![The Drum Beat]() The Drum Beat – 648 – Communication and Change News and Issues |
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| EXPERIENCES |
| 1. Sanitation Hackathon |
| This year-long strategic process worked worldwide in 2012 to help improve access to safe sanitation for 2.5 billion people. In a weekend of internet-based collaboration, more than 1,000 computer programmers and other information technology (IT) specialists in 40 cities around the world developed 181 new application software or apps. Some apps tackled behaviour change challenges to sanitation and hygiene problems by using mobile educational games to begin changing the attitudes and practices among children related to handwashing. In the second phase of the project, an online challenge was organised where teams from all over the world got feedback on their apps from sanitation and technology experts to work towards further development of their prototypes. [World Bank Group in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Random Hacks of Kindness (RHOK), Eirene, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Toilet Hackers, and many other partners at local sites] |
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| 2. Building Bridges: The Health Professionals and Journalists’ Media Resource Project |
| This project uses interpersonal communication and capacity building – e.g., seminars and an online database – to build bridges that help journalists disseminate health research. A public health specialist associated with the initiative stated that, with better collaboration between journalists and health workers, the former group would seek expert knowledge before using video coverage/pictures of medical issues, particularly of fatal accidents. He called on health reporters to take advantage often of capacity building programmes that would equip them to write evidence-based reports so as not to report research findings out of context. [Accra Metropolitan Health Directorate, with Wellcome Trust funding] |
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| 3. PATH Vietnam Painting and Poster Contests to Raise TB Awareness |
| As part of this initiative to educate the public about tuberculosis (TB) and encourage their involvement in reaching the goal of eliminating TB in Vietnam, there was a national children’s painting contest and a national poster designing contest that aimed to help reduce TB stigma via mass media and through workshops, a final ceremony, and painting exhibitions throughout Vietnam. The events also helped raise the public voice to advocate for better understanding of TB and contributed to a database of pictorial materials for future communication campaigns. [Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria project for TB control in Vietnam, Vietnam National TB Program (NTP), PATH, Central Council of Young Pioneers, Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism] |
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| 4. Mbariza Ntore – Burundi |
| The project is working to enhance the capacity of citizens to better understand the conditions in which they are being invited to fulfill their political rights. La Benevolencija has put in place a pool of 16 journalists from Burundi’s radio, print, television, internet, and news agencies to facilitate investigation and production work on a regular basis. Among the priorities of this pool is the production of a common outlet (a weekly radio programme/newspaper dossier) that is designed to be a source of credible information. Organisers explain that having access to information in forms that people can understand, in their own (Kirundi) language, seems to be a basic democratic necessity in the pre-electoral phase. |
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| 5. Centrum Media & Gezondheid (Center for Media & Health – CMH) |
| CMH is a Dutch organisation specialising in the strategic use of «cross media» formats for social change. It has been involved in initiatives such as UP2U «What happens when you say NO?», a digital educational package designed for young people aged 15 to 19 years that includes 3 dramatic lines in which the characters are involved in situations related to the issue of exceeding the limits in sex. The material invites young people to make decisions about what they see in the dramatised presentations and how those decisions can influence the course of the drama’s history. The digital experience demonstrates the consequences of those decisions and is intended to develop skills to show others their personal limits and identify those boundaries they wish to set. |
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| CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Cases in Public Health Communication and Marketing (CPHCM) |
| CPHCM, a peer-reviewed journal of The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, is seeking manuscript submissions for Volume 8, to be published in the Summer/Fall of 2014. The case studies in this journal examine a public health communication or social marketing programme or a broader public health initiative in which communication or marketing methods played an important role. You can view previously published case studies and obtain all other information related to submission at the journal website.
Deadlines:
- To have your manuscript considered for publication, you must complete an Intent to Submit Form prior toOctober 1 by 5:00 PM EST.
- Then, following the instructions for authors available here, submit your manuscript prior to November 1 by 5:00 PM EST.
The contact email address is: gwcases@gmail.com |
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| STRATEGIC THINKING |
6. All Together Now: Oral Testimony, Theatre, Media, Debate: How One Community’s Concerns Reached a National Audience
by Siobhan Warrington |
| This case study demonstrates Panos’ integrated approach to communication for development, which combines first-person testimony, relationship-building, inclusive dialogue, and work with the mainstream media so that the voices of people most affected by development issues contribute to national-level understanding and decision-making. It examines the long battle by the fishing and farming communities on the shores of Pakistan’s Manchar Lake to achieve national recognition and action on the pollution caused by a government-led land drainage project that has steadily been destroying their livelihoods and health. Focusing on voices is recommended – for example, interactive theatre was inclusive, using local people’s words (from earlier oral testimonies), involving members of the community in a workshop at which the play was first devised, and presenting the issues surrounding the pollution of Manchar Lake in an entertaining and accessible way which encouraged participation by the audience. [Mar 2011] |
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7. Civil Society and Government Unite to Respond to Gender-based Violence in Ecuador
by Myra Betron |
| This case study explores the work and strategies of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Centro Ecuatoriano para la Promoción de las Mujeres (CEPAM), which provides care and support to gender-based violence (GBV) survivors while raising awareness about this issue. For example, community-based rights counsellors serve as advocates for GBV survivors by orienting survivors to their rights, referring them to GBV services, and when necessary, accompanying them to services. One recommendation: Do not forget men. CEPAM is training male youth as facilitators on the topic of masculinity. Focus group discussions with youth indicated some positive impact from these efforts, such as changes in violent attitudes and behaviour, particularly gang violence. «Collaboration with other programs that do work with men, or advocating for such programs with the government, would be a logical next step.» [United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s AIDSTAR-One (AIDS Support and Technical Assistance Resources, Sector 1, Task Order 1), Mar 2012] |
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8. Combining Local Radio and Mobile Phones to Promote Climate Stewardship
by Ryan Jones and Bill Siemering |
| The primary aim of Zachilengedwe Tsogolo Lathu, or, as the participants named it («Our Environment, Our Future»), was to empower rural Zambians and Malawians to address key climate change issues, especially local deforestation, by improving their access to information on the subject via radio and mobile phone. A mid-term evaluation found successes in areas such as: sustainability of local radio and mobile phones technologies («Overall, the innovative use of mobile phones and text messaging with FrontlineSMS was considered a success by participating journalists…») and close partnerships between local environmental organisations and the newly empowered radio stations and their staff («One key to the success of this project was the early and ongoing involvement of the participating community itself.») [Centre for Development Informatics (CDI), University of Manchester, United Kingdom (UK), with the support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Jan 2012] |
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9. Culture Is a Bigger Barrier to Bangladeshi Girls Going Online than Lack of Money or Computers
by Lisa Cyr |
| This article examines the use by D.Net, a non-profit organisation that focuses on technology for economic development, from the Association for Progressive Communications (APC)’s Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM). GEM is a guide to integrating a gender analysis into evaluations of initiatives that use information and communication technologies (ICTs) for social change. Noting that increasing girls’ access requires the support of the entire community and by applying the GEM «gender lens» (a gender analytical perspective) during planning, data collection, and analysis, D.Net was able to build opportunities for girls into the project through direct consultation with mothers, female teachers, and the girls themselves. [Apr 2010] |
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10. Media Perceptions and Portrayals of Pastoralists in Kenya, India, and China
by Mike Shanahan |
| This report explores how the media portrays pastoralism, focusing on the content of newspaper articles about pastoralists in Kenya, China, and India, as well as the results of an online and telephonic survey with journalists. In all 3 countries, topics such as climate change, the economic importance of pastoralism, and the links between mobility and resilience were under-reported. The majority of articles about pastoralists fail to include their voices, and stories that focus on women and children were uncommon. The report suggests that improved media coverage of pastoralism is part of the institutional capacity that is needed to ensure resilient food systems can be made real. Improved eco-literacy among journalists and editors can help strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities and national food systems alike and will become more important as climate change takes hold. [International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Apr 2013] |
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| MATERIALS |
11. Community Led Crisis Response Systems: A Handbook Based on the Experience of the Avahan India AIDS Initiativek
by James Baer |
| Community-led crisis response is a method of addressing and preventing the violence, abuse, harassment, and discrimination that frequently affect populations most at risk of acquiring HIV. Trained teams of key populations (KPs) respond rapidly and in person to incidents of violence against other KPs, providing hands-on practical and emotional support to resolve issues and work to ensure that the legal rights of the affected person are respected and his/her health needs are looked after. This handbook, which incorporates insights from the Avahan India AIDS Initiative aims to provide operational guidance to managers of HIV prevention programmes in setting up and managing the initial stages of a community-led crisis response system. [Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, May 2013] |
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| 12. In Harm’s Way: Oxfam America’s Game on Rethinking Natural Disasters |
| This interactive game is designed to help raise awareness of the causes and consequences of disasters, as well as the positive ways that communities can work to lessen the impact. The planning kit provides step-to-step guidance in how to conduct a role-playing game, including a script designed for 2 speakers. During a discussion period at the end, players describe how their groups handled the disaster and explore steps they could take to better prepare better so as to reduce their risk and vulnerability. [Oxfam America] |
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| 13. Not In Our Town: Class Actions |
| This set of resources profiles students and community members in the United States (US) who are working to create positive change in the wake of racism, anti-Semitism, and the traumatic consequences of bullying. Included are school lesson plans, media materials for a local screening of the film, a link for purchase of the video, a site for contributing stories, and discussion guides. [Nov 2011] |
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14. Communication, Culture and Society in Papua New Guinea: Yu Tok Wanem?
by Evangelia Papoutsaki, ed., Michael McManus, ed., and Patrick Matbob, ed. |
| «Early Experience of Mobile Telephony: A Comparison of Two Villages in Papua New Guinea» is one essay in this book exploring issues such as mainstream media, social concerns, development, and the information gap in Papua New Guinea (PNG). In it, young, emerging, and established researchers write about original research aiming to capture the PNG culture and society from a communication perspective. [Divine Word University and Pacific Media Centre, Mar 2012] |
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| 15. Promoting Rights in Schools: Providing Quality Public Education |
| This resource pack from the Promoting Rights in Schools (PRS) initiative offers a set of practical tools that can be used to actively engage parents, children, teachers, unions, communities, and local civil society organisations in collectively monitoring and improving the quality of public education. [ActionAid International and the Right to Education Project, Jan 2011] |
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| 16. LinkTV World News App |
| This free iPad app for international news culls from more than 50,000 news sources around the world – placing mainstream news next to alternative media next to videos on the scene, with documentaries for more context and ability to take action on global issues by, for instance, volunteering or signing petitions. [LinkTV] |
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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.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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