The Gambia under the autocratic leadership of Yahya Jammeh.
The African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (AfDec) has been created in order to promote an Internet environment that conforms to established human rights standards and meets Africa's social and economic development needs. The Declaration was agreed on at the 2013 African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF) in Nairobi, Kenya and launched in 2014 at the global Internet Governance Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. It provides a normative framework on which basis recommendations for policy and legislative processes on internet rights, freedoms and governance in Africa are made. They can be applied at national, sub-regional and regional levels.