As far back as 2009, the Australian Human Rights Commission reported that the media’s coverage of African-Australians was often negative, critical, and frequently misleading. The situation since then has not markedly improved, especially when the mainstream commercial media are involved.

This week we hear about the AuSud media project which worked with members of the Sudanese community in Melbourne to find practical ways to counter these negative portrayals.

Media and communications scholar David Nolan from the University of Melbourne talks about the background and development of the project, and Sudanese-Australian musician and storyteller Ajak Kwai explains how negative media reporting affects community self-confidence and self-worth.