Roland Stanbridge, a very seasoned, engaging journalism scholar, an avid innovative thinker, thought leader, environmentalist, entrepreneur and visionary media expert, was for several years, the Director of the MA in Global Journalism at the department of media and communications studies, Orebro University, Sweden. During his distinguished teaching trajectory, Roland trained a new generation of journalism scholars, media practitioners and Information Communications Technology (ICT) innovators on the changing trends and dynamics in the global media, communications and technology landscape in Africa and the rest of the world.
As an extraordinary scholar and a prodigious thinker, Stanbridge co-authored an exemplary research in the early 2000s on how African media was documenting the use of ICT on the African continent. The research study which was commissioned by the Economic Commission for Africa(ECA) and covered Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Rwanda and Senegal was to form the fulcrum of interactional, evolving professional and academic discourse analysis on media and ICT in Africa during the early developmental phases of ICT in the African continent .
While sharing much later on his field experiences on the continent from the empirical data collected during this pioneering work (which Roland co-authored with Maria Ljunggren, a research assistant at the time), Roland underlined his perspectives, rich insights thus: “We collected everything produced in these countries on ICTs. The most startling finding was that of all the material produced, 60% came from Egypt.” From that seminal research, Roland discovered that generally that many editors of media organizations in Africa were still relatively new to the media technology trend in the late 1990s, especially ICT subject matters, which was already flourishing at advanced stages in other jurisdictions, and canvassed the need to bridge what he called the digital divide.
Having co-founded the new media laboratories at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa-which hosts the yearly Highway Africa international conference in South Africa- amongst Roland’s focal points was how the larger digital community could be positively impacted. A passionate scholar, teacher and creative mind, he positively impacted on the development of communications and new media studies in Africa leveraging the various platforms offered by WSIS, Highway Africa, MA program at Orebro University, Sweden, amongst others . In the pioneering stages of ICT in Africa, Roland co-authored a ground-breaking research focusing on the various international perspectives in nine countries on cross-cultural and inter-jurisdictional media images, undercurrents and connotations in Arabic, English, French and Portuguese languages. This study was first launched at the pioneering phase of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), and was later presented during the Highway Africa Conference in Grahamstown, South Africa in 2005. An eclectic, brilliant and delightful professional, Roland has been keynote speaker at many international conferences, including the periodic Highway Africa Conference in South Africa. Roland believes strongly that African journalism has to play a role in shaping the narratives about Africa in the 21st century.
One of Roland’s greatest strength is his ability to quickly and easily notice hidden skills and talents that many don’t realize they possess and help them unlock those expertise. Through his teaching and mentorship, Stanbridge has been able to train a new generation of media, communications and ICT experts and scholars across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. As the program director of the MA in Global journalism, the department of media studies, Orebro University, Sweden for many years, he was deeply collegial, brilliant and congenial. An erudite journalism practitioner, he was one of the earliest foundational masterminds of the World Summit on Information Society(WSIS), Geneva, Switzerland, amongst several initiatives. He obtained his undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in South Africa and Sweden, respectively and practiced journalism for many years before venturing into academics. He combines a keen eye for professional details with a strong passion for creativity and innovation. Now retired, he is a lover of the environment, and spends much of precious time with his horses in his farm in Sweden! For many years, Roland has devoted his energy and time to the promotion and conservation of the environment. In his advisory role, he brings on board a unique wealth of experience, knowledge and skills that are laser-focused.
Specifically, he was Director of the Master of Global Journalism program at Örebro university, Director of the Highway Africa conference and the New Media Lab at Rhodes university, and creator of the Global Electronic Research courses for Asian and African journalists at Stockholm university.