In the modern world, communication underpins development. Education, public health, engagement with national economies and the global marketplace – all of these depend on people sharing information. Media actors, including newspapers, radio, television and Internet news providers, are the most important players in this arena.

The media landscape in southern Africa continues to evolve. But in rural southern Africa, reliable information can be a difficult commodity to come by. The institutions of media communication – from newspapers to radio stations to television stations – are often hampered by outdated and restricted laws and policies that inhibit their ability to convey the stories of southern Africa to readers, listeners and viewers. Other challenges include limited media outreach and access to information and communication technologies, low quality of media outputs, insufficient local and development content, high cost of newsprint, gender insensitivity and low knowledge base, particularly on development issues, among many practicing journalists.

Changing that dynamic is the core of Panos Institute Southern Africa’s mission.

Since our inception in 1996, journalists, civil society and policymakers have recognized PSAf as a pioneer in helping poor and marginalized communities in southern Africa attain greater access to the media and information, and as a leader in promoting pluralism in media ownership and content.

PSAF uses and supports alternative and new information and communication technologies (ICTs) that expand information access and enable communities to play a more active role in public debates and the decision-making process. PSAF’s work introducing “radio listening clubs,” which provide a platform for marginalized rural communities – and particularly women – to voice their concerns, hold policymakers accountable and exchange ideas at the local level in Zambia, Malawi and South Africa, has been a key element of this mission.

PSAf strives to promote pluralism and diversity in media ownership, media structures and communication processes. In part, that means promoting a legal and regulatory environment conducive to free, open and quality journalism. Under the Catalyzing Access to ICTs in Africa (CATIA) program, a multi-partner radio strategy that supports democratic, plural, and pro-poor broadcasting in Africa, PSAf has worked to promote the reform of the legal and regulatory frameworks governing radio and television broadcasting in the Angola, Malawi and Mozambique. PSAf partners with local and regional stakeholders in the media, government and civil society, analyzes media and broadcasting issues and promotes public policy debate.

This also means ensuring a diversity of media content. PSAf works to build the capacity of journalists and other media practitioners in southern Africa to convey the concerns of underserved populations to policymakers through workshops, publications and fellowships. Through the RELAY-Communicating Research program, PSAf conducts programs that forge greatly needed links between journalists and researchers. PSAf also facilitates communication by recording oral testimonies from rural communities.

PSAf facilitates debate, and conducts research and advocacy on media, information and communication policies throughout southern Africa.