New media school’s initial campus set for Nairobi in 2011
By PHILIP NGUNJIRI
Posted Monday, March 22 2010 at 00:00
The Aga Khan Development Network has launched a new faculty at the Aga Khan University — the Graduate School of Media and Communications.
To be allied to the new Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the plans for the new media school were announced by the Aga Khan at the Pan African Media Conference 2010 held from March 17-18 to coincide with celebrations of the Nation Media Group’s 50th anniversary.
The Aga Khan, who founded the group in 1960, said the school “will be driven, above all, by an absolute commitment to quality,” adding, “In a world of growing complexity, journalists must increasingly understand the substantive, sophisticated dimensions of the fields on which they report — from medical and environmental sciences to economic and financial disciplines to legal and constitutional matters.”
Nation experience
The new initiative will build on the Nation’s experience and the unique strengths of the Network in the region and globally — including expertise, institutions, and resources in social, economic and cultural areas of activity.
According to Aga Khan University President Firoz Rasul, the school will strive to attract a vibrant intellectual community, anchored by a core of committed media professionals and scholars of diverse backgrounds and expertise and enriched by visiting, adjunct and exchange faculty members.
“Initially, its core faculty will together possess critical areas of expertise, including excellence in journalistic practice, media ethics, law and social responsibility, media management, media and global and societal issues,” Mr Rasul said, adding, “The school will cultivate and maintain a dynamic adjunct and visiting faculty cohort through partnerships with academic institutions across Africa and globally, drawing on the diverse array of international and regional media professionals based in Nairobi.”
It will further focus on reaching rural and marginalised communities, according to Nazeer Ladhani, the director of the School.
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