Dr. Emanuele Fantini, Senior Lecturer at the IHE Delph Institute for Water Education, recently outlined the initial findings of his research project on media narratives and trans-boundary cooperation in the Nile basin, as part of the FutureDAMS lecture series.
Summary:
The building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has given new impetus to narratives that present the countries of the Nile basin as on the verge of a “water war”. The media are often accused of exacerbating such conflict, by disseminating inaccurate information or fabricating tension. On the other side, the media are also considered part of the solution, by the many international institutions targeting journalists to contribute to more constructive media coverage on Nile issues. However all these statements are based on anecdotal evidence. Our action research with journalists and researchers from different Nile countries aims at contributing to fill this gap, by exploring the main narratives and the production and consumption of news about the Nile and the GERD, in the Egyptian, Ethiopian, Sudanese, Ugandan, and international media.
Find more details on the FutureDAMS lecture series here.
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