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The Drum Beat 488 - Communication and Change News and IssuesPublication DateApril 13, 2009
This issue of The Drum Beat features a small selection of recent summaries available on The Communication Initiative website from 2 of our knowledge sections - Experiences and Evaluations - which illustrate how communication and media are contributing to positive development action, around the world. Please send additional project, evaluation, strategic thinking, and materials information on communication for development at any time. Contact Deborah Heimann at dheimann@comminit.com
1. A Family Year - Russia and Central Europe This 5-part television series focuses on the health and environmental threats facing families in Russia and Central Europe. The series invites viewers into the lives of 4 families as they talk about their views on such issues as health, nutrition, smoking and child care, and try to put into practice some of the measures that could help create a healthier life. While each show aims to make viewers aware of some of the things they can do for themselves and their children to lead to a healthier future, the goal is also to entertain and give viewers a glimpse into the everyday lives of people like themselves, struggling with the same problems and facing the same challenges. Contact: CECHE@comcast.net Launched by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service Trust (WST) in 2002, Jasoos Vijay was an interactive detective television drama that sought to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. Geared especially toward rural viewers, the weekly, half-hour thriller featured the heroic character of detective Jasoos Vijay; in the course of the series, a major "twist" revealed that the hero was himself a person living with HIV. "Research has shown that the audience readily accepted this revelation and the character would continue to make a major contribution to combating stigma towards HIV positive people." Viewers interacted with the series through the regular "host" of the show, who encouraged the audience to discuss the plot and its solution and to send letters or emails to him. A competition element allowed viewers to compete for prizes and the chance to appear in special episodes. Promotional television advertisements and billboards were installed in towns and cities across India during the second phase of the campaign. A Jasoos Vijay website aimed to educate users on HIV and AIDS and offered an opportunity to provide feedback on the programme and participate in Jasoos Viiay contests. Contact: BBC World Service Trust website. 3. Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI) - Global GeSCI was established in 2004 to invest in and deploy information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve teaching and learning in developing countries. In order to implement sustainable and integrated ICT programmes into nationwide school systems, GeSCI focuses on providing advice to Ministries of Education on: what ICT in education can and cannot do; how to develop a sustainable framework for integrating ICTs into educational systems; how to conceptualise structures, procedures, and processes for ICT deployment and use in education initiatives; and how to bring together stakeholder partnerships for implementation and support. As of February 2009, GeSCI had country programmes in Bolivia, Ghana, India, and Namibia, with preparations to embark on a partnership with Rwanda, and explorations of new links in East Africa. In Bolivia, for example, GeSCI worked with the Ministry of Education (NTICS) as it implemented a telecentre initiative focused on rural areas and indigenous populations, scaling up from 8 pilot centres to 100, while the Ministry's coordinating committee began outreach to telecom providers and regulatory authorities, as well as bilateral donor agencies. A complementary initiative established a national education portal providing content, training materials curricula, and administrative information to the telecentres. Contact: Niamh Brannigan niamh.brannigan@gesci.org OR info@gesci.org 4. Making a Difference: We Are All Affected - South Africa This programme used the medium of community radio to share information about HIV/AIDS with South African listeners and to stimulate discussion about related issues in local languages. The producers identified characters and subjects to interview, and then produced a 20-minute backbone programme on each of the project's 12 themes; participating stations were required to broadcast each theme over a 4-week period. In the first week, a one-minute promotional spot summarising the programme's key point and acting as a "teaser" was aired. The main backbone programme followed in the second week. During the third week, the stations again played the teaser. In the last week of the month they broadcast a programme that they produced locally, which covered the same issues raised in the backbone programme. As suggested by this final step in the process (community-radio-based production), the information that was shared is meant to be translated into local action. To stimulate this process, the participating stations listened to the programmes with community-based reference groups. It is through this group listening and exchange that the issues raised in the programme were discussed and ideas for local angles were pursued. Contact: Shepi Mati smati@idasa.org.za 5. Pensions Not Poverty Campaign - Global In the lead-up to the G8 summit held in June 2007, the UK-based organisation Help the Aged launched an advocacy campaign using ICT as a tool to engage citizens around the world in protecting the rights of ageing people to freedom from poverty. A section was set up on the Help the Aged website which featured information, case studies, and action points for those seeking to help end poverty for older people. The case studies shared through this campaign signal various communication strategies for addressing poverty among the ageing. For example, one focuses on the experiences of a middle-aged woman in one of South Africa's economically poorest provinces who works as a Skills Development Facilitator for the local non-governmental organisation (NGO) Muthande Society for the Aged (MUSA). In an effort to tackle poverty, MUSA has trained a team of older people to work as literacy tutors; they hold courses in Zulu, English, and numeracy, with lessons designed to help students cope with everyday challenges such as filling out pension forms, sending bills, and using telephone numbers. The hope is that, having been educated by factual details and inspired by personal stories and strategies, website visitors would complete an email form to be sent to the UK's Hilary Benn. The gist of the suggested text was that, until all older people receive a social pension, the international community will struggle to "make poverty history". Contact: Jude Escribano jude.escribano@helptheaged.org.uk OR info@helptheaged.org.uk 6. Coastal Resources Management Project (CRMP) - Philippines Launched in April 1996, the 9-year CRMP drew on a variety of environmental communication activities to foster public awareness, action, and advocacy. The goal was to bring about effective management of coastal resources at both the national level and the local level. The pilot process began with a gender-segregated research process to assess audience needs, knowledge, attitudes, and practices in 3 provinces; in addition, local universities conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. What emerged was a framework centred around communication techniques and tools such as: audiovisual and interpersonal information traveling caravans, alternative livelihood training courses, synergy group coordination in design and production of audiovisual materials, media advocacy and training, leadership and community organisation training, communication planning training, youth theatre and video production workshops, and public forums to resolve conflicts and disputes and to train local stakeholders in communication processes to reduce conflict and develop consensus. As part of the building of this strategy, linkages and coalitions were formed among and between municipalities, government agencies, and national and provincial media networks and groups. The project worked to engage local leaders; for example, in the Agrisiyete project, local leaders participated in a television series to address agriculture technology transfer. According to GreenCOM, "[t]heir participation provided local color in the productions and the actors were celebrated in their respective communities whenever the series was aired on national television or in community 'video houses.' The actors also traveled around the country and continued to be coastal resource management advocates in their respective communities." Contact: Richard P. Bossi rbossi@aed.org 7. AIDS Education, Prevention, and Awareness Programme - Papua New Guinea One element of Papua New Guinea's Anglicare Stop AIDS education, prevention, and awareness programme involves giving television viewers a chance to see first-hand what it is like to live with HIV. In May 2007, "Helen's Story" began airing on the national television channel. It follows the life of the then-25 year-old Papua New Guinean Helen Samilo, who talks about her daily experiences as a person living with HIV. In June 2008, Anglicare StopAIDS PNG launched its Tokaut Aids 2008 concert at its church grounds. Prior to the concert, Ms. Samilo and Anglicare's senior peer education officer worked for a 2-month period with a youth group to write music and perform songs which are designed to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS issues. Other entertainment included a drama team performance, poems, and songs from the adult literacy programme, and speeches from both Ms. Samilo and Anglicare's national director and education awareness prevention manager. Contact: Helen Samilo hsamilo@yahoo.com OR Dominica Abo abo_dominica_bessie@hotmail.com 8. Boosting Disaster Preparation through Participation - Kyrgyzstan This community capacity building and small-scale structural mitigation project involved both communities and local government authorities in project implementation, for the sake of sustainability. In each village, "rural disaster teams" and "school disaster teams" took part in theoretical and practical training on disaster management, preparedness, and risk reduction. After an early warning system was developed, team members led a participatory process which involved preparation of village maps and risk areas, and creation of preparedness and contingency plans. Playful learning strategies were designed to teach youth the nuts and bolts of disaster reduction, and to inspire them to embrace their leadership roles as key disaster reduction actors. For example, movie events were designed to educate children from an early age about the importance of disaster risk reduction, and competitions and summer camps offered an opportunity to hone and demonstrate skills and knowledge. A core strategy involved linking capacity building with small-scale structural mitigation work (strengthening river banks, building reservoirs and dykes, etc.), which was designed to provide motivation and tangible results for the communities to build on; these construction activities were highlighted through a video and other materials broadcast by the local television channel. Contact: Bina Desai BDesai@christian-aid.org, info@christian-aid.org OR Antonina Lee Shoola@mail.kg Petition to Support the Global Eradication of Polio The world is almost free of polio, a highly infectious and debilitating disease which mainly affects young children and can cause lifelong paralysis. Signing this petition will show your support for its eradication, once and for all, with a vaccine that costs only US$0.60. Click here to sign the petition (and pass the link on to others). Please VOTE in our current HIV/AIDS POLL: From your regional context and perspective, which should be the priority focus for social norm change related to HIV/AIDS prevention?
VOTE and COMMENT click here. We are in the process of updating the programmes and universities featured in our "Universities" section. We focus here on post-graduate degrees (MA, MS, MBA, PhD, etc.) that relate specifically to the use of communication or media for social or economic development. If your University is featured, please send us updated information at any time. If your University is not yet featured and you feel it should be, based on the post-graduate programmes that you offer, please let us know at any time. Contact dheimann@comminit.com to update us on your University information. 9. CARE Vietnam's Community-based Surveillance Model: Bringing the Fight to the Flu This report describes and evaluates the strategies shaping a community-based surveillance initiative developed by CARE Vietnam in an effort to improve the detection and reporting of avian influenza (AI). Mobilising and building the capacity of volunteers are hallmarks of this public health approach. As part of Targeting the Risk of Avian Influenza Now (TRAIN), local partners at the administrative levels closest to communities - village, commune, and district - take the lead in implementing surveillance activities. After training, each volunteer begins visiting a fixed number of households (typically 40) in his or her own village each week. Having outlined the TRAIN strategy, this case study examines how the model operated at the time of an actual (June 2007) AI outbreak in the project area (Tien Minh commune, within Haiphong municipality in northeast Vietnam). CARE concludes that "[t]he newly established community-based surveillance network detected the outbreak early, setting in motion rapid response activities that quickly contained it....Within two weeks, volunteers achieved a 100 percent vaccination rate among all domestic poultry commune-wide, providing protection from this and future outbreaks in the area." 10. Monitoring and Evaluation of Research Communications: Scoping Study by Catherine Butcher and Gil Yaron This report includes details of a study, based on a list of relevant literature and telephone interviews with 16 practitioners working in the field of M&E of research communications, on the monitoring and evaluation of research communications for development. In an opening overview section, key approaches and methods used in research communication are shared. One author cited here identifies 3 elements that are essential if development research is to have an influence: 1) Intent (researchers must want to communicate their research); 2) Direct engagement with the policy community (forming relationships with policy-makers that can endure); and 3) Public participation (members of the research community must become participants in democratic governance). Methods and measures used to assess the impact of research communication are outlined here, highlighting the role of a variety of face-to-face and technology-based ways of gleaning information about what works with regard to evaluating programmes and then disseminating research - and why. The authors note that a number of sources emphasise the importance of establishing a relationship with those that the research is intended to benefit. In taking learning forward in the area of research communications, the authors propose a number of key areas for discussion. This document shares lessons learned from a project centred on the use of ICT to strengthen the capacity of those involved in fostering rapid communication and instructional capabilities during health emergencies. Evaluators agreed that the training, "while piloted in Guatemala, would be relevant to laboratory personnel in any Central American country and the target audience could learn from the self-study style course....[L]earners generally agreed that they could achieve the learning objectives, and (aside from some exception) transfer knowledge into the work place..." by Lewis Ndhlovu, Catherine Searle, Johannes van Dam, Yodwa Mzaidume, Bareng Rasego, and Solly Moema This evaluation explores the implementation and impact of a communication-centred intervention study/project launched in 1998 to assess the impact of a programme of HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention and service delivery in the mining town of Carletonville, South Africa. This report describes the Mothusimpilo ("working together for health") Intervention Project (MIP), detailing the process of its implementation and its impacts. MIP drew upon information, education, and communication (IEC) activities, as well as the provision of STI services, in an effort to reduce (in a sustainable way) the community prevalence of STIs and the incidence of HIV infection. The interventions, which focused primarily on female sex workers (SWs) and male mine workers, involved 3 primary components: peer education on HIV/STI knowledge and prevention; free condom promotion and distribution to SWs and mine workers by peer educators; and efforts to strengthen STI services at private and public health facilities through the training of service providers in STI case management. The evaluation found that the MIP did not reduce STI prevalence or HIV prevalence. Changing sexual behaviour is far more complex than educating individuals about HIV. C-Change Focuses on Reducing Multiple Concurrent Partnerships in Namibia Reducing multiple concurrent partners (MCP) is a focus of HIV prevention programmes under the C-Change programme. In Namibia, C-Change is working on a behaviour change communication (BCC) strategy to reduce MCP as part of the country's national MCP campaign. C-Change is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the members of the National Prevention Working Group's Take Control Task Force (part of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology), which includes the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Desert Soul, and Nawa Life Trust, to ensure the MCP strategy is integrated into the National Prevention Strategy and is coordinated with other key national campaigns such as male circumcision and alcohol. C Change is providing technical support to these related campaigns, and identifying interpersonal communication (IPC) materials for the training of volunteers, groups, and individuals, along with key implementing partners. Specifically, C-Change is assisting PACT and its implementing civil society and private sector partners in developing BCC strategies for community and workplace programmes on MCP and the related practices of transactional and cross-generational sex. For more information click here. VISIT AND SUBSCRIBE TO C-CHANGE PICKS C-Change Picks features selections of projects, evaluations, strategic thinking, resources, and events and meetings included on The CI website that have been specifically highlighted by the C-Change programme. Funded by USAID, C-Change works with global, regional, and local partners to apply behaviour change and social change communication approaches in the health sector - HIV and AIDS, family planning and reproductive health, malaria, and primary health care - and is expanding to the environmental sector. The C-Change Picks e-magazine - is published regularly and features resources recently highlighted by C-Change. You can subscribe by contacting cchange@comminit.com Visit C-Change Picks! Click here. 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. Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com To reproduce any portion of The Drum Beat, click here for our policy. To subscribe, click here. Placed on the Communication Initiative site April 08 2009 Last Updated April 09 2009 How useful did you find the knowledge and contacts on this page to your work? Post your comments (review comments from others below):COMMENTS POSTED |
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