![The Drum Beat]() The Drum Beat – 644 – Communication and Change News and Issues |
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| EXPERIENCES |
| 1. Right to Be Heard |
| This project aimed to strengthen the participation of economically poor men and women from the Raglai ethnic minority in local government programmes and also to build skills among local government officials in Bac Ai district, Vietnam. Amongst the activities: small-group discussions using pictures and practical examples; theatre related to issues in the village, written and performed by villagers; recorded tapes in the Raglai language; live broadcasting in Raglai and Vietnamese through loudspeakers; production and distribution of posters and leaflets; and various training programmes, such as sessions on participatory planning and other issues for members of community-based organisations (CBOs) and local commune authorities. [Oxfam] |
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| 2. Mobile Learning: Literacy for Rural Women in Pakistan |
| As part of this distance post-literacy project, women aged 15-25 in Pakistan are able to reinforce their newly gained literacy by accessing and sending mobile phone text messages. Participants receive daily text messages in Urdu on topics meant to be interest, such as health and religious values; they are expected to respond to them. A monthly evaluation is carried out to assess the knowledge and literacy levels gained by participants. Interactive exercises and additional resources are also provided. [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)] |
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| 3. Trash for Peace: Engaging Children, Youth and Community for a World without Waste |
| As part of this community project that involved children and youth from start to finish, Laura Kutner addressed the problem of insufficient waste management, including trash burned outside of homes or thrown on the ground, by recycling plastic bottles as school building material in Granados, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. Kutner built agreement and participation by showing the school principal pictures of similar building projects, then co-presenting the project with the principal to teachers and parents. In order to make the ensuing «trash» lessons fun, they would sometimes have «stuffing parties,» including: singing songs; telling jokes; and putting on a trash fashion show. |
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| 4. Collaborative Change Communication (CCComDev) |
| This online platform strives to provide a hub for learning and knowledge sharing among practitioners who are testing new approaches in the field, searching for practical knowledge, or seeking new ways to collaborate in the rural sector. Various resources are available for download, such as «Communication for Rural Development Sourcebook», a field-oriented, step-by-step guide on how to design and implement locally relevant and sustainable communication strategies to tackle development issues in the agricultural and rural sector. |
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| 5. Tuitange Mothers’ Support and Drama Group |
| This Tanzanian programme is designed to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV by providing services to pregnant women, children, and their families. The mothers’ support group is attached to the local health clinic in Kitulo Ward, Makete District, Tanzania. They support the clinic services through home visits and the drama group Tuitange, which travels to different communities to educate people about prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV and the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months. [United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)] |
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| CUTTING-EDGE TECH & AGRICULTURE: COMPETITION for JOURNALISTS |
The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is encouraging journalists working for print and online media in African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries to participate in a competition designed to showcase success stories, highlight best practices, and shed light on challenges and opportunities for facilitating the contribution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to agriculture.Eligible journalists are invited to submit unpublished articles in English or French in one of these 3 areas:
- Enabling environments for the agricultural sector to maximise the benefits from ICTs;
- Gender mainstreaming through ICTs for efficient/effective agricultural activities; or
- Use of ICTs to boost access to markets and facilitate agribusiness.
Winners will be funded to participate in the ICT4ag conference in Kigali, Rwanda, in November 2013 and will receive other prizes, such as widespread dissemination of their winning articles.
The deadline for submissions is August 15 2013. Click here for more information, accessible in English and French. |
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| STRATEGIC THINKING |
| 6. Engaging Social Networks in Family Planning Programming: Lessons from Research Interventions |
| Ethnographic research and situational analysis, conducted as part of the Terikunda Jekulu project, indicates that any attempt at addressing unmet need for family planning (FP) in Mali is likely to encounter significant resistance, due in part to religious opposition to contraception and the premium placed on high fertility. This report examines FP literature and interventions to understand how social network ideas are used to overcome barriers to FP use. Recommendations focus on strategies for engaging formal opinion leaders, designing peer education, tailoring communication to specific groups (e.g., traditional birth attendants), finding potential links between individuals and networks, and creating linkages through social mobilisation. [Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA)] |
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| 7. Why «Real Men» Don’t Use Telecentres in the Philippines |
| How can telecentres be a leveller for women’s and men’s access to the internet, given that Filipino men primarily choose commercially run internet cafes over the more socially focused telecentres where games and pornography are not allowed? This question is explored during an interview with Angelo Juan Ramos of PhilCeCNet, who also discusses the use of a tool he used for his research: the Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM), which is a guide to integrating a gender analysis into evaluations of initiatives that use information and communication technologies (ICTs) for social change. [Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Apr 2010] |
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| 8. Vidura: A Journal of the Press Institute of India – October-December 2012 Edition |
| This resource on press freedom and the use of communication and media to articulate and defend human rights includes a number of strategic reflections on communication related to social change from (mostly) Indian journalists and thinkers. For example, educator Kanchan Malik argues that, as a community-driven, volunteer-run, not-for-profit set-up, the community radio sector in India must position itself differently in its process, approach, style, and substance in comparison to state-owned and commercial broadcasters. |
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| 9. Treating Polio in Afghanistan |
| This news story captures the way that children are being immunised as they cross the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. There, polio volunteers administer drops and mark immunised children’s fingers. Amongst others, the video features a man who contracted polio when he was a toddler; he ensured that his own children were immunised. [UNICEF, Apr 2013] |
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10. Researcher Attitudes and Behaviour Towards the ‘Openness’ of Research Outputs in Agriculture and Related Fields
by Philip Edge, Franz Martin, Stephen Rudgard, and Nadia Manning Thomas |
| «Agricultural researchers in developing countries are keen to communicate their research to non-experts, but often feel hampered by institutional barriers and a lack of support…» This paper shares the details of an online worldwide survey of researchers in agriculture and related fields. One finding: Traditional channels – including journals, books, and conferences – were still the most widely used platforms for disseminating research findings. Yet researchers expressed a desire for training in the use of digital communication platforms and social media. [CGIAR, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) on behalf of CIARD, Aug 2012] |
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| Become Your Own Real-time News Publisher |
| Contract The CI – we work with the leading international provider of this service – to use sophisticated technology which gathers, analyses, and organises the world’s media, giving you complete editorial control over the news sources and presentation of this content on your site. Lower your costs for content creation while increasing your user discovery and engagement with relevant news, photos, and twitter and video feeds.See some examples in the CI frame for Malaria and the World Bank. Contact wfeek@comminit.com for more details. |
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| MATERIALS |
11. The Global Investigative Journalism Casebook
by Mark Lee Hunter (ed.) |
| This casebook contains investigative stories from around the world, covering topics such as freedom of information, good governance, social and legal issues, the environment, health, and gender. Each article is accompanied by an explanation of how the authors conducted their research and wrote their pieces. [UNESCO, July 2012] |
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12. Finding Mental Health after Conflict
by Maeve Moynihan, MA, MCommH, Dr. N.Wassenaar, and Dr. J.Anderson |
| This manual is written to guide people who work with those from conflict and post-conflict situations of repression and displacement through the thinking, the planning, and the start of working through mental stress and other problems. [July 2010] |
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13. Civil Society Guide to Working with UNICEF
by Katherine Wepplo |
| This guide was created to strengthen partnerships and build new forms of collaboration for realising the rights of children. It is intended for civil society organisations (CSOs) that have an interest in working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). [Jan 2012] |
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| 14. Ending HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination – Methodological Workbook for Raising Awareness and Training |
| This Spanish language document offers a methodology for sensitisation and capacity building on stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS. It also promotes knowledge about HIV/AIDS and human rights associated with sexual and reproductive health through trainings of young people and teachers. [UNESCO, Jul 2011] |
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15. Community Radio: Organization Development Guidebook
by Raghu Mainali, Yadab Chapagain, and Bikram Subba |
| This publication, out of Nepal, is designed to guide a radio station in areas such as vision and mission development, human resource management policy, documentation, knowledge management, and editorial policy. [Community Radio Support Center (CRSC), Dec 2009] |
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| This issue of The Drum Beat was written by Kier Olsen DeVries. |
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| The Drum Beat is the email and web network of The Communication Initiative Partnership – Partners: ANDI, BBC Media Action, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Breakthrough, Calandria, DFID, FAO, Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs, MISA, Oxfam Novib, PAHO, The Panos Institute, Puntos de Encuentro, The Rockefeller Foundation, SAfAIDS, Sesame Workshop, Soul City, STEPS International, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, USAID, The Wellcome Trust, World Health Organization (WHO), W.K. Kellogg Foundation.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.
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.comThe 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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