The Media Diversity Centre (MDC) officially opened a content development centre in Murang’a region on 16 March 2010.

This is the sixth centre to be opened in the country as part of the MDC vision which is to promote the ideals of diversity within and through the media.

The content centre will serve as a networking and content hub for the correspondents based in the region. The facilities provided by Media Diversity Centre (MDC) will allow correspondents to file their stories with ease. Correspondents working in the MDC content centres contribute to Reject, a bimonthly online newspaper.  Contributing to Reject will allow members to create visibility for their communities and themselves, opening more avenues for them to disseminate their stories.

The Mwingi content development centre was opened on 21 May 2010. It becomes the 8th content centre to be opened by the Media Diversity Centre, with a team of 14 dedicated members from Kitui and Mwingi. The centre is located in Kasina Memorial Plaza in Mwingi town.

Mwingi content centre has been contributing rich and unique stories from the region, highlighting the voices of the community members. The content centre will function as a hub for correspondents where they can meet and exchange ideas and file their stories. For the members who are new in the profession, the older members will also mentor them, supporting them to advance in their careers. The centre will also serve as a focal point for information and resource material for the area. This will enable the members to expand their networks with the aim of developing themselves.

Abjata Khalif, Garissa Centre Coordinator shared ideas on the different projects the centre could adopt to augment their income from stories published in the Reject and make the centre self-sustainable. Through partnerships with NGOs and members monthly contributions, the Garissa members have managed sustain their centre. They also offer media liaison services to local organizations and leaders.

During the opening of the centre, the coordinator Musembi Nzengu expressed his gratitude and commended MDC for its nobilility. “We promise to give this centre our best and we shall not let you down,” he pledged on behalf of his team. The centre is equipped with a desktop computer, Internet modem and resource material for research.

Also present at the opening was Florence Sipalla, Programme Officer, Mercy Mumo, Programme Assistant and George Ngesa, Administrative Assistant.

The Nanyuki content centre, which is hosted by the Mt. Kenya Media Centre, was opened in July 2009. The idea to establish the centre was born after a training session in Nairobi, organized by African Women and Child Feature Service in collaboration with Kenya Correspondents Association (KCA) in April 2009.

The centre is equipped with a desktop computer with Internet facilities to assist members disseminate content. Using the Internet facility, members are able to carry out online research. Before the content centre was established, the correspondents used cyber cafes to do their work.

The content centre, situated in Nanyuki town, serves 12 correspondents from Isiolo, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Meru and Laikipia districts. All the registered members work as correspondents for various media houses. The correspondents felt it was important to have more media content being generated from the region and disseminated to readers, listeners and viewers. Working from the centre also enables members to network as they use the resources available. The centre coordinator, Mwangi Ndirangu is responsible for the management and day-to-day running of the centre.

The Garissa content centre is the first pilot centre that covers the entire North Eastern province. It is part of the seven centres to be developed by AWC/MDC in different parts of Kenya. The other pilot centres will be developed in Kajiado, Eldoret, Migori, Nanyuki/Muranga, Kitale and Malindi.