The Drum Beat – Issue 586 – Communication, Media and Change News and Issues – May 23 2011
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This issue includes:
* EXPERIENCES: Mobiles & HIV, puppets for tolerance, participatory gov. research…
* CALL for paper proposals: Media, Development, Girls
* STRATEGIC THINKING: Women & ICTs, climate communication, tackling polio drops fear…
* Updates from C-CHANGE.
* TRENDS: Media dev. assistance, sexualisation & TV patterns, ICT penetration…
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From The Communication Initiative Network – where communication and media are central to social and economic development.
Access this issue online at http://comminit.com/global/node/9280331
NOTE: Over the weekend we have had a soft launch of the new communication and media for development platform atwww.comminit.com You may see (hopefully not!) some initial glitches. If so, apologies. This week is tweak week including any «speed» related issues in the live environment. With many thanks for your engagement as a participant in this social network for more effective development action. More soon. Thanks – Warren
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EXPERIENCES
http://comminit.com/global/search/apachesolr_search/?filters=tid%3A36%20language%3Aen%20tid%3A10
1. Vid@net – Mexico
This mobile-phone based service for people with HIV is designed to support antiretroviral treatment adherence by providing a discrete, timely health intervention in the form of short messaging service (SMS) information and reminders. After registering for the system, which is offered for free to any Mexican living with HIV/AIDS, a user receives twice-weekly SMS tips on issues such as nutrition, sexuality, and emotional health. They can also sign up to receive daily dose and medical appointment reminders.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/284119/347
2. freedominfo.org – Global
This initiative centres around a web portal that aims to be the online institutional memory of freedom of information (FOI) campaigns throughout the world. freedominfo.org describes best practices and lessons learned, compares campaign strategies, and links the efforts of freedom of information advocates globally. Information here may be accessed in various ways, such as country-specific background, documents, news, and links related to FOI in more than 65 countries.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/286870/348
3. Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) Control Project – Indonesia
Managed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)-Jakarta, this project was designed to fight malnutrition, especially among women before and during pregnancy and young children, by helping achieve universal salt iodisation (USI) in Indonesia. Key communication-related components of the effort included: developing communication and education strategies for raising popular awareness about iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), mobilising appropriate retail and consumer action, and promoting private sector participation.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/330010/36
4. ThinkQuest Uganda Contest – Uganda
This project for Ugandan learners, schools, organisations, and teachers uses free online resources and software to encourage Ugandans to create websites on community issues affecting them, such as gender issues and HIV/AIDS, while promoting learning. Community organisations offer awards for the best websites in different categories. The aim of the project is to optimise available information technology (IT) infrastructure and skills, build local web content, and bring about knowledge sharing on development issues.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/129610/307
5. PACER Puppets – United States
The United States (US)-based PACER Center (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) uses puppets in an effort to teach children and young adults about disabilities and to foster tolerance. The goals of this initiative are to provide an opportunity for children to explore disabilities in a comfortable learning environment, gain acceptance of disabilities through understanding, and foster positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities. The hope is that children will identify with the puppets and then interact with them through questions and dialogue.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/330014/303
6. Media, Empowerment, and Democracy in East Africa (MEDIeA) – Kenya, Tanzania
Started in 2009 and scheduled to end in 2013, Media, Empowerment and Democracy in East Africa (MEDIeA) is a collaborative research programme exploring the role that civil-society-driven media and communication technologies can potentially have in enhancing participatory governance processes in East Africa. The programme comprises 6 individual research projects, supplemented by an International Reference Group of leading experts in media, empowerment, and democracy. Dissemination, capacity building, and policy dialogue are additional components.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/319582/348
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Call for Paper Proposals: Media, Development, Girls
UNESCO is seeking to commission a thematic paper or case study about media broadcasting formats, programmes, and concepts in relation to adolescent girls for the XIIth UN Inter-Agency Round Table on Communication for Development (November 14-17 2011). The paper or case study that is selected will provide an assessment of actions by wide-ranging broadcasters to: engage the participation of adolescent girls in the creation of formats, programmes, and concepts; reflect priority issues in light of public interest and; initiate relevant platforms for public debate.
Deadline for submission of proposals: May 25 2011.
For further information about the specifics of how to submit a paper, please contact Venus E. Jennings V.jennings@unesco.org
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STRATEGIC THINKING
http://comminit.com/global/search/apachesolr_search/?filters=tid%3A36%20language%3Aen%20tid%3A23
7. GenARDIS 2002 – 2010: Small Grants that Made Big Changes for Women in Agriculture
by Jennifer Radloff, Helen Hambly Odame, and Sonia Jorge
This document discusses the work of the Gender, Agriculture and Rural Development in the Information Society (GenARDIS) small grants fund, which supports work on gender-related issues in information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the African, Caribbean, and Pacific regions. It records the process and results, and is intended to contribute to more gender-aware ICT policy advocacy, especially to counter barriers to ICT use amongst women living in rural areas.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/330274/307
8. The Active Community Engagement Continuum
by Nancy Russell, Susan Igras, Nalin Johri, Henrietta Kuoh, Melinda Pavin, and Jane Wickstrom
This 2008 working paper presents a conceptual framework for analysing community engagement in reproductive health (RH)/family planning (FP) and the role the community plays in institutionalising lasting behaviour and social change. The Active Community Engagement (ACE) Continuum that is outlined here provides a basis for discussion related to indicators, time frames, and definitions of terms and is a tool that global RH/FP projects can use to build a shared understanding of community engagement when designing, implementing, and documenting programmes.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/282877/2674
9. Science Communicators Rise to Climate Challenge
by Jia Hepeng
This July 2008 SciDev.Net article describes a collaborative effort amongst science communicators from around the world to devise and put forward recommendations for better communicating climate change impacts and mitigation methods. Specifically, the author reports on the Copenhagen Challenge project, which provided a chance for more than 500 science communicators to build bridges and dialogues on topics such as how to communicate climate change to communities without access to modern mass media, dealing with regional differences in climate change, and communicating to spur people to change their behaviour.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/282934/306
10. Achieving the MDGs: The Fundamentals
by Andrew Shepherd
This 2008 Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Briefing Paper makes the case that attending to issues such as social exclusion and gender inequity is crucial to the effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Author Andrew Shepherd argues here that the challenge is to inspire the public and professionals alike to step up efforts – not by focusing solely on the Goals themselves, but, rather, by broadening the perspective through linking the MDGs to leading global development debates.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/282841/36
11. Fear of Polio Drops Overcome
by Gitanjali Chaturvedi
In this December 2008 interview, Gitanjali Chaturvedi, author of The Vital Drop and Communication Consultant for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, speaks about why communication is critical in ensuring the success of public health initiatives like pulse polio. In response to overcoming the rumour that the polio vaccine caused impotency, the multi-agency Social Mobilisation Network was engaged to record and update a list of children under 5 years of age in their area, build local networks among religious leaders and local influencers, and counsel mothers/mothers-in-law.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/282990/292
12. Using Mobile Technology for Learner Support in Open Schooling
by Alice Barlow-Zambodla and Fatima Adams
This October 2008 report summarises the findings of a preliminary research study on the use of mobile technology for learner support in open schooling in developing countries. The authors found that mobile communication can be problematic unless there is a good understanding of how the technology can be used and a range of guidelines and protocols to ensure that communication is effective, timely, safe, respectful, and comfortable for all participants. http://www.comminit.com/en/node/330072/307
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UPDATES FROM C-CHANGE
Kenya – Reproductive Health Communication Strategy Implementation Guide
C-Change provided technical assistance to develop Kenya’s Reproductive Health Communication Strategy Implementation Guide –http://www.comminit.com/redirect.cgi?m=c190920bac1c5242f9b615f7d08bb8fc – in collaboration with Kenya’s Division of Reproductive Health and other stakeholders and partners, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The document supports the rollout of Kenya’s National Reproductive Health (RH) Communication Strategy at district, regional, and national levels and prioritises three areas: family planning; adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health; and maternal, neonatal, and child health. The guide aims to ensure coordinated social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) in RH programming and assist partners to operationalise the strategy. The guide is available on the C-Change website:http://www.comminit.com/redirect.cgi?m=c190920bac1c5242f9b615f7d08bb8fc
Malawi – Guidelines for Family Planning Communication
C-Change – http://www.c-changeproject.org/where-we-work/malawi – provided technical support for development of the Government of Malawi’s Guidelines for Family Planning Communication – http://www.comminit.com/redirect.cgi?m=8b526c4b715dddcbed399ec3ee80d185 – with funding from USAID. The guidelines were developed through a participatory process by the Task Force on Family Planning Communication, led by Malawi’s Health Education Unit. The publication provides the framework for family planning communication programmes in the country and supports the objective of the National Reproductive Health Strategy: «to promote through informed choice, safer reproductive health practices by men, women, and young people, including increased use of high quality, accessible reproductive health services.» The publication is available on the C-Change website: http://www.comminit.com/redirect.cgi?m=8b526c4b715dddcbed399ec3ee80d185
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TRENDS
http://comminit.com/global/search/apachesolr_search/?filters=tid%3A36%20language%3Aen%20tid%3A21
13. German Media Development Cooperation: A Survey
by Christoph Dietz
The German Forum Media and Development (FoME) developed this document from a survey of current German media development cooperation practices. The survey, distributed in September 2010 to 41 organisations, had 21 responses, which included their main activities, guiding principles, and lessons learned (on strategies, monitoring and evaluation, and sustainability, among others). The results of the survey are summarised in 6 categories, among them: «Common understanding of the role of media in democracy» and «A holistic approach to media development».
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/329166/2754
14. Sustaining Innovation in Telehealth and Telecare
by Mike Clark and Nick Goodwin
This June 2010 paper, a Whole System Demonstrator Action Network (WSDAN) briefing paper from the United Kingdom (UK), looks at the need for new care models and technologies – such as telehealth and telecare – to support long-term health care. It considers the range of approaches that have been developed, identifies some of the key challenges to the adoption of technology-based approaches to care, and suggests some strategies to overcome these challenges.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/321981/307
15. Sexualized Teen Girls: Tinseltown’s New Target: A Study of Teen Female Sexualization in Prime-Time TV
This study from the Parents Television Council (PTC) analysed prime-time shows for United States viewers aged 12-17 in the 2009-2010 season and found that, when underage female characters appear on screen, there is: more sexualising content depicted; fewer negative responses to being sexualised; and less accuracy in the content rating, among others. «…[T]elevision often presents teens with new models of bad behavior, frequently within a framework that is void of consequences..»
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/329162/36
16. The World in 2010: ICT Facts and Figures
This October 2010 International Telecommunications Union (ITU) publication summarises trends indicated by data on ICT penetration worldwide. An example of trends illustrated includes: Access to mobile networks is now available to 90% of the world population and 80% of the population living in rural areas. Mobile cellular growth is slowing due in the developed countries to reaching saturation levels – with, on average, 116 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/326806/307
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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.
Chair of the Partners Group: Garth Japhet, Founder, Soul City garth@heartlines.org.za
Executive Director: Warren Feek wfeek@comminit.com
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The Editor of The Drum Beat is Kier Olsen DeVries.
Please send additional project, evaluation, strategic thinking, and materials information on communication for development at any time. Send to drumbeat@comminit.com
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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