The publication focuses on the underlying nexus of democracy, development and the media based on the fundamental principles of democracy and human rights that lie at the heart of UNESCO’s mandate. It was drafted by Professor Fackson Banda, SAB-UNESCO, Chair of Media and Democracy at Rhodes University, South Africa. The Nordic Information Centre on Media and Communication Research (Nordicom) at Göteborg University, Sweden, and the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) contributed to the finalization of the manual.

The objective of the manual is threefold:

• to raise greater civic consciousness among media professionals about the democratic role of the media in the transitional democracies of the developing world;
  
• to enhance the civic competence of media practitioners to help them in their analysis and reporting of civic affairs; and
  
• to encourage greater prioritization of civic news among media institutions.

The manual recommends participatory, student-centred training techniques, and proposes a number of exercises aimed at stimulating student reflection and pointers for investigation designed to prod media interest in particular civic issues.

Click here to download Civic Education for Media Professionals: A Training Manual.