Daystar University School of Communication Holds a Collaborative Workshop with Leuphana (Germany) and Sorbonne (France) Universities

From left: David Cabrera Ruera, Dr. Lydia Radoli, Prof. Levi Obonyo and Dyoniz Kindata

Daystar University School of Communication represented by Prof. Levi Obonyo and Dr. Lydia Radoli are at the Leuphana University, in Lüneburg – Germany for a two-day workshop on Media in Crisis – Reconfiguring World Imaginaries.

This workshop emphasizes the use of an interdisciplinary approach to address media crises and world imaginaries. The conference is organized by Dyoniz Kindata and David Carera Rueda of Leuphana University Cultures of Critique and Dr. Lydia Radoli formerly a fellow at the Leuphana Institute of Advanced Studies of Culture and Society and Senior Lecturer in the School of Communication.

The organizers argue that when considering world imaginaries, it is important to view them not only as a means of escaping the present or/and the past as mere aspirations for collective perceptions, beliefs, values, and ideas.

Instead, they propose to approach world imaginaries as a strategic tool for conceptualizing and transforming attitudes, behaviours, and actions critically in shaping the future of human experiences and societies in the media world.

The workshop further interrogates if interdisciplinary approaches provide effective strategies for addressing fractures in media narratives. And how might these approaches contribute to a more nuanced understanding of historical and contemporary media challenges?

Participants in the workshop will tackle the extent to which the changing global space of media practice influence the conceptualization and representation of possible world imaginaries?

 And how can these be reconfigured to address emerging challenges? Thursday 21^st November 2024, Prof. Levi Obonyo (Daystar University) opened the discussions by presenting his research on common sense ethics in media platform spaces.

 His presentation was followed by a panel on ethical frameworks and media knowledge production, led by Dr. Robert Heinze (Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris-German Historical Institute in Paris), whose presentation will discuss the impact of radio on decolonizing

societies.

On Thursday afternoon, Dr. Lydia Ouma Radoli (Daystar University) will begin the second panel on the adaptation of media to technological shifts by presenting her research on the impact of citizen journalism on trauma in the media. Moses Sichach Daystar University MA Communication Student will also present virtually titled: From State Media to Algorithms. Agenda Setting in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.

The third panel on inclusion, memory preservation and democratic values in medial frames will be headed by Dr. Cristina Lleras (Bogota) who will share the insights on the current transformation of museums into agents of justice she gained as curatorial consultant and coordinator at the Memory Museum of Colombia. The papers presented in the workshop will culminate in a book titled: Media in Crisis: Reconfiguring Possible World Imaginaries that will be published next year.