Why Does Media Matter for Development? (FutureLearn)

Why Does Media Matter for Development? (FutureLearn)

Explore how the media can help to tackle poverty and inequality all around the world. Learn why the media matters for international development. This comprehensive four-week course will show you the ways that international development is conceptualised, imagined and communicated as an area of study. You’ll decipher the ways in which these understandings impact individuals living in different parts of the world, and how the media can shape, address and enhance key ideas and debates.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Discover the integral role of the media in international development
Through a range of different case studies - including in Kenya’s capital Nairobi - you’ll discover the integral role of the media and communication in development processes and social change.
You’ll address key ideas, concepts and debates about media representations of development, community media, participatory media, public media and the use of social media within international development campaigns.

Identify how the media can tackle uneven international development
You’ll also get to grips with how the media can tackle uneven international development - and the poverty that comes with it - as well as how the media can promote further development.

Learn from international development experts at the University of East Anglia (UEA)
The School of International Development at UEA is a leading global centre of excellence in research and teaching in international development.
You’ll be learning from experts within the international development field, and will be under the guidance of academics who regularly advise on policies for poverty reduction and environmental sustainability.

Syllabus

Week 1: Introduction and representations of development
Week 2: Participatory and community media
Week 3: Social media and development
Week 4: Public Media
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • How media can tackle poverty and inequality, around the world
  • The key ideas, concepts and debates in media and international development
  • A range of case studies to discover the role of media and communications in development processes and social change
  • Media representations of development, community media, participatory media, public media and social media in campaigns
  • How media promotes development in your country / community and in other parts of the world
Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Digital Skills: Social Media (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Accenture

Digital Skills: Social Media (FutureLearn)

Learn how to use social media for business, from creating a social media presence to measuring success. Learn how to effectively use social media for business. What is social media, and how can it help your business? With this course, you’ll explore these questions and more. You’ll find out why social media marketing skills are becoming essential for all kinds of organisations, as well as some of the ways you can use them. You’ll explore how you can use social media to create and develop your brand, as well as some of the tools that can help as you do so.

Aug 15th 2022
2 Weeks
Philosophy of Technology and Design: Shaping the Relations Between Humans and Technologies (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Twente

Philosophy of Technology and Design: Shaping the Relations Between Humans and Technologies (FutureLearn)

Learn about the impact of technology on society. Explore the philosophy of technology and mediation theory, focused on design. In every aspect of our lives we make use of all kinds of technologies. Technologies can anticipate needs or solve problems, and they can extend or enhance human capacities and activities. Technologies have made life easier, but also complicated our world.

Oct 4th 2021
3 Weeks
Infant Nutrition: from Breastfeeding to Baby's First Solids (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Deakin University

Infant Nutrition: from Breastfeeding to Baby's First Solids (FutureLearn)

Learn what good infant nutrition looks like, how and what to feed a baby, and how to start weaning. Explore the principles of good nutrition in the first 12 months of a baby’s life. In this insightful course led by nutritional experts from Deakin University, you’ll trace the milestones in a baby’s first year of life to learn about the principles of good infant nutrition and how you can apply them. You’ll explore the nutritional requirements of young children, as well as why healthy food for babies is so essential.

Mar 16th 2026
2 Weeks
Transforming Citizen Participation (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Birmingham

Transforming Citizen Participation (FutureLearn)

Discover the best techniques to encourage citizen participation and learn how to engage at all levels of the public sector. Explore innovative ways to communicate within the public sector. Citizen participation is an important part of democracy. It requires citizen involvement in public decisions as well as communication at all levels of the public sector. On this four-week course, you’ll discover effective techniques to engage with stakeholders, manage new ideas, co-create solutions, and investigate opportunities across the public sector.

Dec 20th 2021
4 Weeks
Caring for Vulnerable Children (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Strathclyde,CELSIS

Caring for Vulnerable Children (FutureLearn)

Develop a better understanding of the approaches employed in caring for vulnerable children. Explore childcare approaches for vulnerable children. Public sector cuts have made the task of caring for vulnerable children more challenging than ever. On this course, aspiring or in childcare careers will better understand the characteristics of different childcare approaches and possible interventions.

No sessions available
5-12 Weeks
Understanding Development Management (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
The Open University

Understanding Development Management (FutureLearn)

Build your knowledge of the development sector and discover how development can be managed with this online course. Get a taste of the Open University's Development Management degree. Development can mean different things to different people. For development managers around the world, it’s about the process of bringing about change and achieving social justice. But how can development be managed and what tools do development managers need? On this course, you will discuss the answers to these questions and boost your understanding of development management as a whole.

Aug 12th 2024
2 Weeks
The Power of Social Media (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Southampton

The Power of Social Media (FutureLearn)

Explore the impact of social media on the world and learn how to put it to good use in everyday life. Social networks have emerged over the past 10 years in various forms to play a fundamental role in our lives. But do we actually understand these networks? And are we using them in the right ways? This course will teach you not just about the qualities and differences between social networks but also the impact they can have on our lives.

No sessions available
2 Weeks
Gender and Development (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Deakin University

Gender and Development (FutureLearn)

Does gender matter in international and community development? Find out in this free online course. Explore the relationship between gender and development. This online course explores why gender matters in contemporary international and community development, asking you to: explore the challenges for achieving gender justice throughout the world; examine the concepts of gender, development and what brings gender and development together.

Jul 3rd 2023
2 Weeks
Tackling Inequalities Through Health and Social Care Design (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Dundee,University of the West of Scotland - UWS,Scottish Improvement Science Collaborating Centre - SISCC

Tackling Inequalities Through Health and Social Care Design (FutureLearn)

This course will explore what inequalities are and how they can be reduced through health and social care. This course explore the ways that health and social care service design can lead to, but also address, inequalities. Inequalities are caused by very similar factors everywhere, they just look a little different, depending on the setting.

No sessions available
4 Weeks
Fashion Values: Society (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
London College of Fashion

Fashion Values: Society (FutureLearn)

Examine the relationship between fashion and society, using fashion activism to challenge social injustice. Understand the links between fashion and society through a range of perspectives. Fashion and society are deeply intertwined through everyday actions, behaviours and business models, and can be both empowering and exploitative.

Mar 28th 2022
4 Weeks