Rhodes University postdoctoral fellow and Zimbabwean journalist and media activist, Dr. Garikai Chaunza, has been appointed Co-Chair of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the African University Seminar Series - South Africa (AUSS-SA), a flagship programme of the Social Science Research Council's APDD initiative.
The appointment, confirmed in a letter from APDD programme director Dr Cyril Obi, recognises Chaunza's "outstanding qualifications" and his "demonstrable commitment" to strengthening research, academic convening, and collaborative knowledge production across the continent
Chaunza's selection reflects a career grounded in media activism, resistance journalism, and community-centred storytelling, shaped by nearly two decades working across Zimbabwe's most contested media environments.
Before entering academia, he reported for ZBC, Radio VOP, NewZimbabwe.com, Deutsche Welle, Radio Netherlands, Free Speech Radio News (FSRN), KPFA Pacifica Radio, and other international outlets, often covering press freedom violations, political repression, and community struggles.
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As Chair of the MISA Zimbabwe Harare Committee between 2015 and 2021, he led campaigns for community radio licensing, legal defence for journalists, and broader media reform during periods of state surveillance and shrinking civic space.
Now based at Rhodes University's School of Journalism and Media Studies as a postdoctoral fellow, Chaunza teaches radio and audio studies while supervising postgraduate students.
His recent doctoral work, Activist Radio and the Struggle to Empower Audiences, examined how underground radio and alternative audio platforms challenge state narratives in hybrid regimes.
Colleagues describe his approach as a fusion of theory and hands-on journalistic practice, linking scholarly critique with lived experience in hostile media environments.
The AUSS-SA appointment will place Chaunza at the centre of a continental effort to convene scholars, practitioners and alumni for national seminars led by the LOC.
According to the APDD, the initiative aims to strengthen a self-organised intellectual community capable of shaping national and regional research agendas, while promoting equity, diversity, and representation across South African institutions.
In his new role, Chaunza will coordinate academic panels, mobilise university partners across the country, and contribute to building an APDD alumni network grounded in African perspectives.
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This aligns with his long-standing advocacy for decolonial media education, community storytelling, and African-led communication research, commitments reflected in his teaching, public scholarship and ongoing creative audio projects.
Chaunza's academic credentials include a PhD in Journalism and Media Studies from Rhodes University, an MSc and Postgraduate Diploma in Media and Society Studies (MSU), a BA in Media Studies (ZOU), and Diploma in Public Relations (ZIPR), and a certificate in Digital Marketing (UZ). He is also a recipient of the SSRC Next Generation Social Sciences Fellowship (2023).
The appointment marks a return to organised scholarly activism for a journalist whose career has consistently bridged research, teaching, and frontline media work. For many observers in the journalism education sector, Chaunza represents a generation of scholar-practitioners pushing for African media curricula rooted in community knowledge, public accountability, and resistance to repression.
