 Communication: Achieving Results for Children – The Drum Beat 684 |
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| For the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) for Children’s Rights is about achieving equity-focused results for children. This means application of Communication for Development (C4D) strategies to contribute to each of the result areas in UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2014-2017: (Health, Nutrition, WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), HIV, Education, Child Protection, Social Inclusion), as well as non-sector-specific results such as self-efficacy, community engagement, and empowerment, both in development and humanitarian contexts. Recognising that C4D can contribute to achievement of results – both through sector-related and cross-cutting and holistic approaches – this collaboration with The CI seeks to capture innovative and results-oriented experiences and feature a mix of strategies and platforms led by UNICEF and by other partners in the following C4D flagship areas: Multi-Media Innovations; Community Engagement; and Strengthening C4D Practice. This issue includes descriptions of some of the stories from the field and support materials that are focused on each of these C4D Flagships. These and other similar stories can now be found on the new UNICEF C4D theme site called Communication: Achieving Results for Children. This is the first Drum Beat that builds on the knowledge of The CI combined with the fieldwork experience of UNICEF and other C4D partners. We celebrate this launch and the committed work of C4D practitioners with a drum roll. |
| MULTIMEDIA INNOVATIONS: |
Address School Drop-out, Inspire Reading, Support Girls |
| COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: |
Local Ownership for Child-Friendly Schools, Right to Learn |
| STRENGTHENING C4D PRACTICE: |
Corruption in Education, Social Media in Crises |
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| UNICEF Flagship: MULTI-MEDIA INNOVATIONS FOR SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOUR CHANGE |
| 1. Chala Skul Ku Jiba (Let Us Go to School) |
This project «is about hyper locality (serving local community in dedicated manner) that needs scalability.» The multimedia behaviour change initiative sought to mobilise school dropouts – especially girls – to go back to school in Puri District, Odisha, India. Radio Namaskar listeners informed the station about dropout students from their mobile phones. The recorded and SMS information were broadcast through Radio Namaskar in special episodes. Live teleconferences were conducted with listeners, local schoolteachers/headmasters, school authorities, local Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) representatives, and school management committee members/leaders. When the dropout student/s returned to school, SMS messages giving thanks were dispatched to all the mobile numbers in the database of Radio Namaskar.
- For more summaries on The CI website of programmes using several forms of media to support children’s behaviour and social change,click here.
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| 2. Young Reporters’ Network Tanzania |
| Each collaborating non-governmental organisation (NGO) identifies and works with 15 young people to ensure they have a safe and supportive place to meet, are safe and protected while reporting in the field, and have access to key decision-makers for their radio stories. The young reporters produce 30- to 60-minute programmes in different formats, including audio diaries and commentaries, interviews, and talk shows. The programmes enable the young reporters to share true stories about: their lives, living with HIV, living on the streets, neglect, and child rights. The project also runs a Facebook page. [UNICEF, Zanzibar Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS (ZAPHA+), Mkombozi, Save the Children and Plan International, Zenji FM, Radio Sauti ya Injili, Radio Tumaini, Pambazuko Radio, and TBC Taifa]. |
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| 3. Vamos Ler! Children’s Radio Programmes |
| This 15-part children’s radio programme was designed to encourage children in Mozambique to read. Each episode was based on a theme linked to the stories in the children’s books, which had been created by Mozambican writers and artists. Although designed primarily for grades 2 and 3 learners, the radio programmes also sought to encourage teachers to adopt creative classroom methods and to build parents’ awareness of the importance of encouraging their children to read. [CMFD (Community Media for Development) Productions for World Education] |
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| 4. Bingwa Magazine |
| This print magazine for 9- to 14-year-old children in 8 African countries communicates an anti-corruption message in «an easy, conversational and appealing format.» Children are invited to submit their writing, poetry, photographs, and artwork for inclusion; in some schools, children have started their own Bingwa clubs. Bingwa Online is a web platform where Bingwa readers can spend more time learning by playing games, watching videos, reading stories, viewing photographs, downloading artwork, and reading issues of the magazine. [Africa Child, Save the Children International] |
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| 5. Black Gold (Ouro Negro) Radio Drama |
| This serial radio drama in Mozambique is designed to raise awareness about issues such as girls’ primary education, breastfeeding and nutrition, HIV/AIDS prevention, hygiene and sanitation, family planning, safe motherhood, child development and early learning, immunisation, diarrhoea, malaria, coughs/colds prevention, injury prevention, disasters and emergencies, child protection from violence, and reduction of stigma for children with disabilities. The drama, which is being broadcast nationally in 2015, uses an entertainment-education approach to promote and disseminate the Facts for Life information developed by UNICEF to prevent child and maternal deaths, diseases, injuries, and violence. [PCI Media Impact and Radio Mozambique] |
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6. Making Waves: Media’s Potential for Girls in the Global South
by Caroline Sugg |
| Part three of a policy briefing summarised in this blog «reviews an emerging body of practice and evidence about the powerful role that media can play in supporting girls and influencing their actions by providing information, impacting attitudes, and shaping social norms, e.g., radio on girls’ right to education and choosing to marry later in life. It can inform parent decisions as well. «The Overseas Development Institute (ODI)’s recent review of the impact evaluations of 61 communication programmes, including mass media programmes, found ‘strong evidence…that communication programmes are an effective way to challenge gender-discriminatory attitudes’ that affect adolescent girls.» This evidence review found that characters and «role models» in radio and TV dramas can influence real-life behaviour. [BBC Media Action, Nov 2014] |
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| 7. An Entertainment-Education Initiative on Television: A Glimpse into the Production Process |
| This production book details UNICEF India’s journey in creating a prime time televised daily soap opera in India from 2008-2011 that explored critical health issues affecting women and children. It traces the entire process – from conception, ideation, story development, production, post-production, and, finally, a monitoring and evaluation framework. «Research showed it had definite impact in increasing knowledge, awareness and self-efficacy; bringing about positive attitudes, behaviours and challenging social norms.» The aim of the book is to explain how this came about. [2014] |
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| UNICEF Flagship: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR DIALOGUE & ACTION |
8. Turkmenistan Child-Friendly School Initiative: Evaluation Report
by Karen Munce |
«[S]ustainability depends on local ownership of, valuing and eventually institutionalizing, the CFS concept. UNICEF processes have been effective in this regard.» This report evaluates a partnership between UNICEF and the Turkmenistan Ministry of Education that has focused, since 2006, on the introduction of the child-friendly school (CFS) concept, which has the following qualities: proactively inclusive and child-centred; academically effective for every child; gender-sensitive; healthy, safe, and protective; grounded in close partnership with parents and the community; and supported by strong leadership and management practices. This report describes the collaborative process. [Mar 2014]
- For more Evaluation summaries on The CI website related to children participating in community engagement for change, click here.
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9. The Right to Learn: Community Participation in Improving Learning
by Kate Kenny, Philippa Lei, Will Paxton, Meredy Talbot-Zorn, and Adrienne Henck |
Drawing on case studies from national civil society organisations across 7 countries and original research from «Young Lives» in Andhra Pradesh, India, this report «demonstrates how communities, and in particular parents, have the potential to drive change and improve learning outcomes for their children». Contributions from 5 civil society organisations highlight «effective approaches to empower parents and communities to demand change in the face of poor quality schooling and poor learning outcomes.» Chapter 8 draws on these examples to identify lessons for enhancing accountability of governments and schools to parents, such as ways to foster the engagement and participation of ordinary citizens, including the most marginalised, and strategies for empowering communities to create their own solutions to local issues and acknowledge their roles in improving learning. [Save the Children, Dec 2013]
- For more Strategic Thinking summaries on The CI website related to children participating in community engagement for change, click here.
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| 10. UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Accelerating Change |
| Through chapters that focus on strategies of collaborating with national actors and fostering local-level commitment (including by working in partnership with religious and traditional leaders), this report discusses achievements made by the Joint Programme on Genital Mutilation/Cutting, which is being implemented in 15 African countries by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF in an effort to change how families and communities view the practice while supporting national and community efforts to end FGM/C. These achievements include public declarations of FGM/C abandonment voiced by 12,753 communities, expanded political will by governments to openly condemn the practice, enhanced capacity of government authorities to respond to FGM/C, and endorsement and commitment by the global community. [2014] |
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| 11. Trial of Zinc for Childhood Diarrhoea in Guatemala |
| To demonstrate the effectiveness of zinc treatment in reducing child mortality, the Micronutrient Initiative (MI) piloted a programme in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, to add zinc as a mineral supplement recommended for children with diarrhoea. MI, through UNICEF, had already established a programme to provide the capsules Chispitas Nutricionales for Guatemala’s routine vitamin A supplementation through community health services. The pilot built on the knowledge of health educators and clinic staff to use clinics as the locus of health information and provision of the zinc supplements. MI reported high rates of adherence and expansion of the project to 19 districts through developing project champions among district health officers using intensive early training. Demand among local parents was demonstrated when stockouts occurred. |
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12. The State of the World’s Girls 2014: Pathways to Power: Creating Sustainable Change for Adolescent Girls
by Nikki van der Gaag, Sharon Goulds, and Sarah Hendriks |
| This annual report series, published by Plan International, assesses the current state of the world’s girls and, through research, interviews, and the voices of girls themselves, the report investigates the notion of power, particularly structural barriers that block young women’s paths to power. For example, chapter 4 examines links between education and employment, how more education may not match up with employment, and what is being done through «skills training, activism and mentoring, to bring about change, so that ‘economic empowerment for girls’ becomes more than just words on paper.» [Jun 2014] |
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| 13. Hungry to Learn: The Rise of Home Grown School Feeding |
| From a blog by Sunit Bagree: «…[G]overnment-led interventions, known as Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF), may be described as a ‘win-win’ for children and smallholder farmers alike….HGSF works best when smallholder farmers, particularly women, are empowered through the provision of training, credit on reasonable terms and appropriate technology, and also when there is political commitment to protect farmers’ land rights. Complementary investments in physical infrastructure, education, health, and water, sanitation and hygiene are also necessary to maximise the impact of HGSF…» [Sep 2014] |
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| UNICEF Flagship: STRENGTHENING C4D PRACTICE |
| 14. Pona Bana – We Are Together Online Project |
| This online platform collects inputs from UNICEF field workers and guest bloggers who are working with and for children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on issues such as rights, protection, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, and education. The blog posts share their field experience with readers, intended as a way to share information about what is working and what isn’t, as well as to communicate the reality of what’s happening on the ground. |
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| 15. EU-UNICEF Child Rights Toolkit: Integrating Child Rights in Development Cooperation |
| «By providing practical guidance on how to take a rights-based, child-focused approach, this toolkit aims to ensure that children’s rights as well as initiatives to promote the well-being of all children can be effectively integrated and applied across programmes of bilateral and multilateral development assistance.» This toolkit, produced through a strategic collaboration between the UNICEF and the European Commission (the executive body of the European Union, or EU), consists of 8 modules, such as one module focused on child participation. [2014] |
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| 16. Child Rights Education Toolkit: Rooting Child Rights in Early Childhood Education, Primary and Secondary Schools |
This toolkit uses the metaphor of a tree to explore child rights education in the context of school-based initiatives that promote: learning about rights; learning through rights (using rights as an organising principle to transform the culture of learning); and learning for rights (taking action to realise rights). It contains a range of practical tools, checklists, mapping exercises, project examples, and evidence of the benefits of high-quality child rights education. [UNICEF, 2014]
- For more Materials summaries on The CI website designed to support C4D practitioners in their work with children, click here.
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| 17. Addressing Corruption in Education: A Toolkit for Youth from Youth |
| Created particularly for youth-led and youth-oriented non-governmental organisations (NGOs), this toolkit provides information and resources for the design and implementation of activities to promote transparency in education. One module outlines concrete strategies for promoting transparency (such as educating and engaging youth, faculty, and staff to promote transparent and accountable education systems) and developing local and international partnerships to address corruption. [International Development Division (IDD) at the Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) in the framework of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Europe & Eurasia Social Legacy Program (E&E SLP), 2012] |
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| 18. UNICEF Cholera Toolkit |
| This toolkit was developed based on a review of existing guidance and in global consultation with specialists in cholera-related fields. According to UNICEF, it «puts proven guidance, tools and best practices relating to cholera together in one place accessible to everyone.» One chapter identifies methodologies for behaviour change communication and motivational messaging and functions as a precursor to a chapter emphasising community-based strategies, including roles and responsibilities of each actor in the community. [2013] |
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| 19. Social Media in Emergencies: UNICEF Guidelines for Communication and Public Advocacy |
| As outlined here, the main goals for using social media in emergencies include: increasing awareness for the situation of the disaster-affected population, particularly children and women; advancing awareness of and support for children’s rights and immediate needs; generating positive media coverage (e.g., about what UNICEF and UNICEF partners are doing in response to the needs of the affected population); and mobilising people for relevant actions. [May 2012] |
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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, Citurna TV, DFID, FAO, FundaciÛn Imaginario, FundaciÛn 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 todrumbeat@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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Blog de Octavio Islas 