The use of ICTs and mobilisation in the age of parallel media – an emerging fifth estate? A case study of Nafeer's flood campaign in the Sudan

Abstract

The fourth estate's power, in many African countries, has been restricted and its role as a catalyst of change in civil society curtailed. The ensuing information gap provided fertile ground for alternative forms of communication, to take centre stage. A parallel market of information has been facilitated by new technologies that circumvent government censorship. On 1 August 2013, heavy rains in the Sudan triggered flash floods that affected more than 530 000 citizens. The government failed to aid those affected and created a media blackout. More than 12 000 Sudanese volunteers created a horizontal network of citizens participating in a community-led initiative. The Nafeer campaign united the fragmented discourse, demonstrating that using ICTs to mobilise citizens is not contingent on the number of people with access, but on how access is channeled.