College of Communications and Information Studies

The School of Journalism and Telecommunications is partnering with ZAMCOM, a media training institute located in Lusaka, Zambia. ZAMCOM provides training for working journalists throughout southern Africa and offers diploma and certificate programs in journalism and public relations for high school graduates.

JAT and ZAMCOM are partnered through the American International Health Alliance’s Twinning Center. Our particular focus is on helping ZAMCOM improve and enhance the training it offers on covering HIV/AIDS stories.

The HIV/AIDS Twinning Center is a program of the American International Health Alliance. Twinning Center projects are funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

The ZAMCOM / University of Kentucky partnership was established in 2007 with the support of PEPFAR and is managed by USAID in Lusaka . PEPFAR was created in 2003 and is “the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in history” (“About PEPFAR,” available at http://www.pepfar.gov/about/). The U.S. Congress voted in Summer 2008 to reauthorize and expand PEPFAR through 2013.

Past and planned JAT/ZAMCOM partnership exchanges and activities are listed below; for a slide show of related photos, click here (or click the picture below)

May 2008 UK JAT faculty members Chike Anyaegbunam and Beth Barnes visit Lusaka
to meet ZAMCOM faculty, staff and students and to ZAMCOM partners including ZNBC (the national TV and radio broadcasting company), University of Zambia and MISA Zambia (Media Institute of Southern Africa).

June 2008 ZAMCOM director Daniel Nkalamo and HIV/AIDS and Gender Specialist
Mwiika Malindima visit Lexington. They meet with UK JAT faculty and staff, students in the Dow Jones Summer High School Journalism Workshop, and UK JAT partners Kentucky Press Association and Kentucky Broadcasters Association. They also visit Appalshop/WMMT-FM in Whitesburg, Ky.

Aug. 2008 Nkalamo and Malindima return to the U.S. to attend the annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Chicago,
Ill., followed by another visit to Lexington.

Sept. 2008 Barnes visits ZAMCOM to conduct a needs assessment and meet with additional ZAMCOM partners.

Oct. 2008 Gary White, executive director, Kentucky Broadcasters Association, visits
ZAMCOM to discuss adaptation of KBA’s funding model for ZAMCOM and
community radio stations in Zambia.

Jan. 2009 Anyaegbunam and others from UK visit ZAMCOM to assist in presenting pilot community radio correspondents training workshop for community radio stations
in the Eastern Provinces of Zambia.

Mar. 2009 UK JAT faculty member Alyssa Eckman and others from UK visit ZAMCOM to
work with students, faculty and staff to produce an educational supplement on HIV/AIDS prevention for distribution to schools across Zambia.

July 2009 School joins ZAMCOM in partnership with MISA Botswana (Media Institute of Southern Africa, Botswana branch).

Aug. 2009 Nkalamo and Malindima participate in AEJMC convention in Boston, then visit Lexington.

ZAMCOM personnel and the Lexington Legends' mascot, Big L

Sept. 2009 Presentation on partnership at Highway Africa, a continent-wide media conference at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.

Oct. 2009 Anyaegbunam and Mel Coffee conduct community radio workshop with ZAMCOM partners in Kitwe, Zambia, in the Copperbelt region.

Jan. 2010 Coffee visits MISA Botswana to conduct videography training; two members of ZAMCOM's television department visit UK for a week for training in digital editing and web design.

Feb. 2010 Anyaegbunam and Barnes participate in an all-Zambia partners meeting in Lusaka for the projects funded by the AIHA; Anyaegbunam then visits MISA Botswana while Barnes meets with advertising agencies in Lusaka.

Mar. 2010 Eckman and Barnes conduct print design and radio sales workshops in Zambia, then provide similar training for media houses in Botswana.

May 2010 Broadcast journalism graduate Nick Stacy travels to Zambia for a 10-week work program at ZAMCOM.  Al Cross speaks in Zambia and Botswana on press freedom and freedom of information.

July 2010 Partners present two workshops at Highway Africa; Anyaegbunam, Coffee and Stacy, with ZAMCOM partners, conduct community radio workshop in Livingstone, Zambia.

Aug. 2010 Eckman and ZAMCOM partners secure government support for NIE product focused on health issues for use in Zambian schools.  The publication will be produced at least quarterly, with writing from ZAMCOM students.

Jan. 2011 Anyaegbunam, Coffee and JAT technology expert Nathan Stevens visit Livingstone to conduct follow-up meetings with radio stations; Coffee and Stevens visit ZAMCOM to provide videography and digital editing training.

Mar. 2011 Eckman, Barnes and JOU professor Kakie Urch visit Lusaka.  Barnes and Urch speak on digital media applications for news and persuasive communication applications; Eckman conducts training for secondary school teachers on using newspapers in the classroom.

June 2011 First issue of NIE published.

June 2011 Barnes and ZAMCOM colleagues Mwiika Malindima, Justina Phiri and Bruce Chooma participate in the Twinning Center's Health and Social Service Professions Education meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, conducting a workshop on marketing and communications.  Barnes lectures to ZAMCOM students on social media applications for journalism and public relations.

Aug. 2011 Malindima attends the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual convention in St. Louis, MO and visits Lexington to discuss partnership activities.

Aug. 2011 Eckman conducts NIE training sessions for secondary school teachers in the Copperbelt and Eastern Provinces regions of Zambia.

BOTSWANA

Beginning in 2009, the school joined ZAMCOM in working with MISA Botswana, a media advocacy group located in Gaborone, Botswana.  This is the Botswana chapter of the regional Media Institute of Southern Africa.

ZAMCOM and MISA Botswana have worked together since 2007, with ZAMCOM personnel offering training for journalists in Botswana.  UK's involvement has included conducting workshops on advertising, marketing, social media and graphic design.  We also meet with journalists and sales reps from a variety of media houses, guest lecture at the University of Botswana and work with the school media club at Kagiso Senior Secondary School in Ramotswa.