Communication and Change News and Issues
From SOUL BEAT AFRICA - where communication and media are central to AFRICA's social and economic development
In this issue of The Soul Beat:
* PROGRAMME EXPERIENCES on anti alcohol campaigns and educational TV for kids...
* EVALUATIONS of projects using films for HIV prevention and addressing GBV in migrant communities...
* STRATEGIC THINKING on advocacy and memory work...
* RESOURCE MATERIALS to support peacebuilding and the fight against child labour...
* AWARDS related to gender and media, and sustainable development...
* EVENTS and TRAINING for communication scholars and indigenous people...
If you would like your organisation's communication work or research and resource documents to be featured on the Soul Beat Africa website and in The Soul Beat newsletters, please contact soulbeat@comminit.com
To subscribe to The Soul Beat, click here or send an email to soulbeat@comminit.com with a subject of "subscribe".
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1. Phuza Wise Campaign - South Africa
The Phuza Wize campaign, launched by Soul City Health and Development Institute in March 2010, seeks to create safe drinking spaces and alcohol free zones in order to reduce violence related to alcohol in South Africa. The campaign also works to ensure that South Africans understand the role of alcohol in new HIV infections. As part its mass media activities, the campaign will be incorporated into the existing Soul City television series, the Soul Buddyz series, and the Soul City radio series.
2. Fambul Tok Reconciliation Project - Sierra Leone
Launched in 2008, Fambul Tok (Krio for "Family Talk") is a face-to-face community-owned programme initially developed and implemented by the Forum of Conscience and Catalyst for Peace. It is now the flagship programme of its own international non-governmental organisation (NGO): Fambul Tok International (FTI). The programme brings together perpetrators and victims of the violence in Sierra Leone's civil war through ceremonies rooted in the local traditions of the villages that were affected.
3. Africa Goal Project - Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Africa Goal was first initiated during the 2006 World Cup and was replicated for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The project involved screenings of live soccer matches via satellite television which were combined with HIV awareness and prevention activities. For the 2010 World Cup, the organisers travelled with a fully equipped vehicle to Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa.
4. Media, Empowerment, and Democracy in East Africa (MEDIeA) - Kenya, Tanzania
Initiated in 2009 and scheduled to end in 2013, MEDIeA is a collaborative research programme between Roskilde University (RUC) in Denmark, the University of Nairobi in Kenya, and the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, exploring the role that civil society driven media and communication technologies can potentially have in enhancing participatory governance processes in East Africa. The programme comprises of six individual research projects, supplemented by an International Reference Group of leading experts in media, empowerment, and democracy.
5. KnowZone - Kenya
Launched in 2009, KnowZone is a children's educational television series designed to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of young Kenyans. The programme, which is produced by Mediae, also provides life-skills messages ranging from children's rights and responsibilities to health concepts and ideas. The programme is also being used to address issues such as ethnicity, peace building, and diversity.
6. Advocating for Agricultural Development - Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda
This project, initiated by TrustAfrica, was developed to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), signed by 53 African governments, which commits states to making agriculture a top priority in national development. TrustAfrica's project aims to strengthen the capacity of agriculture advocacy organisations and networks, as well as develop locally appropriate advocacy strategies that ensure national policies align with the goals of CAADP.
7. Digital Stories in Rural Senegal - Senegal
This digital story project, implemented by CyberSmart Africa in 2009, was designed to empower students in rural Senegal to share their stories with the world. The project's objectives were to assist students to work collaboratively with one another to complete a project; sharpen writing, creative thinking, and self-directed learning skills; learn to use multimedia tools; and communicate with other students internationally. The initiative ran for three weeks during which 20 students learned how to use simple video and still cameras, and write and record narration.
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SOUL BEAT AFRICA IS SEEKING INFORMATION
Soul Beat Africa is looking for information for the Soul Beat Africa website and future editions of The Soul Beat newsletter. Specifically, we are looking for African communication related project information, research, and resources on the follow topics:
- Cancer
- Advocacy
- Educational Comics and Photostories
- Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI)
- Alcohol and Drugs
- Theatre for Development
- Environment and Climate Change
Please send your information to soulbeat@comminit.com
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8. Social Transformation and Empowerment Projects (STEPS) Evaluation
by Nomvula Dlamini and Bheki Skota
This report, published by STEPS for the Future in 2009, offers an account of an external evaluation of the Social Transformation and Empowerment Project's (STEPS) HIV/AIDS Outreach Programme that was undertaken by the Community Development Resource Association. The project involved training facilitators from across partner organisations to use films as tools for opening/stimulating discussion and raising awareness of HIV/AIDS-related issues. The research found that the STEPS training of trainers (ToT) programme contributed towards: building new knowledge and skills; creating a space for sharing and learning and personal development; facilitating linkages through a regional communication system; and the production of training materials.
9. An Evaluation of Sonke's Work in Responding to the Crisis of Gender-based Violence amongst Migrants in and around Musina
by Josephine Maghah Akenji
This study offers an evaluation of Sonke's involvement in Musina, a town on the South Africa/Zimbabwe border, to address the crisis of gender-based violence (GBV) in the area. The evaluation, which was published in March 2010, found that the One Man Can (OMC) campaign initiative is an effective method for reaching out to men and boys, the main perpetrators of gender-based violence. It evaluates the success of the individual activities which included workshops, sensitisation and awareness campaigns, and the distribution of reading materials on the issue of GBV, HIV/AIDS, xenophobia, and human rights.
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MDGS ON SOUL BEAT AFRICA
To view Soul Beat Africa content in relation to the MDGs, go to the MDG section under the heading Special Focus in the top right corner of the website OR click here.
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10. Guns and Roses: Advocacy in an Emerging Democracy
By Marian Nell and Janet Shapiro
This book, published by Atlantic Philanthropies in March 2010, is an attempt to distil learning from three books published during 2009 that provide insights into doing advocacy in South Africa. After looking briefly at the constitutional basis for advocacy work, the authors focus on two campaigns - the Gun Free South Africa (GFSA) campaign to reduce the number of firearms circulating in society and the campaign for the recognition of same-sex marriage conducted around the Civil Union Act by organisations from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) sector. According to the report, the structures of the campaigns were similar and highlight some of the core challenges that advocacy campaigns in a constitutional democracy such as South Africa face.
11. Inspiring Futures: Learning from Memory Work in Africa
By Alison Dunn and Sarah Hammond Ward
This learning paper, published by HealthLink Worldwide in December 2009, looks at experiences of applying memory work as part of broader strategies to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS in five African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The experiences occurred through the International Memory Project which was started in 2004 and was funded by Comic Relief. The paper explores how six NGOs in sub-Saharan Africa established memory work as a key component of their community-based HIV programmes. The report suggests that memory work can be a successful way to encourage communication and reduce stigma when integrated into existing support programmes.
12. Strengthening PMTCT through Communication: A Review of the Literature
by Vernon Solomon, Kerry Frizelle and Asta Rau
This document, published by the Centre for AIDS Development Research and Evaluation (CADRE) in August 2009, offers a literature review on social mobilisation and communication in support of prevention-of-mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. The report considers communication strategies in the context of HIV and AIDS as well as the key barriers to PMTCT. It suggests that the complex factors that together sustain the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa need to be taken into account in any communication strategy that is eventually adopted. The various limitations of a top-down model of communication draw attention to the need for an approach that is contextually located and involves participatory communication, emphasises dialogue and collective action, and aims for social as well as individual outcomes.
13. Media Coverage of HIV/AIDS and TB Issues in Ethiopia: Challenges and Opportunities
by Mekuria Meksaha
According to this paper, published by Panos Eastern Africa in November 2009, tuberculosis (TB), particularly HIV and TB co-infection, is highly neglected in terms of media coverage in Ethiopia. Panos Eastern Africa, in collaboration with Panos Ethiopia, conducted a rapid review of media coverage of HIV and AIDS/TB co-infections in Ethiopia with the objective of identifying challenges and opportunities in improving reporting on these issues. The report states that public awareness and clear understanding of these diseases are crucial to minimising the devastating impact of HIV and AIDS and TB co-infections, and the media are a strategic resource in shaping and influencing public attitudes. The study found that there is an urgent need for a well-informed, reliable, and vigilant media to enhance the flow of HIV and AIDS/TB information to Ethiopian audiences.
14. Linking Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS, Gateways to Integration: A Case Study from Kenya
Antiretroviral Delivery within a Sexual and Reproductive Health Setting: Transition from Traditional to Pioneering Role
by Susan Armstrong
This case study from 2008 is part of a series published by the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) to raise awareness of the pressing need for more widespread linkages between sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. According to the publication, the process of linking sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS needs to work in both directions: this means that traditional sexual and reproductive health services need to integrate HIV/AIDS interventions, and also that programmes set up to address the AIDS epidemic need to integrate more general services for sexual and reproductive health.
15. Teenage Tata: Voices of Young Fathers in South Africa
by Sharlene Swartz and Arvin Bhana
Published by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC Press) in 2009, this book was produced to provide a fresh and in-depth portrait of impoverished young South African men who became fathers while teenagers. According to the publishers, it provides space for their articulate and impassioned voices to be heard amidst the outcry against the absence of fathers, and offers insights into young fathers’ personal, emotional, financial, and cultural struggles as they come to terms with fatherhood. The study highlights young fathers’ strong sense of responsibility; poignant accounts of emotional engagement with their children and the women in their lives; the motivating power of young fathers’ own absent fathers on their parenting intentions; their desire for sex-and relationship-education from male family members, and their clear recognition of the help they need.
16. Combating Child Labour through Education: A Resource Kit for Policy-Makers and Practitioners
This education resource kit assembles - in one document - research, guidelines, tools, and good practices on combating child labour through education. The 25 resources included in the kit were collected and developed by the International Labour Organization - International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC) and its partners during the period 2002-2008. The kit distils recent experience on the link between child labour and education and provides tools and guidance to be used by a wide audience - from policy makers to practitioners.
17. Gender Based Violence Prevention Network's Perspectives on Prevention Newsletter
Published by the Gender Based Violence (GBV) Prevention Network, this tri-annual newsletter is designed to keep members updated on: network activities, current issues relating to GBV prevention, and the experiences and promising practices of other member organisations. It is written for activists and practitioners committed to preventing gender-based violence in the Horn, East, and Southern Africa.
18. Strategic Communication for Peacebuilding - a Training Guide
How to use strategic communication on development objectives as a tool for peacebuilding
by Oscar Bloh
Published by Radio for PeaceBuilding Africa in January 2010, this guide seeks to improve the skills of policy makers and media practitioners, with a particular emphasis on radio, in the effective communication of major government reform policies to citizens; and to increase the skills of policy makers and media practitioners in generating information (concerns, needs, etc.) from citizens, and in communicating those needs to government.
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PLEASE VOTE IN OUR NEW POLL ON RADIO AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Community radio stations can play an important role in mitigating the effects of natural and man-made disasters by supporting communication around disaster relief efforts. Do you think that community radio stations are adequately prepared to assist with disaster management?
Options:
* Yes
* No
* Unsure
To vote and send comments go to the Community Radio theme site and see the Top Right side of the page.
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AWARDS
Go to the Awards page to view the full listings which include:
19. Gender and Media Awards
Deadline: July 16 2010
Gender Links, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) Network, and the Sol Plaatje Institute (SPI) invite applications from the 15 Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries for a range of awards for gender-aware reporting, as well as progressive leadership and institutional practice on HIV and AIDS and gender in the media.
20. SEED Awards for Entrepreneurship in Sustainable Development
Deadline: August 16 2010
This annual international competition is designed to support locally led, innovative, entrepreneurial partnerships in developing countries, which have the potential to make real improvements in poverty eradication and environmental sustainability.
EVENTS And TRAINING
Go to the Events and Training pages to view the full listings which include:
21. 1st International Communication Studies Conference (Dec 5 - 8 2010) Gaborone, Botswana
The Department of Communication Studies at the University of Botswana is hosting the International Conference on Communication Studies, under the theme "Academic and Professional Communication in the Global World: the Way Forward". According to the organisers, most organisations in the world today and indeed in Africa - private, corporate, and government - are establishing communication departments working to enhance communication skills both at individual and corporate level. The goal of the conference is to create a forum for communication scholars who engage in teaching communication skills in tertiary institutions and practitioners in corporate organisations to share their experiences.
22. Minority and Indigenous Peoples Media Skills Training (Oct 25 - 29 2010) Nairobi, Kenya
This five-day training, offered by Minority Rights Group International (MRG), aims to equip minority and indigenous peoples activists (individuals and NGOs) with media skills to generate their own information and to interact with local, regional, and international media especially in the European Union.
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Click here to view archived editions of The Soul Beat Newsletter.
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