13,276 Communication and Change News and Issues, The Drum Beat, 739, July 26 2017

• 1. Communication for Land Governance in Guatemala
  Through this communication for development (ComDev) initiative, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Guatemala is using participatory communication methods and audiovisual materials (available online) to enable the informed and active participation of farming and indigenous communities in decision-making about governance of their communal lands. The materials are used to facilitate discussion and action planning in local communities, especially around the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure.
• 2. Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter Awareness (PASSA) Youth
  Working with Habitat for Humanity International, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies created the PASSA Youth methodology to provide 13- to 17-year-old youth living in disadvantaged and vulnerable communities with tools to understand the risks to their houses and neighbourhoods, taking steps to make these safer and enabling them to improve overall living conditions both prior and after disasters and crises. It is a participatory approach that can be applied worldwide to allow collective decision-making and to develop local youth capacity to design and create safer communities.
• 3. Jungala Radio
  This digital community-led radio station was launched in an informal refugee camp in Calais, France, which the media refers to as «The Jungle». Organisers provided training for refugees in digital community broadcasting; the digital content is streamed using social media tools and the Jungala Radio website. Through Jungala, camp residents can become the narrators of their own political realities and offer an alternative representation to that which is being depicted in mainstream media (charity, sympathy, and criminality narratives).
• 4. UK Diaspora Engagement with Polio Eradication in Pakistan
  This is a Muslim- and diaspora-led initiative to build effective channels of support between the Pakistani diaspora in the United Kingdom (UK), their civil sector counterparts in Pakistan, and the leadership of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Implemented by Global One, the 2-year (2016-2017) project has 3 main areas of focus: (i) support UK Muslim faith leaders to depoliticise the issue and clarify the Muslim legal position on polio eradication; (ii) mobilise Pakistani diaspora women as ambassadors in the eradication initiative; and (iii) form a coalition of diaspora stakeholders to help contribute to polio eradication in Pakistan.
• 5. Research Programme on Mass Media and Entertainment-Education
  Based in the World Bank’s Development Impact Evaluation Unit (DIME), this programme is designed to scale up experimental research of entertainment-education and more generally mass media behaviour change campaigns. DIME is implementing a series of impact evaluations across the globe – with a focus on specific countries with large entertainment hubs: Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, and India – with the goal to expand the causal evidence base (beyond what is qualitative or correlational) to encourage governments and development partners to scale up such interventions and mainstream them into development practice.

As part of this process, a series of systematic reviews of research evidence has been commissioned on specific digital health topics (e.g., targeted client communication such as health promotion messaging accessible via mobile devices). The WHO is requesting from the global community any and all relevant primary studies on digital health interventions – their effectiveness, equity, acceptability, feasibility, or resource use/cost-effectiveness – that should be considered for inclusion in the systematic reviews.

Please submit any papers (published or unpublished) to nhenschke@cochrane.org by September 15 2017 to be considered for inclusion. Click here for the full call for papers.

• 6. Key Findings Report: Innovation for Data-Driven Agriculture Workshop
  This report details the key findings from the Innovation for Data-Driven Agriculture Workshop, hosted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), April 27-28 2017, at the Sustainability Innovation Lab at the University of Colorado (SILC). The workshop was the second in a series focused on building a community of practice in data-driven agricultural development. Three primary themes emerged: (i) the opportunities and challenges surrounding data collection, analysis, open sharing, and appropriate distribution, (ii) the need to better understand and incorporate smallholder farmer concerns, and (iii) the definition and engagement of an «innovation ecosystem» of cross-sector actors. The report is organised according to these themes. [Jun 2017]
• 7. Jumping Hurdles: Access to HIV Health Services for Young Men Who Have Sex with Men and Young Transgender Persons in Asia and the Pacific
  This discussion paper with accompanying video lays out some of the key ingredients for a comprehensive youth-friendly healthcare package tailored to the context of countries in Asia and the Pacific region. Information in this paper was directly provided by 26 young men who have sex with men (MSM) and young transgender women who participated in the Youth Voices Count (YVC) Third Regional Consultation. Whilst acknowledging the availability of HIV testing infrastructure in their countries, they recognised that by and large this infrastructure is not poised to create a welcoming environment specifically for young MSM and young transgender persons. [Apr 2015]
• 8. Essential Principles for Contemporary Media and Communications Policymaking
  by Robert G. Picard and Victor Pickard
  This report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism proposes principles to guide contemporary media and communications policymaking in democratic countries seeking to improve the contributions those operations and systems make to society. The purpose is to help policymakers and policy advocates think initially at a more principled level and then link policy objectives and tools to these normative foundations, rather than merely seeking immediate problem solutions. [Apr 2017]
• 9. Violence Online in India: Cybercrimes Against Women and Minorities on Social Media
  by Japleen Pasricha
  This research report on online violence against women and marginalised individuals emerges from a collaboration between the digital platform Feminism in India and the watchdog organisation Freedom House as part of the latter’s Hyperlinkers project, which seeks to amplify the voices of marginalised communities in global digital rights discussions. «In addition to expanding options for women to complain about abuse, education is needed for law enforcement agencies, and even for the victims and their communities, about the importance of prosecuting individuals who use social media as a tool to perpetuate violence against women and minorities.» [May 2016]
• 10. Implementing Systems-Level Change for Health Equity: A Partnership Summit
  by Renata Schiavo, Divya Padgaonkar, Lenore Cooney, and Carmelo Cruz Reyes
  This report summarises the proceedings and recommendations of the inaugural Health Equity Initiative (HEI) Summit, which provided a forum to explore systemic issues and exchange ideas on action areas for building a culture of health and creating opportunities for better health among underserved and vulnerable populations. This includes communication about and advocating for health equity – topics that were explored in detail at the Summit’s plenary sessions, roundtable discussions, and interactive consensus workshops. The report points to several directions for future interventions and capacity building efforts. [May 2016]

If you wish to position your services and skills relative to the 75,000 people in The CI network, please consider an entry in the Consultants section of the Development Classifieds website and e-magazine. You can directly submit online or contact vmartin@comminit.com for assistance.

To reproduce any portion of The Drum Beat, click here for our policy.

To subscribe, click here.

To unsubscribe, please send an email to drumbeat@comminit.com with «Unsubscribe» in the subject line.