The Drum Beat – Issue 530 – Communication, Media, and Development Policy Blogs
February 22 2010
The Drum Beat 530 contains:
* What long-term vision for UN PEACEKEEPING RADIO?
* What more is to be done to HARNESS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES?
* CLIMATE CHANGE DYNAMICS: private companies and the common man.
* HAITI: spaces for sharing communication and media views and ideas.
* Comments on ACCOUNTABILITY in the development system.
* Comments on COLLIER VS. OSTROM.
* MORE COMMENTS on other recent blog posts.
* Additional RECENT blog posts.
* NETWORK with The CI!
CONTINUING CI ASSOCIATE
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The Drum Beat is published by The Communication Initiative – where communication and media are central to social and economic development.
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Whether we look at development from the perspective of peacekeeping or digital technologies, or we examine the responsibilities of the private sector and how to respond to a natural disaster, it is vital that policymakers and practitioners critique and debate a range of policies, ideas, and strategies.
This issue of The Drum Beat alerts you to new and recent blog postings, as well as comments on those postings, that put forth ideas with different perspectives on development effectiveness. These posts appear in our Communication, Media, and Development Policy blog space – http://www.comminit.com/en/development_policy
Please read the full blogs and enter your comments and critique on the ideas expressed within them.
Plus, please let us know by sending an email to drumbeat@comminit.com if you would like to become a CI blogger!
RATE EACH BLOG
There is a 5-star rating system available for each blog post. You can rate the blog post according to the question «How useful did you find the knowledge and contacts on this page to your work?»; ratings range from «Awesome» (5 stars) to «Poor» (1 star).
Please take a moment to rate each post after reading – this will serve to provide new readers, and the bloggers themselves, with a sense of how relevant the posts are to your development work.
INTERACT WITH CI BLOGGERS
Have you read a blog through The Drum Beat that you agreed or disagreed with? Let the blogger know! Go to the Development Policy website – http://www.comminit.com/en/development_policy – and click on «Post a Comment or Question» below any of the blogs.
NEW POST FROM BILL ORME:
1. UN Peacekeeping Radio’s Unexamined Past and Uncertain Future
«For almost two decades now, UN peacekeeping missions have routinely set up radio stations that by default, not design, became the countries’ dominant national broadcasters. And then, when the missions ended, the stations would close…» Should the UN even be running national radio stations in sovereign countries? If so, why, for how long, and under what terms?
READ AND BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/310843/bbc
NEW POSTS FROM WARREN FEEK:
2. Digital Technologies: Development Added Value?
How could digital technologies be more extensively and appropriately harnessed to address major development issues for improved action and outcomes?
READ AND COMMENT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/308000/bbc
3. Social Climate Change
What is the need for and what are the obstacles encountered in private sector companies focusing on citizen engagement in global warming and climate change issues?
READ AND COMMENT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/304996/bbc
4. Haiti: Much Strength and Support
Initial lessons from the recent crisis in Haiti, with links to additional spaces and platforms for the sharing of views and ideas.
READ AND COMMENT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/308970/bbc
Become a CI BLOGGER!
Do you have experience in development policy issues and challenges? Do you have ideas you want to float past a large group of your peers? Become a CI Blogger.
See the Guidelines for Bloggers on the Communication, Media, and Development Policy website: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/286565/bbc
ACCESSING BLOGS BY ONE CONTRIBUTOR
Got a FAVOURITE CI BLOGGER? You can view (and mark as a «Favourite» in your browser!) all of their blog posts in one page. Simply go to the right column on the Communication, Media, and Development Policy Blogs site and click on «Contributors», then click on the name of your favourite blogger. A list of all posts by that blogger will be displayed.
RECENT COMMENTS ON BLOG POSTS
5. COMMENTS RELATED TO «Can we put a value on the good that media do? A social cost approach to media development» by James Deane
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/298474/bbc
«I think James’ article has it exactly right – too often donors move onto the next best thing, forgetting that you don’t know what you’ve got until you’ve lost it. This also manifests itself in the continual repeated funding for equipment for radio stations, but an almost complete lack of investment in local technician training or service contracts to maintain the equipment…»
MORE AT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/298474#comment-239301
READ ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, AND CONTRIBUTE YOURS: http://www.comminit.com/en/development_policy/comments/298474
6. COMMENTS RELATED TO «Digital Technologies: Development Added Value?» by Warren Feek
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/308000/bbc
«…It is likely that professional information of development needs to be shared much, much better with the IT world. I also suspect that practitioners will have to build their own body of knowledge to determine what is most useful and what is not. Would be appreciative of those who are finding answers and where and how applications have been used successfully. I believe framing this information and being able to build knowledge through use of best Web 2.0 applications has capacity for redefining ‘sustainability.'»
MORE AT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/308000#comment-239259
READ ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, AND CONTRIBUTE YOURS: http://www.comminit.com/en/development_policy/comments/308000
7. COMMENTS RELATED TO «Re-vamping UNICEF’s Africa Communication for Development Strategy» by Neil Ford
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/276034/bbc
«The 3 C4D strategies advocated by Neil – interpersonal communication at scale, community and media mobilisation and community-based management of information would be, if they work and profit from each other, a nice way for communities to have ownership of communication processes around health issues in their communities. It is a complicated strategy to operationalise and to monitor, especially if it is put in place (together with the communities) from the national level, it doesn’t show results right away, but in the long run, provided this strategy is kept going on for a long time, it could bear fruits and have a spill over effect on other fields of concern for the community. For such a strategy to work, I do thing that there is a need for an open dialogue in the community so that the community can check the work of the groups (be it NGOs or CBOs or any of the community level networks cited by Neil as potential partners) that are going to ultimately do the communication, !
mobilisation and information management work. Those groups need to be accountable to the communities…»
MORE AT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/276034#comment-238656
READ ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, AND CONTRIBUTE YOURS: http://www.comminit.com/en/development_policy/comments/276034
8. COMMENTS RELATED TO «Accountability, media and the development system: a complicated romance» by James Deane
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/289977/bbc
«I’d argue there needs to be a more coherent strategy that draws on all actors engaged in enhancing accountability of development spending. We don’t, however, have an accountability architecture that strategically matches money – or perhaps more accurately policy focus – with need in ways that include a media dimension.»
MORE AT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/289977#comment-239344
«I think that you pointed out a very important question, that of the meritocracy principle. Indeed, foreign citizens are a non-negligible production force in the nation. Accordingly, to the very principle of national interest, they should be included in the development project.»
MORE AT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/289977#comment-238898
READ ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, AND CONTRIBUTE YOURS: http://www.comminit.com/en/development_policy/comments/289977
UTILISE RSS!
Ensure that you are alerted to new blogs and/or comments. Click on the [RSS] button under «Comments on Blogs» or «Recent Posts» within the right column of the Communication, Media, and Development Policy Blogs site.
ARCHIVED POSTS
Wondering where that recent post from «X» on governance and media went to? Click on the right column «Recent Posts» for a complete list of posts, in order of date updated.
9. COMMENTS RELATED TO «Show me the Media Money – but what should we do with it?» by Warren Feek
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/303537/bbc
«…if I had access to large funding I would opt to finance or fund educational radio and programs on topics beyond the aid-driven topics such as HIV-AIDS or poverty reduction, that ensure educational programs for Africa, the Caribbean and Asia that would boost their participation in trade and economic development so that their input might provide a concrete and feasible solution to end things like high end financial crisis created by irresponsible banking, etc or the drag-down of consistently deprived economies at the expense of raw resource exploitation and low profit gain.»
MORE AT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/303537#comment-238678
READ ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, AND CONTRIBUTE YOURS: http://www.comminit.com/en/development_policy/comments/303537
10. COMMENTS RELATED TO «Nobel Intentions» by Warren Feek
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/304932/bbc
«…The manipulations or if you like the regulations to centralize has not and will not help the global financial environment. In Nigeria, before the present civilian era, civil society groups accessed partnerships direct from international development organisations. But with the advent of the so called democracy, we have all sorts of bilateral and multi-lateral ‘supports’ that end up being politicised, with government setting up agencies that don’t work, officials that are self-seeking, and NO WORK GETS DONE. The Global Fund is one of such…Dr Ostrom’s position, which tends to support encouraging local or homogenous groups to organise and help themselves, has a better potential in environments like Nigeria, the speed up development, than Paul Collier’s. What it takes to get a community to see they can do something to help themselves, is far less than what it takes to keep the people hoping that that their ‘elected’ leaders are soon on the way with help that would never com!
e…»
MORE AT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/304932#comment-238666
«…I’d like to hear more such ‘case studies’…is anyone developing something of a global view of how these collectives are operating in different spheres? One interesting and definitely fundamental issue in the two approaches is indeed the interventionist aspect. How can those concerned that communities are able to meet there needs ‘help’ in this process as external ‘providers’ of expertise and experience? What is the verdict on groups getting together to do just what is mentioned as part of the first approach – ie to demand fairer trade regulations in countries that need to develop exports/production?»
MORE AT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/304932#comment-238658
READ ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, AND CONTRIBUTE YOURS: http://www.comminit.com/en/development_policy/comments/304932
11. COMMENTS RELATED TO «Government Rules» by Warren Feek
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/303033/bbc
«…My question, is it possible to standardize applications for support and genuinely get on with real and much needed development or will all the debates continue ad nauseum at the cost of creating healthier, proactive communities?»
MORE AT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/303033#comment-239271
READ ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, AND CONTRIBUTE YOURS: http://www.comminit.com/en/development_policy/comments/303033
12. COMMENTS RELATED TO «Whose Policy is it Anyway?» by Warren Feek
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/299174/bbc
«The question of policy ownership and participation by those most affected is indeed perplexing. I appreciate Warren’s multi-point suggestion around using ICTs to stimulate community participation. Similarly, Priyanthi’s observation that power relations operating within particular socio-cultural contexts need to be addressed before we can seriously expect meaningful change. Otherwise, we fall into the trap of optimistic technological determinism. I wonder if in recent years we have allowed global market forces to not only dictate the way we should perceive both the problem and solution, but how end-users of services should be similarly framed? By this, I mean as consumers instead of as citizens…»
MORE AT: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/299174#comment-238945
READ ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, AND CONTRIBUTE YOURS: http://www.comminit.com/en/development_policy/comments/299174
Other RECENT BLOG POSTS on a variety of topics:
«Can we put a value on the good that media do? A social cost approach to media development» by James Deane
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/298474/bbc – add your comments below the blog!
«Little Green People» by Warren Feek
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/303029/bbc – add your comments below the blog!
«The commonalities lens sees AIDS better» by Jon Tinker
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/286969/bbc – add your comments below the blog!
«Governance and the Media: the engagement gap» by James Deane
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/290696/bbc – add your comments below the blog!
«Trading Rights» by Warren Feek
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/294577/bbc – add your comments below the blog!
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The Drum Beat is the email and web network of The Communication Initiative Partnership – ANDI, BBC World Service Trust, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Calandria, CFSC Consortium, CIDA, DFID, FAO, Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano, Ford Foundation, Healthlink Worldwide, Inter-American Development Bank, International Institute for Communication and Development, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs, MISA, PAHO, The Panos Institute, The Rockefeller Foundation, SAfAIDS, Sesame Workshop, Soul City, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, USAID, WHO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
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Please send material for The Drum Beat to The CI’s Editorial Director – Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com
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