About

Who is Elastus?

Elastus Mambwe (Jr.) is a media, communications and film scholar, educator, award winning journalist, content producer, and artist from Lusaka, Zambia. He is currently a Lecturer and Research fellow in the Department of Media and Communications Studies at the University of Zambia’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Elastus has been involved in teaching and skills development, as well as research and consultancy, curriculum development and stakeholder engagement activities for various projects.

Since 2014, Elastus has been developing his profile as a published researcher and has presented his research at various international conferences. His work has been published in highly reputable journals such as Journalism Practice, Global Media and Communication and Critical Arts, among others, and has contributed chapters to key volumes in the field published by imprints such as Palgrave, IGI Global and Duke University Press. His research interests include mass communication and media studies, media and screen industries, journalism education and practice, social media, and popular culture, among others. He is a member of the International Association of Media and Communication Researchers (IAMCR) and the South(ern) African Communication Association (SACOMM).

Elastus received his Bachelor of Mass Communication (BMC) degree (minoring in Development Studies) with Distinction, from the University of Zambia (UNZA), where he also obtained his Master of Mass Communication (MMC) degree. He is in the final stages of his PhD, which he is pursuing at the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Film and Media Studies in South Africa. His PhD is a political economic study of the development of film industry in Zambia.

He is an alumni of the Young African Leader’s Initiative (YALI) Regional Learning Centre in South Africa, and a fellow of The Media Project (TMP) Coaching and Leadership Programme at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 2023, Elastus participated in the prestigious Study of United States Institutes (SUSI) Programme for Scholars in Media and Communications, a fellowship held at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Before venturing in academia, Elastus practiced as a journalist in radio and print. He a recipient of a Media Institute of Southern African (MISA) Zambia Chapter award for Best Reporting in Telecommunications and a team award for ICT reporting. Elastus is a co-founder and board member of One Love Radio, and sits on the board of the Centre for Open and Distance Learning, in Lusaka.

Elastus loves music, watching and discussing spy and sci-fi movies, and playing Scrabble.