Internal communications The year under review saw MISA beginning to consolidate its internal communications, which was aided by the communications training carried out for most of the chapters’ staff. A communications draft training manual was compiled and used for the training. It will be used as an orientation tool for new MISA staff members. MISA continues to use information communication technologies (ICTs) to communicate, especially via its chapters and regional governing council (RGC) mailing lists, which were maintained, updated and moderated. MISA began in earnest to use voice over internet protocol (VOIP) software in countries where it is legal as a communication tool due to its efficiency and cost effectiveness with most chapters installing and using the software. Translation services between Portuguese and English were provided, especially between MISA Angola and the regional office. Publications A system designed to track the distribution of MISA publications has been put in place. All the chapters have been trained to use this system. So This is Democracy? State of Media Freedom in Southern Africa 2007 was produced and launched in the various national chapters as part of the World Press Freedom Day activities. The MISA Annual Report 2007 was produced and distributed at the MISA Annual General Meeting in Blantyre, Malawi. The report was further distributed by the national chapters to key target audiences, including individuals in the information ministries, members of parliamentary committees responsible for communication, key partners, donors, and potential partners and donors. MISA diaries were produced during the year and, due to an increase in demand, the print run was increased from 100 to 500. The diaries were distributed to members of the MISA family including the Southern African Media Development Fund (SAMDEF), Southern African Institute for Media Entrepreneurship Development (SAIMED) and other key stakeholders at local, regional, continental and international levels. MISA joined a number of partners to produce the book 50 Years of Journalism: Africa Media since Ghana’s Independence. These partners included the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF), the Network Media Programme of the Open Society Institute (OSI), the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), the media programme of the Netherlands Institute of Southern Africa (NiZA), The African Editors’ Forum (TAEF) and the Media Foundation of West Africa (MFWA). The book documents the history of journalism in Africa over the past 50 years. MISA chapters continued to produce publications that were distributed to relevant stakeholders. As a result, communication with their membership was strengthened, while MISA and its mandate was publicised. See table on the following page for details. Annual Report 2008 39