Mobile pastoralists’ use of ICTs: example in Tanzania

The book Media culture in nomadic communities (2021, Amsterdam University Press, 221pp) by Allison Hahn looks at the role of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) within nomadic communities, above all, how they use ICTs to gain control over how they are depicted and to express themselves as citizens demanding recognition of their rights. The focus is on the use of mobile phones and the Internet, the electronic media that have most profoundly influenced mobile peoples – especially pastoralists.

One of the six cases examined is that of the Maasai living around the Ngorongoro and Serengeti Conservation areas in Tanzania, who engaged in 2014–15 in international online petitions to demand government recognition of their land rights. They were able to collect 2.25 million signatures supporting their cause, and the European Parliament (EP) passed a resolution condemning the land grabbing. CELEP partners provided information for this resolution (see more here). ICTs also allowed Maasai to present their own arguments in the international debate, such as in the participatory video “Olosho” in 2015.

A review of this book can be found here.

Posted on 12 February 2023 in Pastoralism & Culture, Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralism, Mobility & Land Tenure, Pastoralism, Policy & Power