12,633 The Drum Beat 698, Communication and Change News and Issues

• STRATEGIC THINKING: Entertainment for Vaccination, Media Landscape Assessment, Active Citizenship
• CALL FOR PAPERS: EBOLA COMMUNICATION IN WEST AFRICA
• EXPERIENCES: NGO Research Skills, Forest Guardians, Transformative Schools
• MATERIALS: Tech Journal, Right to Her Story, Family Planning Achievements
• WANT TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT YOUR OWN PUBLICATIONS?

• 1. Mobilizing Youths (16-29 Years) through Entertainment-Education for Uptake of MenAfric Vaccination in Niger State, Nigeria
  by Chima E. Onuekwe
  The author of this study applied the entertainment-education (EE) approach in Nigeria to mobilise youths aged 16-29 for MenAfric (meningitis) vaccination. He examines the effect of the intensified mobilisation through EE, monitored through the daily call-in data from 4 cities where EE strategies were implemented. For example, in Bida Local Government Area (LGA), the exercise was made up of components such as: a float of 20 motorcyclists to draw attention, a mobile public announcement tricycle that sought to inform and educate, a traditional dancing troupe to entertain, and a vaccination team. The study also discusses human behaviour change principles and risk perception in order to understand why the uptake of the vaccination exercise for this age group was suboptimal in all the phases of the campaign, including the EE phase. [Mar 2015]
• 2. How to Assess Your Media Landscape: A Toolkit Approach
  by Fackson Banda, Guy Berger, A.S. Panneerselvan, Lakshmi Nair, Mark Whitehouse, and Bettina Peters (ed.)
  This Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) report surveys some of the instruments available for assessing media landscapes. It offers guidance on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and shares successful M&E approaches used by others in an attempt to help advance the field of media development. The report is the first step in the GFMD’s initiative to create manageable and practical tools for assessing media landscapes that: allow for comparison of media landscapes in a given country over time (rather than between countries), follow a common, simple methodology, build on local expertise and focus on locally available, reliable data. [Oct 2014]
• 3. Promoting Active Citizenship
  «This paper pulls together insights and lessons from 10 case studies of Oxfam’s work in promoting active citizenship. The case studies, written over the course of 2013/14, employ a ‘theory of change approach’ to explore how change happens in different contexts.» It analyses case studies from a range of programmes, both in terms of geography and sector («humanitarian, long-term development, advocacy and campaigns»). Sample insight: «The right partners are indispensable…usually local NGOs [non-governmental organisations] or civil society organizations, but sometimes also individuals, consultants or academics. Good partners bring an understanding of local context and culture (especially important when working with excluded minorities…); they often have well-developed networks with those in positions of local power – crucial for brokering negotiations with citizens’ groups. And they will remain working in the area long after the programme has moved on…» [Jan 2015]
• 4. Helpdesk Research Report: Changing Attitudes and Behaviours in Relation to Gender Equality
  by Huma Haider
  Written in response to a request to provide a «review of the literature on awareness/behaviour change strategies aimed at achieving greater gender equality, highlighting evidence of impact,» this document gives an overview and information on: the role of religion, religious leaders, and institutions; media, social campaigns and community-level processes; and initiatives focusing on men and boys, as well as a list of additional resources. Sample finding: Use characters in theatre, television shows, radio dramas, or print materials to exemplify change and positive behaviour, including in couple relationships. Positive messages can appeal to men’s sense of justice or desire to provide care for their partner and/or children. Formative research can help with message development. Social, cultural, and religious leaders can be influencers and can be empowered through training. [Jun 2012]
• 5. The Role of Media in Child Protection: Challenges and Opportunities in Uganda
  This report discusses findings of a study exploring child protection in the media in Uganda. The study examined the policy and legal environment, media coverage, and the relationship between civil society organisations, government, and media as it relates to child protection. Together with similar studies conducted in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, the research is intended to provide baseline data for the «Strengthening Media Agency for Child Protection» project being implemented by Panos Eastern Africa. Overall, the study suggests that while there are some positive trends in coverage and media awareness of children’s issues, significant work is required to build the capacity of both print and broadcast media to advocate for child protection. [Sep 2013]

• Call for Papers: Special Issue on Evidence and Impact of Community Engagement and Communication Strategies for Stopping Ebola in West AfricaWhat does an emerging health issue like Ebola reveal about the links between different domains of communication theory and practice? What can we learn from the communication response to Ebola that will move the field of health and development communication forward? In the context of the ongoing Ebola outbreaks in West Africa, these are some of the questions motivating the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives to seek original contributions on research and assessments addressing behaviour change communication (BCC), community engagement, and social mobilisation for Ebola prevention and control.

  The Journal welcomes original empirical (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods) research, assessments, evaluations, comparative case studies based on existing literature or available data as well as theoretical or methodological contributions from all fields of communication, media, community participation and engagement, and health promotion. This special issue is particularly geared toward documentation of research, monitoring, and impact assessment studies that: increase the evidence base of using a range of communication strategies in public health emergencies such as Ebola; have the potential to generate future applied interventions and related studies to advance the field; and provide insights into the development of inclusive communication strategies in emergency and humanitarian response.

  This issue will be co-edited by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHUCCP).

  Submit manuscripts by November 15 2015 through the online submission and review system [Select Special Issue-Ebola as the Manuscript Type.]

• 6. Building Research Skills and Capacity among Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) Working at the Grassroots Level in Tamil Nadu, India
  «…[I]f NGOs are to be part of the research and policy process, there is a need to substantiate their positions with solid research in order to be taken seriously. Less ideology, more evidence is required and a need has arisen to harness academic research methods…» Inspired by this conviction, this project aimed to improve the research skills of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Theni district, India, to enable them to evolve as key players in health research and policy. Over a 2-year period, health researchers from Maharashtra Association of Anthropological Sciences-Centre for Health Research and Development (MAAS-CHRD) worked with Development Action Consortium Trust (DACT) and a network of NGOs in Tamil Nadu, implementing health and development programmes to build skills in health research. Ultimately, a network of trained researchers in the field was established to formulate a ready resource base for the engagement of NGOs in health research.
• 7. Transparency for Peace and Development – Transparencia para la Paz y el Desarrollo
  To generate opportunities for public participation among youth and to foster greater government accountability, Ocasa Corporation trained young leaders in local municipalities of Madrid, Bogota River, and Sopo – municipalities of Cundinamarca outside Bogotá, Colombia on citizen participation, the role of youth in public affairs, and civil society oversight of government. It was designed to help participants develop and implement projects bolstering public accountability at the local level and organised a series of visits to local, regional, and national government institutions. The groups working on Bogota River and culture in Madrid participated in a national forum and shared with other civil society groups from different municipalities around the country. To reach the public that has an interest in issues of citizen participation, care of public interests, and democratic dialogue, the description of this experience was published in magazine format.
• 8. ASRI Forest Guardian Programme
  This programme involves exchanging healthcare for work by villages to prevent logging in order to protect the biodiversity of the Gunung Palung National Park on the island of Borneo. The guardians monitor logging in their communities. They also conduct community outreach, bringing loggers around to seeking alternative livelihoods. The programme involves an incentive system managed by Klinik ASRI (Alam Sehat Lestari), an Indonesian non-profit health provider that combines healthcare, conservation, environmental education, and medical training in Sukadana, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
• 9. #authenticate Campaign
  #authenticate is an advocacy initiative that uses social media in an effort to bring cell line authentication to the forefront of the reproducibility dialogue and to create an online platform through which members of the life sciences community can collectively advance best practices and an overall cultural shift in how biomedical research is conducted. It rallies stakeholders and key influencers to commit to actions such as requiring documentation of cell authentication for journal submissions and publications and educating and training graduate students and postdoctoral fellows on the importance of cell authentication in research. It was launched in April 2015 by the Global Biological Standards Institute (GBSI), which hopes to mitigate use of misidentified and contaminated cell lines in research that can lead to failed clinical trials, delays, and increased costs around the development of therapeutic drugs and life-saving cures.
• 10. Schools Transforming Territories
  The Secretaría de Educación Distrital (District Secretariat of Education -SED), Bogotá, in partnership with the Ministry of Education of Colombia and the Inter-American Development Bank, implemented this project according to the following process: solicit proposals from schools, evaluate them, make them known in the public sphere, and replicate them. To open this process, in 2014, the SED held an open call from which 40 school proposals were selected. A training series in methodology and documentation was held for those working in selected schools. As a result of the training, participants documented the student perception and experience by producing an audiovisual piece that tells the story of student experiences from the perspective of communication for social change.

• 11. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies (OJCMT)
  This quarterly international open-access, peer-reviewed journal focuses on the field of communication and its related fields. OJCMT is interested in research not only on theory and practice of communication and media studies but also new trends and developments, communication in education, visual communication and design, and integrated marketing communication and advertising.
• 12. The Right to Her Story
  The Right to Her Story DVD, from StoryCenter’s Silence Speaks initiative, presents «women’s human rights stories created in Silence Speaks storytelling and participatory media workshops held around the world. The stories explore women’s experiences of conflict and displacement, gender-based violence, discrimination, challenges in accessing reproductive health services, and other topics. The storytellers come from Belize, Laos, Lebanon, Mexico, Nepal, India, South Africa, and Uganda.» [Jul 2014]
• 13. The Guide to Tailoring Immunization Programmes (TIP): Increasing Coverage of Infant and Child Vaccination in the WHO European Region
  In designing this guide for national immunisation programmes (NIPs), the WHO Regional Office for Europe considered service delivery issues and also looked at socio-cultural, environmental, and household influences/factors on why children may be missing vaccinations. The TIP approach draws on health programme planning models, including social marketing and social and behaviour change communication (SBCC). [Jan 2013]
• 14. How to Start a Youth Radio Project in Your Community: Facilitators’ Handbook
  by Yumna Martin and Lee Middleton
  The exercises in this handbook seek to train young people as radio reporters and citizen storytellers. The curriculum is also meant to build confidence, develop communication skills, and encourage critical thinking and global awareness among young people. Published by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and Children’s Radio Foundation (CRF), it provides facilitators with practical information and suggestions to foster media projects designed to allow «young people to participate, learn, share, and engage in dialogue with their peers» and seek to meet the needs of individual communities, taking into consideration infrastructural constraints, pertinent social issues, and cultural sensitivities. [2011]
• 15. Family Planning in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Achievements of 50 Years
  by Jane T. Bertrand, Victoria M. Ward, and Roberto Santiso-Gálvez
  This report – and its accompanying case studies on Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Paraguay – constitute a resource examining «the 50-year period starting in the mid-1960s that witnessed a dramatic decline in fertility and steady increase in contraceptive use in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.» The report describes: the rationale for the research; the methodology; demographic changes, with a special look at adolescents; the history, including International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF)’s role; service models; the political climate and financial and technical supports; 10 influencing factors; and remaining challenges. [Apr 2015]

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Full list of the CI Partners:
ANDI, BBC Media Action, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Breakthrough, Citurna TV, Fundación Imaginario, Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI),Heartlines, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs, Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP), MISA, Open Society Foundations, Oxfam Novib, PAHO, The Panos Institute, Puntos de Encuentro, SAfAIDS, Sesame Workshop, Soul City, STEPS International, UNAIDS,UNICEF, Universidad de los Andes, USAID, 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