Dr. Brenda Bukowa

Perhaps you are also wondering what Brenda Bukowa has been upto?

Yes, the former UNZA Student-cum-UNZA Don; yes the girl that grew up in Lusaka’s Garden compound is today a PhD holder in Media and Communication from Durban, SA.

Added to the PhD, Brenda holds a Master’s Degree from UIO in Oslo, Norway and UNZA awarded her the Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication in 2009.

In between, she pushed to attain a post-graduate qualification in International Journalism from Ohio University, in Athens, Ohio, USA.

But that's not all that she has been up to; Brenda is now Managing Partner and co-CEO of Builders Village Limited, one of Zambia’s leading construction companies and it's sister company, Builders Village Finance.

Dr. Bukowa has invested her energies into building successful farms and their associated prospects.

Not only that, Brenda has built a successful career in Public Relations, Communications, Academia, Media Consultancy and Business Strategy and Development.

And, by the way, she still holds the position of Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Zambia, Department of Media and Communication Studies a position she has held since 2012 and in between being appointed into an Executive Management role as UNZA Spokesperson a position she relinquished in 2021 to focus on other prospects.

So now, that you know, follow this page as Dr. Brenda Bukowa takes you through her journey and privileged wealth of knowledge

SOCIAL MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS - DRIVING YOUR OWN NARRATIVE IN THE COVID-19 ERA

So, on Monday last week, a colleague of mine and I decided to sit in the University of Zambia main library to catch up on work but also to get a feel of what being a student is like – well, my colleague is still pursuing his doctoral studies so maybe I am the one that needed to relive the experience.

Now, in the midst of our chat, my colleague mentioned something that got me thinking – how to stay in control of your information in the digital age in the wake of COVID-19. I think he used the words, “it is important to learn how to drive your own narrative.”

Before I discuss the concept of “driving the narrative,” let me provoke your senses by asking if it has ever occurred to you that Africa is a deep rooted oral culture whereby everything its people do and say is packaged in either a song or a story – sometimes even for useless things we just want to dance or sit down and tell stories. Now, because, Africa and its people hold story telling in high esteem, PR practitioners must ensure that they don’t take chances at leaving others to tell the story of their products and services which is a recipe for breeding disinformation, misinformation and promoting what we have all come to know and understand as fake news.

But how does one drive their own narrative or stay in control of their information especially with so much misinformation?

There are two scenarios that come into mind as regards controlling or driving one’s narrative. To start with, be ready to be your own journalist and secondly, use social media extensively.

Let us begin with being one’s own journalist.

Ever heard of the saying that, “if you want a thing done well, do it yourself”? Well, this applies to the field of PR as regards the need to drive your own narrative. Let me be clear here that I don’t mean that PR practitioners must invest in TV and radio studio equipment and be journalists in the literal sense, but that PR people must be able to produce their own content in form of statements, news/press releases, audio and video content. In this instance therefore, PR people must ensure that they tightly guard information: the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how information is disseminated must be brainstormed from inception. In short be in charge of your information or else the African in us will tell the story on your behalf.

Secondly, the African in all of us is now equipped with social media tools (that needs very basic skills) to operate.

Let me digress a bit, have you noticed how we become self-proclaimed experts on social media to the extent of passing presumed expert opinion and judgement on sometimes very technical subjects? Well, never allow these “experts” to steal your show and shine, always put out your side of the story in very good time or else these self-proclaimed experts will drag you along in the mud. In this instance, the solution is to use social media extensively.

It is no longer just an option for PR practitioners to integrate social media in their work, but it is now mandatory that they use social media in their work – here I don’t mean using social media to take selfies of staff at a party and posting on the official page to show the world that ‘the economic hardships Zambia is going through got nothing on you’, but use of social media for official communication purposes laden with strategic and well planned content.

Let me hasten to mention here that, by using social media extensively I don’t mean reaching the extent of competing with influencers like Chilufya Tayali or Simon Mwewa Lane, but using social media in a well-coordinated and strategic manner. Shall we remind each other here that, PR is no longer just about communicating but communicating in an organised manner – and I repeat, PR needs not just a common mind but one that takes time to think and plan through situations.

BRENDA BUKOWA is a LECTURER and RESEARCHER at the University of Zambia (UNZA) in the Department of Media and Communication Studies. She is also a Managing Partner at BB Media Consulting Services. She holds a PhD in Media and Communication studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. For comments, call/WhatsApp +260975280558.

ARE YOU EXPERIECING VIDEO CALL FATIGUE?

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen many of us engage in new ways of communicating including using applications such as Zoom for business and social meetings.

On a personal note, I have been engaged in a number of virtual meetings via Zoom and one thing that has stood out for me is the exhaustion felt before and during the meetings. I have debated to myself as to whether this exhaustion is as a result of conducting business via the screen as opposed to physical meetings.

To establish what exactly was going on, this week I decided to reschedule most of my local meetings to physical ones and as a control, I decided to keep meetings with international members online just so I use the international meetings as a measure.

After four physical meetings and three Zoom meetings, I have found out that the Zoom meetings leave me very exhausted compared to the physical meetings.

My conclusion therefore is that my mind has suffered from exhaustion after participating in online meetings due to a number of reasons as follows:

To begin with, I have discovered that I am overly and excessively self-aware during online meetings which in turn puts pressure on me to perform.

Further, I have found out that I overschedule meetings despite the fact that I have continued reporting for work physically though many partners and stakeholders locally and abroad are in lockdown.

Let me breakdown further the reasons why there is a feeling of tiredness from video calls.

The biggest challenge that can be highlighted is what I am referring to as suffering from a “Mental overload”.

This means that, because we see ourselves on the screen, and naturally want to present a good image to friends and colleagues, hence enhancing self-awareness to a greater level than usual, and resulting in making additional self-presentational efforts than in face-to-face interactions in the real world.

I also noticed that another key factor adding to my exhaustion was the extra effort needed to process non-verbal cues such as body language and voice projection during video calls.

Several scholars such as Psychologist Dr Linda Kaye from the UK’s Edge Hill University share my thoughts. She says, “Our minds are together when our bodies feel we're not. That dissonance, which causes people to have conflicting feelings, is exhausting. You cannot relax into the conversation naturally.”

I have also noticed that the gaze duration during the call has a bearing on my wellbeing. To back this, Researchers from the University College London argue that while people are happy to stare at people they feel comfortable with for longer periods, gazes of more than 3 seconds can feel uncomfortable in less relaxed situations.

I also agree with the German study published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies that finds a problem of “self-complexity”. This research establishes that, naturally human beings like variety, but with COVID-19 many aspects of our lives are coming together in one place – video calls.

One may ask though that what could be the remedy to reduce on video chat fatigue?

Well to start with, I have realised that with the pandemic still in full swing, the option of physical meetings won’t be doable for most people. But I have also learned that there are ways to reduce on video chat fatigue.

Firstly, it is important to make meetings short. Secondly, remember to reduce on-screen stimuli. This means that, one must try hiding themselves from view and work with just the audio if possible. And unless extremely necessary, try to work with a phone call or email if appropriate.

Before I am accused of being uncivilised and against modernisation, let me state that the video conferencing software is the defining technology of the lockdown. The benefit of face-to-face communication brought by these technologies have helped with lockdown isolation. Just the mere act of meeting with people in real time - in other words, things like Zoom or FaceTime - can be a really powerful way to connect. Yale Professor, Laurie Santos summarises this phenomenon as follows: “You see their facial expressions, hear the emotion in their voice, you're really able to connect with them[making life in isolation easier].”

BRENDA BUKOWA is a LECTURER and RESEARCHER at the University of Zambia (UNZA) in the Department of Media and Communication Studies. She is also a Managing Partner at BB Media Consulting Services. She holds a PhD in Media and Communication studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. For comments, call/WhatsApp +260975280558.

MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION IN THE COVID-19 ERA

There has been a lot of talk on what life means in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many people surrendering to the “new normal” of living life alongside the disease. There are however, some aspects of the crisis that should and must never be allowed anywhere near what must be considered the “new normal”.

While I agree that life must continue alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, there is one aspect of life that the disease has brought to the fore – misinformation and disinformation.

Experts assume that the only cure to this that I am calling the underrated effects of the pandemic is practicing “information hygiene”.

Now, perhaps there are people that maybe confused as to what the terms “misinformation” and “disinformation” in the context of COVID-19 entail, well, in very lay terms, these refer to the spread of false or misleading information about the coronavirus.

One may argue that this is a media problem in general, but with the coming of the pandemic a number of entities have exaggerated the disease more so these exaggerations have been amplified on social media platforms. Despite the pledge by companies like Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter and YouTube through a joint statement outlining how they are to work together to combat misinformation and disinformation, the vices continue to spread as fast as the actual coronavirus.

Attempts to label or flag misinformation and disinformation have fallen dramatically short and the reason is sadly too obvious: social media platforms tend to use automated algorithms for these tasks, because they scale well. For example, it takes humans to understand what truly misinformation or disinformation entails, but even more human eyeballs wouldn't solve the problem. Let us take for example the instance where a tweet is shared millions of times before being labeled. Even if this Tweet is removed, it can easily be edited and then reposted to avoid algorithmic detections.

Exacerbating the situation also is that labeling misinformation might only amplify that information, while those who really try to spread the disinformation will still find ways and means to do so.

With this coming to the fore, perhaps the question now shouldn't be about why it is so hard to combat the spread of misinformation and disinformation; maybe the issue must be about what should be done to counter the problem.

To start with, I will prescribe some four very broad pointers to practicing some “information hygiene” as follows: 1) think and reflect on the content you are about to share that you sourced or received, 2)double check the source of information for authenticity and don’t share before checking for facts. 3) It is important to remember to differentiate and establish emotional posts as they usually are laden with biases, and finally, 4) before sharing any information, think about the reason you are sharing the content: Are you sharing something because you know it's true - or just because you agree with it?

As a caution, always remember that it is easy to spread information but difficult to stop the trend of sharing false information and its safer not to even get involved in the trend of spreading false information. Why is this so? as with other misinformation that is easily spread especially on social media, there is often no filter to determine if the information is accurate or not.​

With this said, there are three predominant variables that may impact one's ability to distinguish the accuracy and validity of information shared on social media platforms, first, many people rely on social media as a primary news source and thereby fail to seek out another means of evidence. Second, the format of information makes the information appear to be credible, and lastly, the sharing and liking of posts by family and friends enhances the trustworthiness.

Let me emphasis that it is absolutely normal and a “human nature” activity to search for guidance, information and direction during times of crisis such as the Coronavirus. However, during this pandemic it is also vitally important to consider the validity of a source and seek out the advice of experts. Please explore the correctness of the information as if your life depended on it and look to the 'experts in the field' such as, the University of Zambia (UNZA), Ministry of Health (MOH) and the World Health Organisation information centres.

BRENDA BUKOWA is a LECTURER and RESEARCHER at the University of Zambia (UNZA) in the Department of Media and Communication Studies. She is also a Managing Partner at BB Media Consulting Services. She holds a PhD in Media and Communication studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. For comments, call/WhatsApp +260975280558.

ARE YOU ADDICTED TO THE INTERNET?

Do you find yourself surfing the internet in excess? Excessively playing games online? Are you compulsively chatting? Cannot physically stop checking Facebook or WhatsApp or Twitter? Cannot let go of your phone? Is your excessive internet use interfering with your daily life – relationships, sleep, work, and school? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be suffering from what is called Internet Addiction Disorder.

Internet addiction disorder is described as an impulse control disorder. Internet addiction disorder is characteristic of having multiple contributing factors which some evidence suggests that if you are suffering from Internet Addiction, your brain makeup is similar to those that suffer from a chemical dependency, such as gambling, drugs or alcohol.

As the name states, its concentration is on compulsion with the Internet – as other areas of media addiction can be seen in television addiction, radio addiction, and other types of media addiction. Due to the explosion of the digital age, Internet Addiction Disorder has taken the reigns as the top culprit is technology addiction as of late. The troubling thing about this disorder is that if you are suffering from it, you are endlessly surrounded by technology. In the digital age, the Internet has taken over most of what we do.

Let us imagine you can’t find that dress for a gala dinner you want in the store? No worries – the Internet has it! Need to place an order for pizza? Why call? Complete an online order! Can’t call or chat with a friend 3am when you’re suffering from insomnia and can’t go back to sleep? I bet there’s someone across the globe that is awake and ready to chit chat! That’s, in essence, why this disorder can be so troubling – even treatment-wise. It’s hard to live these days by getting rid of the Internet. We’re always surrounded by it – and for most of us, we use it daily.

Internet addition is but a subset of technology addiction but unlike exposure to other media forms like TV and radio, which could be easily controlled by for instance limiting kids to 2hours screen time per day and limiting yourself to listening to radio only when you are driving, Internet addition is worsened by the advancement in technologies that promote mobility, interactivity, and a convergence of media forms. This has made you and me to be exposed to the media for possibly the rest of our lives.

If you know me personal, you will know that I have battled internet addition for the last couple of years. Three months ago however, I made a concise decision to change my lifestyle and cut out too much exposure to social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook. Before then, I was the woman that had first-hand information which UNZA students would call “data” on literally every gossip and scandal that would happen in Lusaka, when I don’t even live in Zambia. I used to literally sleep online, chatting, shopping and doing all sorts of activities that the online world attracts. Then one day, I realised that I started living a “fake” life which I would compare to others in terms success, beauty, education, career, relationships and even issues of family.

I then started experiencing, depression, dishonesty within myself, feelings of guilt about my life, anxiety, inability to prioritize or keep schedules, isolation from people, no sense of time, fear and loneliness when the people I used to chat with online where not available.

At the end of the day, my addiction affected my PhD studies, my work and my dedication to my family. In my mind, I had a false sense of belonging to an online group or “family” which if they were not online then I would feel lost.

Let me make this clear, just because you use the Internet a lot – watch a lot of YouTube videos or like to check social media a lot does not mean you suffer from Internet Addiction Disorder like I did. The trouble comes when these activities start to interfere with your daily life like they did with me.

In general, Internet Addiction Disorder is subdivided into varying categories. The most commonly identified categories of Internet addiction include excessive gaming, social networking, email, blogging, and inappropriate Internet po*******hy and cyberbullying use.

I must mention that it is not the amount of time spent on the Internet that is particularly troublesome – rather, it is how the Internet is being used and the aftermath of that use. Just like me, if your excessive internet use leads to risk factors such as physical impairments, social and functional impairments, emotional impairments, impulsive Internet use, and dependence on the Internet for feeling loved and wanted, then follow my lead and cut down to the bare minimum of your use.

Remember the internet must be used to build your life and not be a barrier to your fulfilment of your life goals.

BRENDA BUKOWA is a LECTURER, RESEARCHER and MEDIA CONSULTANT at the University of Zambia in the Department of Media and Communication studies. She is also a PhD RESEARCH FELLOW at the University Of KwaZulu-Natal under the auspices of the South African National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS). For comments, call/WhatsApp +260975280558.

NB: This is an extract from a column called Brenda's Corner that appears on Sunday in the Sunday Times of Zambia newspaper

MEDIA NEEDS CONTINUOUS PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT

It is a non-debatable issue that education is the process of gaining enlightenment around life happenings. The majority of us have attained some form of basic education encompassing primary and secondary schooling. A few of us have attained some tertiary level form of education where we specialized in a particular field for us to gain knowledge necessary for industry and national development. A very few of us have been privileged to use the tertiary level education to gain the employment and job placements that we have. It doesn’t end here continuous professional and personal development is mandatory to stay relevant in industry.

This week, I discuss the need for media personnel to engage in continuous personnel development through conferences, workshops and short courses.

So, I was discussing with a colleague on the need for education in life and career development. We reminisced on how different an educated person thinks from a person that is not educated. I remember my friend saying that even the analytical skills and capabilities to make intelligent decisions, vary between an educated person and a person that is not educated.

Whilst on this topic, it occurred to me that education is not only the everyday formal classroom formalities that we are accustomed to, but education can also involve personnel and career development through workshops, conferences and trainings.

Whilst I am aware of the various programs that organizations invest in building the capacity of its workers, I am also saddened especially at government’s reluctance to invest in professional and continuous development for its workforce especially media workers.

Let me be quick to mention that I am cognizant of the fact that government and everyone else is tightening their belts in lieu of the economic meltdown Zambia is currently experiencing. However, education even in the face of hardships should not be overlooked as it is what is necessary to get us out of the supposed challenges.

It is important that government, organisations and other stakeholders, recognize that their workers need to acquire high level awareness about the importance of upgrading their skills and knowledge around their field of specialization. Because life is constantly changing, and skills and knowledge on doing things are constantly being updated, there is a need for employers to set aside a budget for continuous personnel development of its staff.

Drawing away from continuous personnel education, generally, education is very necessary for each and every one in order to improve knowledge, way of living as well as social and economic status throughout life. Education is the ultimate way to get victory over all the personal and social problems. Education is very important to all of us as it plays a significant role in our lives. In order to live a better and peaceful life, we need to be educated. It transforms us completely from inside and outside by changing our mind and personality as well as improving our confidence levels.

While on the topic of confidence building, it is interesting to note that, education is linked to the level that one exhibits as regards confidence levels. This been said, education helps a person to get knowledge and improve confidence and the way they carry themselves all throughout life. It plays a great role in our career growth as well as in the personal growth. It has no limitations; people of any age group can get education anytime. It is important to remember that education helps us to determine what is good and what is bad. Suffice to say, an educated person becomes the good citizen in the society.

Now that we are on it, I am of the opinion that there should be a serious investment by government and other stakeholders in continuous personnel and career development programs. In addition, there is also need for a concerted effort in supporting education generally.

I know that if we have our priorities right as pertains education there is no doubt that Zambia will be taken to greater heights!

BRENDA BUKOWA is a LECTURER, RESEARCHER and MEDIA CONSULTANT at the University of Zambia in the Department of Media and Communication studies. She is also a PhD RESEARCH FELLOW at the University of KwaZulu-Natal under the auspices of the South African National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS). For comments, call/WhatsApp +260975280558.

NB: This article is an extract from the weekly Column appearing in the Sunday Times of Zambia Newspaper called Brenda's Corner. Happy reading!😀

CHILDREN’S PRIVACY ONLINE

In the age of the internet, privacy is an important and controversial issue. But what do privacy rights mean for children?

When I gave birth to my daughter seven years ago on a chilly Norwegian winter morning, I was overjoyed and naturally like every first-time mother would do, in addition to buying small dresses and shoes that would only fit for a week or two, I splashed pictures of myself in the labour ward alongside pictures of her hospital identity tag and the location of the hospital. To worsen it all, despite the authorities not yet approving her name, I splashed her name and face on my wall. Fast forward to the time she started kindergarten, I was excited to get pictures of our jolly walk to and from her “Barnehagen” [school]” and again I splashed pictures and location of the school on my wall.

This went on for a couple of years even continuing when we had to relocate to Zambia. However, one Zambian hot October morning, I woke up to pictures of my daughter shared by a social media user who created one of my daughter’s images into a meme which went viral. This meme comprised a full HD picture of my daughter clearly seen in her school uniform with her school logo visible. This day as Zambians’ would put it: “ninamuziba yesu”!
While privacy concerns exist outside of the internet, its ubiquity has introduced a brave new world of potential violations. This is important because our right to privacy is enshrined in Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention, which guarantees the right to a “private and family life.” Still, with the internet extending across national boundaries, some privacy laws can be hard to enforce.

If protecting privacy online is difficult for adults, it’s even more complicated for children. But, with a third of internet users under the age of 18, it’s also a question that’s more important than ever before.

Privacy however, as regards children is on two levels: the children themselves using the technologies and threatening their own privacy and the adults posting about the children and invading the children’s privacy. This week, the latter is the focus of Brenda’s Corner.
A quick look at the law reveals that there are a number of important laws protecting children’s right to privacy. One of the most important one is Article 16 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC), which states: “No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.”

Now, since we the adults are the perpetrators of the infringements on the children’s rights of privacy, should it be high time that we rethink what we share or we consult the child on whether they consent to their images been posted? Logic will tell you that children under adults’ care will naturally agree to anything that the adult says. This therefore, begs the question what is safe to be posted online in the event that the adult has a strong urge to post and the child consents to that post.

To start with, make sure that you set up your privacy settings on your account to what you desire, remember that whatever you do never divulge the identity of your children online: issues of names, schools they attend, age, hobbies, and their physical location or holiday spots.

These precautions may sound trivial, but, when talking about pedophiles or defilers or child molesters, this is the kind of information that they could potentially use to prey on their victim who could be your child.

Let us face it, though I know that this information has hit you and you are probably scratching your head to suggest you have been mistaken all along, I also know that you won’t heed to my advice. Hence rather than burying my head in the sand, I shall act as a devil’s advocate and state that rather than trying to keep children off the internet completely, which – let’s face it – isn’t going to happen, you and I as culprits of threatening our children’s safety online, should be focusing on being extra careful in what we post and how we post that content. Let us ensure that, at all costs we protect the privacy and identity of our children and young ones online.

BRENDA BUKOWA is a LECTURER, RESEARCHER and MEDIA CONSULTANT at the University of Zambia in the Department of Media and Communication studies. She is also a PhD RESEARCH FELLOW at the University Of KwaZulu-Natal under the auspices of the South African National Institute for the Humanities and Sciences (NIHSS). For comments, call/WhatsApp +260975280558.

NB: This article is an extract from a column called Brenda's Corner published by Sunday Times of Zambia Newspaper

Awww😍 This is nice! Thank you so much Zambian Weekly Newspaper. ’smonth