No abstract

Approximately 40 per cent of countries categorize homosexuality as illegal. However, refugee status is still granted largely on the basis of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which found that a refugee is a person who has a ‘well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion’. On that basis, few countries allow sexual orientation as grounds for refugee status. Owing to the extraordinary odds of gaining successful refugee status and because lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) asylum seekers are often socially isolated in their search for refugee status, there is a heightened need for non-government organization support networks for these individuals. This research explores social media from four LGBT refugee organizations, largely focused on Africa, to ascertain where the differences and similarities reside in communicating with community members, sharing information, building community and encouraging action.

The article examines the implementation and the challenges of the ongoing digital switchover (DSO) process in Nigeria. The critique of the neo-liberal orthodoxy presents the interplay of interests between political and corporate actors existing within the political economy of the Nigerian digital television environment. It also presents the effect of the existing complexities with the policy framework and approach to the implementation of the DSO process in Nigeria. The two qualitative research methods adopted in this study, communication policy analysis and in-depth interviews, examine the direction of policies and the individual experience of selected participants involved in the DSO process in Nigeria. Drawing on the analysis, inclusive of other factors, the study argues that the implementation of the DSO process in Nigeria has been delayed due to financial limitation, the exclusive approach to implementation and policy-burdened intervention of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC).