WSICE Partners Bournemouth Varsity, KNUST for Int’l seminar on Transnational Media Research Collaborations

Yinka Olatunbosun

As the global discourse and conversations on decolonisation gain momentum, unique perspectives from academics and practitioners from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America remain crucial. At an international online seminar titled, “Exploring Ethics in Transnational Media Research,” held last Thursday and Friday, contemporary issues in the media were discussed.

The event is part of the broader research project titled “Developing a Media Decolonisation Imaginary”, led by Dr Samantha Iwowo of Bournemouth University (BU), UK, and Prof. Charles Ofosu Marfo of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana.

Funded by the UK Research and Innovation’s Higher Education Innovative Funds (HEIF), the discussions spotlighted current debates and studies around the role of ethics in transnational media collaborations, with examples in South Asia with a few from Africa.

Prof. Scott Wright, Deputy Dean for the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University, set the tone for the seminar in May by drawing on his media research experience in Australia, citing examples of the cruciality of ethics to research in Australian indigenous communities, and how these challenges dominate ways of knowing.

The keynote speakers are Professor Nikita Dhawan, political scientist at Technische Universität Germany, and Prof. Jude William Genilo, Pro Vice Chancellor, University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh. Speakers from Africa include Bolanle Austen-Peters, critically acclaimed filmmaker and theatre artist; Kyari Bukar, Co-Founder, Trans Sahara Investment Corporation and MD/CEO, Central Securities Clearing System Plc, the Central Securities Depository of the Nigerian Capital markets, as well as Prof. Ssali Sarah of Makerere University, Uganda and Prof. George Bob-Milliar of KNUST, Ghana.

The broader project, ‘Developing a Media Decolonisation Imaginary,’ draws on expertise from Bournemouth University’s Centre for the Study of Conflict, Emotion and Social Justice (CESJ), and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Ghana, Industry partners industry are the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE), and Lanka Cine Media, Sri Lanka. It also involves research inputs from scholars at the University of Florida, U.S.A, Birkbeck University London and London of Economics (LSE) UK.

Featuring knowledge-exchange seminars, the inaugural was in January 2024 forming a catalyst for conversations and reflections on knowledge decolonisation and repositioning for media development in Africa. In attendance were leading academics and industry experts Lindiwe Dovey, Professor of Film and Screen Studies at SOAS University of London; Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Vice Chancellor of Makerere University; Dr. Teju Kareem of the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange; BAFTA award-winning producer, Fiona Lamptey; and Dumi Senda, EDI Portfolio Lead, BBC UK.

Following the successes of that inaugural discussions, the conversations now move to South Asia for a knowledge exchange aimed at expanding understanding of innovative ethical approaches to transnational media collaborations.

Project Leads, Dr. Samantha Iwowo and Professor Charles Ofosu Marfo noted that “this research aims to strengthen transnational media research collaborations, promote global media diversity and inclusivity by developing ethical frameworks underpinned by the participation of media practitioners and researchers who are directly implicated in north-south transnational media collaborations.”