This issue of The Drum Beat features a small selection of summaries available on The Communication Initiative website from 3 of our knowledge sections - Programme Experiences, Strategic Thinking, and Materials - which illustrate how communication and media are contributing to positive development action, around the world.
Please send additional project, evaluation, strategic thinking, and materials information on communication for development at any time. Contact Deborah Heimann at dheimann@comminit.com
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Please VOTE in our Early Child Development POLL:
How can the voices, ideas, and perspectives of young children best be communicated?
- Through their own age-appropriate means - e.g., art, music, children interviewing children, etc.
- Through their parents.
- Through their grandparents.
- Through their teachers.
- Through community workers working with them.
- Other.
VOTE - click here (see "Poll" heading on the top right side).
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EXPERIENCES
1. HOPE: Living and Loving with HIV/AIDS in Jamaica - Jamaica
This multi-media reporting initiative draws upon poetry and music - communicated through information and communication technologies (ICTs) - to share among people around the world the experiences of those living with HIV/AIDS in Jamaica. United States (US)-based, Ghanaian-Jamaican writer and poet Kwame Dawes traveled to Jamaica to explore the experience of people living with HIV/AIDS and to examine the ways in which the disease has shaped their lives. Through an essay, 2 short television documentaries, a collection of poetry, a performance of the poems set to music, and an interactive web presentation, Dawes shares impressions and testimonies of what it is like to live with HIV/AIDS in Jamaica. The project fuses poetry and journalism in order to address stigma, class issues, and the challenges of treatment.
Contact: Nathalie Applewhite info@pulitzercenter.org AND Kwame Dawes dawesk@mailbox.sc.edu
2. Eco-tips for Jeans - Global
With its public service announcement (PSA) "Eco-tips for Jeans", the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) hopes to provide young people around the world with practical tips on what they can do to participate in the fight against climate change. The PSA focuses on what is, for many youth, one of their favourite pastimes: fashion, in general, and their jeans, in particular. UNEP aims to make youth aware of the impact that their activities and consumption patterns can have on the environment (e.g., the number of times jeans are worn before being washed, the washing temperature, the use of detergents, the machine-drying, and the ironing). Another fact that UNEP hopes to communicate through this PSA is that a well-maintained garment will last longer, thus generating less waste. Available in English, French, and Spanish, the spot is being broadcast on international TV and web channels, and will be displayed at conferences around the world.
Contact: Solange Montillaud-Joyel solange.montillaud@unep.fr
3. International Policy Programme Biodiversity: Communication Campaign - Netherlands
In September 2001, the international company ARCADIS, based in the Netherlands, launched a 3-year campaign to facilitate information sharing with the Dutch public about the "International Policy Programme Biodiversity". The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality's Department of Knowledge developed a web portal offering information on the convention and its implementation in the Netherlands. This Netherlands Clearing-House Mechanism for Biodiversity site also provides access to knowledge about status and trends related to biodiversity in that country, and includes contact details for communicating with the people and organisations involved. ARCADIS facilitated communication and information exchange related to the programme by bringing together policymaking, scientific, and non-governmental organisations in an effort to foster cooperation in this field. Activities carried out included the organisation of meetings, drafting the programmes, management of the process during these meetings, drafting of newsletters, and the overall management of yearly meetings (around the International Day of Biodiversity, commemorated on May 22 every year).
Contact: info@arcadis-global.com OR Rob J.J. Hendriks r.j.j.hendriks@minlnv.nl
4. Tales of Resettlement - Botswana, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, Pakistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe
This initiative, created by Panos London and its partners, uses the internet as a platform for sharing the voices of people around the world who have been displaced by large-scale development projects such as large dams and coal mines. Panos' resettlement project aims to contribute to greater understanding of the resettlement process and its aftermath by providing first-hand accounts from those with the most direct experience of forced relocation, yet with the least influence on policy. This project particularly focuses on exploring some of the social and cultural impacts of resettlement. The testimonies are from the San in Botswana and Namibia, the Tonga in Zambia and Zimbabwe, Adavasi communities in Jharkhand, India, pastoralists in Kenya, and Pushto communities in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.
Contact: Siobhan Warrington Siobhan.warrington@panos.org.uk OR otp@panos.org.uk
5. Eradicate Slavery in Brazil Today Campaign
This campaign, from WITNESS - a United States-based organisation using video and online technologies to address human rights violations - attempts to engage citizens around the world in advocacy around the issue of contemporary slavery in Brazil. Visitors to the WITNESS website are provided with (free) access to an email message (which can be edited) designed to communicate to Brazil's President Lula that slave labour must end - and how. In addition, WITNESS has teamed up with the Comissão Pastoral da Terra (CPT) and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) to produce a 17-minute video called "Bound by Promises: Contemporary Slavery in Rural Brazil." This video tells the story of men who are taken to isolated ranches, only to find that they have been lured into debt bondage. Both the full-length video and excerpts (in both English and Portuguese) are available on Google Video.
Contact: Tamaryn Nelson Tamaryn_Nelson_of_WITNESS@mail.vresp.com
6. Cycle to Walk - Canada
This is an awareness-raising and fund-generating initiative created by a 28-year-old polio survivor, Ramesh Ferris, who, in April 2008, began riding via hand cycle (an alternative to a conventional bicycle) 7,200 km across Canada. His central goal is to educate people in that country about the continuing need for immunisation against polio as part of a push toward the global eradication of polio. In addition to raising awareness about the disease, Ferris hopes to facilitate donations to support the rehabilitation of polio survivors in economically poor countries. Visitors to the Cycle to Walk website may learn various facts about this vaccine-preventable disease, and participate in various online discussions about the journey.
Contact: Cycle to Walk website contact form.
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SEEKING ICT4D CASE STUDIES
The United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (UN-APCICT) is compiling a series of case studies on different aspects of ICT4D from across the Asia-Pacific region.
The UN-APCICT Case Studies Series on ICT4D aims to share the vast body of knowledge, practical experiences, and insights gained from ICT4D projects in the Asia-Pacific region. By making the project experiences and findings more accessible, the series aims to be a useful reference to policy makers who are planning or supporting ICT4D projects. New ICT4D projects can benefit from the case studies, avoiding common pitfalls, and using strategies that have been demonstrated as successful. The case studies can also generate opportunities for networking, collaboration, and implementation of new solutions.
Each year, 2 issues of the UN-APCICT Case Study Series on ICT4D will be published (in print and online). Each issue will focus on one or more ICT4D theme(s). For the inaugural issue, the themes include:
- Technological Convergence and the New Media
- e-Governance
- Gender
UN-APCICT is pleased to invite project managers, development practitioners, policy makers, and researchers to submit case studies on these themes. Case studies can be submitted online, or the submission form can be downloaded, completed offline, and emailed to christine@unapcict.org
For more information and to submit case studies, please visit the UN-APCICT website.
Deadline: August 31 2008.
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STRATEGIC THINKING
7. Concurrent Sexual Partnerships Amongst Young Adults in South Africa: Challenges for HIV Prevention Communication
by Warren Parker, Benjamin Makhubele, Pumla Ntlabati, and Cathy Connolly
This report looks at the issue of concurrent sexual relationships amongst heterosexual respondents between the ages of 20 and 30, exploring implications for HIV/AIDS communication and offering recommendations and key message concepts for HIV/AIDS communication. It draws on data collected from two studies conducted in South Africa in 2006: 1) a national HIV/AIDS communication survey which looked mainly at the impact of HIV/AIDS communication; and 2) a qualitative study comprising interviews and focus groups which looked at the nature of sexual relationships and sought to identify implications for HIV/AIDS communication. Based on an analysis of the data, the report offers some key recommendations for prevention and communication.
8. Digital Inclusion Projects in Developing Countries: Processes of Institutionalisation
by Shirin Madon, Nicolau Reinhard, Dewald Roode, and Geoff Walsham
Presented at the 9th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, this document describes and analyses 3 case studies - a telecentre project in India, a community-based ICT project in South Africa, and telecentre projects in urban Brazil - according to a theoretical schema derived from institutional theory. The schema uses 4 key processes of institutionalisation: getting symbolic acceptance by the community; stimulating valuable social activity in relevant social groups; generating linkage to viable revenue streams; and fostering government support. The authors' findings emphasise the magnitude of change over time in the 3 projects analysed. They find that early successes are not always sustainable or scalable. However, they aim to demonstrate the utility of using institutional theory to locate common features of the projects.
9. Success Stories in Indigenous Health
This publication from Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) describes 15 projects, clinics, and scholarship programmes that are designed to close the healthcare gap between the 3 percent population of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders and the remaining 97 percent of the Australian public. The work of these organisations supports ANTaR's action plan, including delivering healthy lifestyle programmes and removing barriers to obtaining healthy food, which can cost up to 180 percent more in remote areas. Strategies of the various organisations include use of interpersonal communication, training, and live events/live performances to promote awareness of services and information.
10. Leipzig Workshop Recommendations for a Knowledge-Policy Interface for Biodiversity Governance
by Dr. Christoph Görg, Dr. Heidi Wittmer, Dr. Silke Beck, and Dr. Felix Rauschmayer
To reverse the ongoing loss of biological diversity, this workshop summary paper seeks to identify "the optimal niche and conditions for the creation of an independent and effective international knowledge-policy interface for biodiversity governance." This summary paper argues that this advisory body needs to be made up of a broad variety of institutions from the local to the global level, including scientific as well as traditional knowledge.
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The African Network for Strategic Communication in Health and Development (AfriComNet) recognised 5 organisations and 1 individual, Mr. Warren Feek, Executive Director of The Communication Initiative, for outstanding efforts to fight HIV and AIDS through communication, in an award ceremony held June 4th 2008 in Kampala, Uganda.
The vision of AfriComNet is "people in Africa making informed choices and taking action to improve their wellbeing". It currently has over 801 members from 44 countries, and is comprised of individuals, associations, governmental and non-governmental organisations, community- and faith-based organisations and educational institutions. Its mission is to "strengthen capacity in and commitment to strategic communication for health and development in Africa". One of AfriComNet's primary objectives is to promote effective strategic communication practices. In order to achieve this objective, in 2007 AfriComNet launched the Annual Award for Excellence in Strategic Communication in Africa. This will be an annual network event in recognition of both individuals and organisations that have made significant contributions to innovating, strengthening, and popularising strategic communication as a necessary tool for health and development.
2008 Award Winners:
- Mass Media Category: Urunana Radio Soap Opera, Rwanda, and Living and Loving (LiLo) Radio Program, Zambia.
- Community/Interpersonal Category: Wellness Champion Program, Standard Bank Group Africa.
- Social Marketing Category: The Good Life Campaign, Uganda.
- Multi-channel Category: Sports for Life, Cote d'Ivoire.
- Chairman's Award: Mr. Warren Feek, Executive Director, The Communication Initiative (CI).
For more information about AfriComNet and these awards, please see the AfriComNet website or contact Dr. Lorna Tumwebaze infodesk@africomnet.org
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MATERIALS
11. Myths, Misperceptions and Fears Addressing Condom Use Barriers
by Helen Jackson, Harare Raj, and Rita Raj
The purpose of this booklet from The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), World Health Organization (WHO) Department of Reproductive Health and Research, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is to provide factual information that can be used to foster a positive attitude towards condom use to overcome barriers of acceptance. The message is kept simple and focused on responding to common, reoccurring myths, misperceptions, and fears related to condoms and condom use. It provides evidence-based information to support consistent use of male or female condoms for preventing unintended pregnancy and the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
12. Grassroots Comics
by Leif Packalen and Sharad Sharma
This manual, on the creation of comics as a medium for communication of development ideas, is based on the experiences gained by World Comics Finland and World Comics India at the grassroots level in cooperation with other organisations, movements, and activists. The manual gives a number of examples of comics from different countries, photographs from workshops on grassroots comic creation, and manuals that demonstrate how to approach this communication medium with local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or with community activists. It explains how to make wall poster comics, booklet comics, strips, and accordion folded mini comics for local distribution - at meeting places, bus stops, shops, offices, schools, and on notice-boards and electricity poles, etc.
13. Reality Check: Family Planning Forecasting Tool User's Guide
The ACQUIRE Project, with sponsorship of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has developed a programmatic and technical model/tool, "Reality v", that enables examination of the relationship of contraceptive prevalence to contraceptive users, adopters, and commodities. This tool is designed to enable reproductive health (RH) programmes to forecast overall contraceptive prevalence rates (CPR) at national or local levels and to analyse past CPR trends. CPR data is used to evaluate current efforts, set goals for the future, and plan for the resources the RH programme will require.
14. Diversifying Participation in Network Development: Case Studies and Research from WDR Research Cycle 3
edited by Amy Mahan and William H. Melody
This report from the World Dialogue on Regulation (WDR) assesses different approaches to telecom regulation in a rapidly evolving environment. The report highlights the Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies (LIRNE)'s research, analysis, and case studies elaborating on inclusive and pro-poor strategies for extending telecom infrastructure to all sectors of society. The book is divided into three sections: Affordability and Use; Models to Extend Participation in Network Development; and Regulatory and Information Practices.
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The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.
Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com
To reproduce any portion of The Drum Beat, see our policy.
