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PROGRAMME EXPERIENCES
1. HIV/AIDS Consultation Room - Asia Pacific Region
The UNDP Regional HIV and Development Programme and its partners are offering free HIV/AIDS counselling and treatment support services through the HIV/AIDS portal for Asia Pacific, YouandAIDS. Using information and communication technology (ICT), this programme aims to create an interactive support process for those with questions or needs related to HIV/AIDS. Those who entre a virtual "Consultation Room" may pose questions related to all aspects of HIV/AIDS; specialists from Harvard Medical International (HMI) and an India-based hospital-pharmaceutical corporate called Wockhardt respond within 24 hours.
Contact: hivproj.in@undp.org
2. Street League (SL) - United Kingdom
This charity works to develop grassroots sports programmes across the UK for men and women over the age of 16. Based in London, SL's mission is to use sport to unlock the potential of homeless people, refugees, drug- and alcohol-dependent individuals, ex-offenders, and people who are unemployed due to learning disabilities. SL uses its football programme to build a sense of community and responsibility among participants. Football is, in the words of the organisers, "fun and familiar" to most of the disadvantaged people that the programme tries to reach; therefore, it "represents a low 'fear threshold' to participation". In the Lifestyle Development Scheme (LDS), which is optional for participants, an LDS link worker recruits players and plays a mentoring role throughout their participation. Activities of the LDS include sport and leisure industry training (including core skills of information technology, communications, and literacy), training in sports club administration (including fund raising, management, and marketing), and pre-employment training within the sports and leisure industry.
Contact Tel.: 020 7480 4150 or visit the SL website to contact via an online form.
3. Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture - Philippines
This is a network of government institutions providing education, training, extension, and communication in agriculture. It aims to build the capacity of local government extension agents through information services such as Internet kiosks and an Internet bus, as well as online training and university degree programmes. This programme is based on the idea that, through information and communication technology (ICT), technicians and farmers can collaborate in an open environment that enables them to access knowledge and information services. Software development is a key strategy; this software will allow government extension workers to modify and localise information gleaned from various websites, getting what they need, putting the information together in local dialect, adding pictures, and releasing it as shareware. This software has been central in designing an Internet web portal in 4 local languages. Farmers may access this portal from their own personal computers or from government computers being set up in Internet kiosks in selected farming villages. The network will also feature a mobile Internet van to bring the technology to isolated areas where there are no such kiosks.
Contact: opapa@openacademy.ph OR Roger F. Barroga roger@philrice.gov.ph / prri@philrice.gov.ph
4. Behaviour Change Communication for Avoidance of HIV/AIDS Infections in Nigeria - Nigeria
This project uses traditional folk media to spread messages about HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support in Nigeria. The project uses strategies that include: holding stakeholders workshops; selecting and training already popular traditional folk musicians to incorporate HIV/AIDS prevention care and support messages in their music; organising live concerts in selected locations; developing materials on the programme and mobilising print and electronic media to broadcast the release of HIV/AIDS content music; and organising promotional advertisements to mobilise listenership on radios and television as well as mass participation at concerts.
Contact Effiong Eno e.effiong@multisec.org.ng / multisec_dev@yahoo.com
5. Caucasus Human Rights and Media Development Programme - Caucasus Region
Since 1996, Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) has been working with print journalists in the North and South Caucasus to raise professional standards; heighten awareness of human rights, corruption, and governance; and improve communication within a region divided by conflict and misunderstanding. The programme works by supporting development of the skills and independence of journalists working in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, the 3 separatist territories inside them, and the 7 republics of the Russian North Caucasus. Key activities include journalistic training, publication, and regular roundtable discussions involving representatives of local stakeholder groups.
Contact Tom de Waal tom@iwpr.net
6. SANGRAM - India
Sampada Grameen Mahila Sanstha (SANGRAM) reaches out to women in prostitution in 6 districts in Maharashtra and Karnataka's border areas. The organisation's goals include creating awareness about HIV/AIDS and methods of prevention, altering behavioural patterns, and enforcing preventive action. SANGRAM's peer education model involves learners-teachers - themselves women in prostitution - in every seventh brothel talking to their colleagues/neighbours about HIV, and providing them with the tools to protect themselves against infection. SANGRAM has also initiated a district campaign that runs in 713 villages in Sangli district and focuses on women who contract HIV from their husbands without knowing it. This campaign also addresses adolescents, who form a significant proportion of the clientele of women in prostitution. Exhibitions, street plays, and poster displays at fairs and festivals are among the tools used to create awareness about HIV/AIDS among rural audiences. Sex education programmes in schools are regularly conducted.
Contact Meena Seshu meenaseshu@yahoo.com
7. Orphan Art - Global
This USA-based not-for-profit organisation delivers art supplies and instruction to orphanages in remote areas of the world. Personnel provide face-to-face instruction and guidance to the orphanage's personnel and the children to help them engage in the pleasure of creating works of art. The idea is that, by using the children's own artwork to generate revenue (which is then returned to the young artists), they become empowered to influence their own future. The Orphan Art website is a key tool in introducing people to the images created by these children. Orphan Art then brings the artwork back to the United States in order to take it to a worldwide marketplace, and sell the artwork in various forms. Proceeds from the sales of the artwork are returned to the participating orphanages to allow them to further enhance the economic self-sufficiency of the children and their community. In 2002, the organisation began facilitating student art teaching internships to participating orphanages.
Contact brice@orphanart.org
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PULSE POLL
Do you agree or disagree?
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the wrong focus for long term sustainable development.
[For context, please see The Drum Beat #306]
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EVALUATIONS
8. Impact of a Mass Media Vasectomy Promotion Campaign in Brazil
by D. Lawrence Kincaid, Alice Payne Merritt, Liza Nickerson, Sandra de Castro Buffington, Marcos Paulo P. de Castro & Bernadette Martin de Castro
This paper is an impact evaluation of a mass media vasectomy promotion campaign in three major Brazilian cities: São Paulo, Fortaleza, and Salvador. The campaign consisted of a combination of prime-time television and radio spots, magazine ads, flyer distribution, and an electronic billboard, along with other public relations activities. The impact data is derived from the numbers of telephone inquires and visits to the clinics, and the number of vasectomies performed. The result was a sharp increase in demand during and immediately after the campaign, followed by a relatively rapid return to normal levels. Results from the São Paulo clinic (PRO-PATER) were analysed in depth.
9. Knowledge and Use of Oral Rehydration Therapy for Childhood Diarrhoea in India: Effects of Exposure to Mass Media
by K. V. Rao, Vinod K. Mishra & Robert D. Retherford
This paper is a subject study using data from the 1992-93 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-1), carried out by the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It uses the data to gauge knowledge and behaviour relating to the use of Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) for the treatment of diarrhoea, a major cause of juvenile illness and death in India. The study focuses on women who gave birth during the 4 years before the NFHS-1 survey. The study also attempts to link ORT practices and knowledge to media exposure. While the Indian government has been actively promoting ORT use through an extensive media campaign, this study does not attempt to create direct linkages to that effort but, rather, evaluates the impact of media exposure in the broader sense. Nevertheless, the authors believe that the study reflects on the overall impact and effectiveness of the government's ORT campaign.
10. Increasing Contraceptive Use in Rural Pakistan: An Evaluation of the Lady Health Worker Programme
by Megan Douthwaite & Patrick Ward
The authors note that, while past efforts to promote family planning in Pakistan have been disappointing, contraceptive use has more than doubled since the Lady Health Worker Programme's (LHWP's) inception, rising from 11.9% in 1990-91 (National Institute of Statistics and IRD/Macro International 1992) to 27.6% in 2000-01. This resource describes the underpinnings of the LHWP, explores the context in which it was implemented, and provides data that indicates its impact.
TRENDS
11. Philippines To Transform State Broadcasting System into Independent Public Broadcasting Service
by Ramon R. Tuazon
Trends indicate that organisations in the Philippines are taking steps to respond to a "multi-sectoral clamor" for Public Service Broadcasting (PSB). A recent survey conducted by author Ramon R. Tuazon's organisation, the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC), revealed that 9 out of 10 respondents said there is a need for PSB in the country.
12. The Long Tail
by Chris Anderson
This article examines global technology trends impacting interest in, access to, and diversity of entertainment media. The author begins by citing an example of the way in which the online bookseller Amazon.com's "recommendations" feature (e.g., "customers interested in this title may also be interested in...") can create revenue for even obscure, out-of-print titles simply by virtue of their relationship to another book, film, or any media product. For Anderson, this "is an example of an entirely new economic model for the media and entertainment industries, one that is just beginning to show its power." He suggests that "the emerging digital entertainment economy is going to be radically different from today's mass market."
13. Extreme Cinema Verite
by Louise Roug
A new form of media, which is intended to be "entertaining", is emerging from the war in Iraq. United States soldiers are increasingly using handheld video and camera technology to "create their own cinema verite of the conflict. Although many are humorous or patriotic, others are gory..."
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Call for Papers - Video Book Project, Volume 2
videobookproject@yahoo.com
This is a call for papers that will form chapters in a book about the "Sociological Import of the Video Film in Africa". The book is meant to be a follow-up to the book African Video Film Today, which examines the existence of the video film in Nigeria, Ghana, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa. The current project seeks to widen the coverage to all parts of Africa, examining the state of the video art and how much it reflects and affects the society.
Seeking original contributions.
Contact videobookproject@yahoo.com
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MATERIALS
14. Can We Remain Indifferent? [video]
This video focuses on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and is meant to be used as an advocacy tool to use with partners and stakeholders, including donors, civil society organisations and the media. The video is currently available in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish.
15. Writing and Producing Radio Dramas
by Esta de Fossard
This book is one of a series called "Communication for Behaviour Change" and gives practical guidance on how to design, write, and produce radio dramas aimed at motivating social change. Divided into three parts, the book begins by introducing the concept of Entertainment-Education and its use in radio serial drama. It goes on to describe the duties of the programme manager of such projects, and concludes with tips for drama writers.
16. Cyber Cafés, A How-to Manual: Including Designing a Web Site & Implementing an Online Peer Education Program
by Alex Franka & Jessie Gilliam
This book aims to assist youth in creating programmes and promoting policies that help young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. The cyber café is defined as seeking to help people: 1) access the Internet and search for accurate and up-to-date information on sexual health; 2) experience community, both online and off; 3) increase young people's computer literacy; and 4) improve young people's job-related skills.
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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.
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