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After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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The Soul Beat 241 - ICTS for Development in Africa

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Issue #
241
The Soul Beat

Soul Beat Africa

The Soul Beat 241 - ICTS for Development in Africa
June 25, 2014
From SOUL BEAT AFRICA - where communication and media are central to AFRICA's social and economic development
This issue of The Soul Beat e-newsletter includes a selection of programme experiences and research reports that look at how information and communication technologies (ICTS) are being used to support development in Africa. Specifically, it highlights how the internet, social media, mobile phones, and online platforms are contributing to health, education, governance, youth participation, and a more vibrant, independent media.


ICTS FOR HEALTH

  • 1. ICT for Health: Five Years of Learning [January, 2014]This report shares lessons learned by the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) from working with the healthcare sector to use information and communication technology (ICT) to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of healthcare systems. The report highlights a selection of results and key lessons learned on the four intervention areas covered by the IICD ICT4Health programmes over the past five years: improving healthcare delivery, enhancing health professionals' capacities, strengthening health systems, and improving community health awareness.

  • 2. SMS 4 SRH: Using Mobile Phones to Reduce Barriers to Youth Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Information [November, 2013]By Jessica WilliamsonThis summary report provides an overview of how mobile health (mHealth) programming may be used to improve youth access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and information. The report frames the discussion of mHealth through an examination of specific barriers that limit youth access to them: accessibility barriers, including cost and location; information barriers; socio-cultural barriers, including embarrassment/fear of social stigma and social pressure/cultural norms; and provider barriers. According to the report, understanding the barriers that young people face in accessing SRH information and services can help determine whether and what type of mHealth intervention could be most effective.

  • 3. mHealth Resources to Strengthen Health Programs [February, 2014]By Kelly L'Engle, Laura Raney, and Margaret D'AdamoThis article describes a suite of resources that provides implementation guidance for mHealth initiatives, particularly in less developed countries. The suite includes an "eLearning course, online guide, evidence database, and a High-Impact Practices brief, along with the mHealth Working Group and website."

  • 4. Preparing the Next Generation of Community Health Workers: The Power of Technology for Training [May, 2012]By Rocio Funes, Vicky Hausman, and Angela RastegarThis study, conducted by Dalberg Global Development Advisors, looks at whether mobile technologies, such as handheld devices that assist with data collection and medical assessments, can be leveraged to efficiently scale training for community health workers (CHWs), improving the quality and reach of care. The report walks through existing approaches to CHW training and content development, current uses of mobile technology, and emerging evidence on effective approaches to training, highlighting advantages of digital and multimedia content for scale. It is based on interviews with experts from more than 30 organisations, including leaders in the field of mHealth, experts in technology and media, ministries of health, and training implementers, and also draws from a literature review of CHW training programmes, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa.


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ICTS AND EDUCATION

  • 5. ICT for Education: Five Years of Learning [March, 2013]This report shares lessons learned by the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) from working with education partners in 12 developing countries to use ICT to bring about sector-wide improvements in education. According to the report, ICT can help improve the quality of education and access to it, especially in remote areas. Digital learning materials and ICT-assisted teaching methods can be created, accessed, and shared among teachers and students alike. This strengthens curricula while also fostering an inspiring working and learning environment. ICT tools can improve school management and administration as well, enabling headmasters to track personnel and expenditures and more closely monitor student performance.

  • 6. Teacher Development with Mobile Technologies ProjectLaunched in March 2012, this project leverages mobile technologies to support student learning in mathematics in Senegal. Intended as a pilot, the overall goal of the project is to demonstrate effective and scalable ways of using mobile technologies to develop the capabilities and support teaching practices of primary school teachers to deliver curricula in the areas of mathematics, science, and languages. The project is being implemented by the United Nations Education, Science, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in partnership with Nokia, Sonatel, and by two local partners, Réseau Africain de Formation à Distance Sénégal (RESAFAD) and Centre Régionale de Formation de Personnels de l'Education de Dakar (CRFPE).

  • 7. A New Face of Education: Bringing Technology into the Classroom in the Developing World [2012]By Rebecca Winthrop and Marshall S. SmithThe purpose of this paper is to provide guidance to non-specialists interested in pursuing technology for educational improvement in the developing world. It explores questions about what technology is available to support education, what its possible benefits are, and how it can be used effectively - looking closely at the different enabling conditions that frequently shape the success or failure of technology interventions in education and deriving a set of 7 basic principles for effective technology use. In doing so, the authors look both at the primary and secondary, as well as at the higher levels, of education systems.

  • 8. Mobile Learning and Numeracy: Filling Gaps and Expanding Opportunities for Early Grade Learning [2012]By Carmen Strigel and Sarah PouezevaraThis study examines how mobile learning (m-learning) could influence and improve numeracy education at early grade levels (ages 4-10), especially in low-income countries. Key questions to guide the research include: 1) What are the benefits and challenges of integrating m-learning into early grade numeracy education? 2) What is the role of a teacher with regard to m-learning and numeracy education? 3) How can the community and the parents actively contribute to/participate in the child's numeracy education with the use of mobile devices? and 4) How can mobile technology be used effectively in measuring/assessing numeracy gains? The report is one of three background papers commissioned by The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to better understand how to improve early grade numeracy in developing countries.


DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE AND ICTS

  • 9. Africa's Information Revolution: Implications for Crime, Policing, and Citizen Security: A Research Paper from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies [November, 2013]By Steven LivingstonThis report, published by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, discusses how the rapid expansion and accessibility of mobile communications technology in Africa is creating new opportunities for combatting crime and strengthening police accountability. For example, Twitter, SMS, and event-mapping technologies are being used to connect communities with police and security forces, and crime maps can provide the basis for allocating resources to match prevailing threats. However, while opening opportunities to enhance security and accountability, ICTs are not a panacea for resolving crime and corruption. Rather, ICT-generated change requires an organised body of committed individuals who can use the increased accessibility of information to educate the public, engender popular participation, and press authorities for reform.

  • 10. New Technology and the Prevention of Violence and Conflict [April, 2013]Edited by Francesco ManciniThis report explores the ways in which ICTs and the data they generate can assist international actors, governments, and civil society organisations (CSOs) to more effectively prevent violence and conflict. It shares insights from a joint research initiative that explored how forms of communication, information gathering, information sharing, and information analysis over the internet (e.g., social media, information mapping, and geographic information system (GIS) mapping), mobile phone applications, and text messaging can be utilised in the service of conflict prevention. It emerges from a collaboration between the International Peace Institute (IPI) together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which hosted an interactive discussion, video presentation, and launch of a 5-case study report on the role of new technologies in the prevention of violent conflict.

  • 11. Bana Dukine: Using Technology to Teach Conflict Resolution Skills [June, 2012]By Katherine Conway and Theogene MugishaThis evaluation report shares findings of an assessment of Bana Dukine, a computer game designed to teach conflict resolution skills and create a space for Rwandan students to practice these skills. The game was designed through a partnership between Serious Games Interactive, Search for Common Ground (SFCG), and the Rwandan Ministry of Education - with the financial support of the United States Institute for Peace (USIP). The evaluation assessed three elements of the game, including the appropriateness of the game for the target group, level of increased knowledge about conflict resolution, and whether the game translated to the students' real life.

  • 12. Is There a Link Between Digital Media and Good Governance? What the Academics Say [June, 2013]By Mary MeyersThis study from the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) focuses on academic thinking on good governance and digital media, taken to mean "all the various types of new information and communication technologies such as the Internet, social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter, blogs, podcasts, SMS [text messages] and mobile phones.... The report is organized into two main parts. The first presents the overarching theory and debate from two opposing standpoints that can be crudely characterized as the techno-optimists versus the techno-pessimists....The second part looks at some empirical research and country case studies by a number of academics from different disciplines; law, political science, and anthropology."


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ICTS AND GIRLS' AND YOUTH PARTICIPATION

  • 13. Integrating Information and Communication Technologies into Communication for Development Strategies to Support and Empower Marginalized Adolescent Girls [August 2013]By Linda Raftree and Keshet BachanThis United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) paper, based on case studies and experiences that illustrate the potential and challenges of ICTs in advancing the rights of girls and facilitating their engagement and participation, highlights a wide range of existing C4D initiatives in Bangladesh, Kenya, Egypt, Lebanon, Indonesia, Turkey, Mauritania, Tunisia, Nepal, Nairobi, West Africa, India, Nigeria, Malawi, Uganda, Serbia, and South Africa, among others, that "illustrate how ICTs embedded in broader communication for development strategies can provide the driving power to change and ensure better outcomes for marginalized adolescent girls."

  • 14. Voice Africa's FutureVoice Africa's Future is using mobile technology to facilitate youth participation in the development frameworks that will follow post the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) 2015 deadline. The project is working to hear from at least 150,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 35 years in 10 African countries about how leaders can make a brighter future. Initiated by Text to Change (TTC) and African Monitor, the initiative invites young people to respond to the question - "What's your hope/vision for a better future for you and Africa?" which is being shared through online networks.


ICTS AND THE MEDIA

  • 15. Empowering Local Radios with ICTsRunning from 2012 to 2014, this project is working to build the capacity of 32 local radios in 7 African countries, with the overall goal of strengthening free, independent, and pluralistic media, as well as encouraging civic participation and gender-responsive communication for sustainable development. The project is helping local radios to improve the quality of broadcasts by building ICT skills, increasing the range of local news coverage, and improving gender equality and financial sustainability. The project is led by the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in collaboration with local radios in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia.

  • 16. Bigger Cities, Smaller Screens: Urbanisation, Mobile Phones, and Digital Media Trends in Africa [September, 2012]By Adam Clayton Powell IIIThis report traces the dramatic spread of mobile telephony in Africa and examines how this is affecting the news media landscape on the continent. It explores the convergence of African urbanisation and technological change, including the rise of digital media. According to the report, African media from Cairo, Egypt, to Cape Town, South Africa, are accommodating this shift and, for international broadcasters, this offers new opportunities. The report explains that, perhaps most dramatic, cellphones and other mobile devices, already widespread, are becoming a nearly universal platform, not only for telephony but also for audio and video information and entertainment. This offers a fundamentally different "media" experience and has already led to an entirely new and largely unrecognised class of independent media.

THE SOUL BEAT ARCHIVES
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