Tag: Jean-Jacques Bogui

Call for papers
Global Media Journal — Canadian Edition 2016: Volume 9, Issue 1
International Communication and Development

Guest Editors:
Dr. Jean-Jacques Bogui
Dr. Carmen Rico
Dr. Christian Agbobli
Dr. Oumar Kane
(Université du Québec à Montréal)

In the late 1950s, a reflection on the potential of the media as a vector for development opened a communicational perspective on international development issues. For the proponents of this approach, it was enough to inject into the social body a certain amount of technical knowledge, which facilitated the flow of information causing a positive reaction of Third World populations to social, technological, and economic progress. Critics of this approach were numerous and took shape in the response of dependency theories. The emergence of international communication and development research field was partly the result of this heated debate.

This field of research has experienced a second wave due to work of the MacBride Commission initiated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The work of this committee focused on communication systems, such as the impact of international communication on national development and influence of transnational corporations in Third World countries. The oppressive cultural North/South relations resulting from the stranglehold of North media organizations over those of Third World has attracted attention. The commission called for a North/South dialogue to promote the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) and encouraged the promotion of alternative media as opposed to mass media. The 1980 MacBride report entitled Many Voices One World that resulted from the work of the commission crystallized debates and issues around the question of an information and communication order at the core of which were the international news agencies.

In the early 1990s, a new approach to the field of international communication and development emphasized the importance of telecommunications infrastructure in the development process. The World Summits on the Information Society (WSIS) held in Geneva (Switzerland) in 2003 and in Tunis (Tunisia) in 2005 gave prominent attention to the question of the digital divide between the North and the South. Thus, an important debate appears in this field. On one hand, views based on econometric studies defend the thesis that there is a correlation between the rate of equipment telecommunications infrastructure and economic development, given that information and communication technologies are another chance to allow Third World countries to catch up with the West (leapfrogging). On the other hand, critics of a techno-deterministic utopia fiercely oppose this theoretical approach.

In the last few years we assisted to a broadening of the problematization with the inclusion of social and political aspects (sustainable development, gender issues, human rights, ICT and social movements, public sphere, governance, postcolonial studies, etc.).

This special issue dedicated to international communication and development will revisit this field of study. It will also address new approaches that have emerged in the context of globalization and emerging technologies. This special issue seeks theoretical, analytic, critical, empirical, and comparative submissions that specifically discuss, but are not limited to, the following topics:
-Information Technology and development
-Digital divide and digital solidarity
-Digital technologies and world conflicts
-Communication and international politics
-Globalization of information
-Communication and cultural diversity
-Imperialism and cultural domination

The Global Media Journal — Canadian Edition welcomes high-quality, original submissions on related topics to the above theme. Authors are strongly encouraged to contribute to the development of communication and media theories, report empirical and analytical research or present case studies, use critical discourses, and/or set out innovative research methodologies. The Journal is a bilingual (English and French) open-access online academic refereed publication that aims to advance research and understanding of communication and media in Canada and around the globe.

Deadline: March 15th, 2016
Submissions: Papers (5,000 to 7,500 words), review articles of more than one book (2,500 to 3,000 words), and book reviews (1,000 to 1,200 words).
Method:  All manuscripts must be submitted electronically as Word Document attachments, directly to Dr. Jean-Jacques Bogui.
Guidelines Available
Decision: April 30th, 2016
Publication: June 15th, 2016