The project was created to increase CSOs' use of and interaction with various forms of media to help them maximise their communication strategies and reach. This includes:

• improving capacity of selected African CSOs, including community media organisations, to use media tools effectively and in a journalistically sound manner;
• increasing collaborative networking, learning, and knowledge sharing between participants and training partners on the regional and the country level - facilitating improved access to and higher quality of media contributions; and
• increasing presence of and access to diverse and journalistically sound content on the situation of women and other marginalised groups in the media of the countries involved.

The strategy of the project includes the following:

• Build the capacity of two forerunner organisations in each country to act as a country learning hub, or in other words – the country focal point. These organisations are the focal points for 15 participating organisations in their countries. The vision behind this is that with the creation of a firm training and knowledge sharing base and network in a country, stronger organisations can act as a catalyst for weaker organisations.
• Provide, encourage and facilitate pro-active online learning activities. The project will have its own e-learning platform.
• Encourage writing up of experiences, as well as dissemination and sharing of information and news.
• Encourage peer-to-peer review and on-the-job learning.

The project began with a four-day launch workshop with twelve CSOs from the six countries who met and engaged in a debate and planning sessions regarding the implementation of the project. Participants were provided with an opportunity to share their experiences of the media environment they operate within. The participants were also tasked with identifying challenges which could possibly hinder the implementation process such as compromised bandwidth, stringent censorship measures etc, along with highlighting areas of opportunities that could be exploited in order to maximise the delivery of information.

The workshop relied on a peer-to-peer exchange of information. After the workshop, training sessions for the selected country focal points (CFPs) are planned to help cascade their learning to their surrounding constituencies, as well as provide technical support to the CSOs and community media organisations.

Democracy, Participatory Communication, and Governance.

SANGONeT is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) involved in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and serves civil society with a wide range of ICT products and services.

Hivos is a Dutch NGO inspired by humanist values. Together with local organisations in developing countries, Hivos seeks to contribute to a free, fair and sustainable world in which citizens - women and men - have equal access to the resources and opportunities for their development.