CAMRI | Activism, Art-ivism and Digital Media to Reduce Marginalisation: Sharing Experiences and Lessons from Brazil, Kenya, Syria, and Costa Rica

Activism, Art-ivism and Digital Media to Reduce Marginalisation: Sharing Experiences and Lessons from Brazil, Kenya, Syria, and Costa Rica

A Policy Paper by Isabella Rega and Andrea Medrado, published by eVoices

This guide focuses on four emblematic case studies: (i) media activism in Brazil and how favela residents use digital media to foster community engagement and active citizenship; (ii) art-ivism, the use of art to serve activism causes, and how Kenyan artists use digital tools to promote a dialogue around human rights and power structures; (iii) digital media for social good and how development organisations working with displaced populations in Syria use digital technologies to foster peace and reconciliation in the country; and (iv) digital media for active citizenship and how the state of Costa Rica is working with arts and technologies to promote inclusion and well-being among the youth.

We hope that this guide will inform the activities of similar groups, which, independent of the socio-political and cultural contexts, will be able to learn lessons for how to gain a share of voice and impact policy in order to improve their lives.

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Image: eVoices, used with kind permission

About Andrea Medrado

Andrea Medrado is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Media and Communication of the University of Westminster. She is also the Course Leader for the BA Digital Media and the leader for the Cultural Identities and Social Change theme at the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI). Her research focuses on digital media activism and artivism as tools for social change in the Global South and on creative and participatory approaches to analysing marginalised communities’ information security needs and everyday engagements with artificial intelligence (AI). Her book Media Activism, Artivism and the Fight Against Marginalisation in the Global South was published by Routledge in 2023. She has also published in leading academic journals and contributed to several edited book collections. Andrea is currently the Vice President of IAMCR, the largest international association in the field of media and communication.