Dr. Elna Boesak does critical investigative journalism and political and socio-economic commentaries as philosophy, gender and religion scholar, audio-visual producer, social commentator and community researcher. In an era of globalisation and breath-taking technological advancement, a multitude of media tools and platforms have and continue to push down geographical borders, erase national barrie
rs and diminish cultural silos. For those who are able to travel in the fast lanes of cyber communication, the possibilities of expressing opinions, forging alliances, mobilising commitment and igniting change are vast. Every second of every day, a multitude of far-reaching communication “vehicles” carry subjective narratives – that shape the thinking and doing patterns of individuals, groups, communities and nations – across the globe. The use of digital media and online communication are today tools of war in often conflicting wars of persuasion. The complexities of human existence are framed within selective perspectives and valued according to emotive responses. Immediacy trumps accuracy and slogans, contextualisation. The line between the “public” and “the private” has become blurred, and the difference between fact and interpretation vague. Our world has never been more interconnected, yet more torn-apart. More discursive yet more divided. More seamless yet more polarised. Strategic communication is at the heart of this reality. At a time of unprecedented human displacement, generational chronic poverty, growing economic inequality, tenacious racism, sexism and homophobia, critical ethnic conflict, destructive cultural and religious exclusivisim and pandemic violence, it matters who tells what story, when, how, and why. Media and Strategic Communication constitute the pillars on which some of the most significant and fastest growing national and global industries rest today. Having built on the firm foundation that was laid a decade ago with the launch of Illumination Communication, the services and products of Elna Boesak & Associates will now go beyond base-line research studies and the creation of community-based workshop materials. The company responds to the call for ethical, in-depth investigative and participatory journalism by capitalising on the invaluable experience and vast-ranging expertise of Elna Boesak. This is done in dual fashion:
1) E-learning and training courses and programmes that unlock an understanding of and commitment to media ethics and ignite a passion for journalism. The content of Elna Boesak & Associates’ e-learning services transform vague interests in strategic communication and media techniques into determining insight, exceptional creativity and ground-breaking journalism and production skills.
2) The creation of investigative and participatory audio and audio-visual documentaries (radio, television, Internet) and films that serve both as training tools and shed light on the complex and yet crucial realities that characterise a rapidly changing global village but also societies that are in transition.
