Human Rights

This issue of The Soul Beat focuses on information from the Soul Beat Africa network about programmes, publications, events and opportunities related to the use of communication for human rights.

EXPERIENCES

1. Tubiyage - Burundi

This association of seven theatre groups in Burundi stages plays in internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps to tell people about their rights. Tubiyage also assists the international community in disseminating the UN Guiding Principles for IDPs through "art, participatory education and ‘tradition’." The plays present five rights of particular relevance to people displaced in camps: protection of property; freedom to enter and exit the camps; need to include women's associations in resettlement and return plans; the right of children to education; and the right of IDPs to be informed before being displaced.

Contact Greta Zeender greta.zeender@nrc.ch

2. Phakama - Southern Africa

Community arts - dance, drama, music, art - projects are used to train young people about human rights issues through leadership and facilitation skills training. The Phakama project is the product of the British Council’s work in "Theatre for Development." The Phakama approach uses each participant's experience and imagination as the starting point for using the creative process to explore issues and ideas. During the initial phase, participants were trained in democratic facilitation processes, and were given the opportunity to help organise and stage a large community performance.

Contact Bronwen Jones bronwen.jones@britishcouncil.org.bw

3. Khululeka (Be Free) - South Africa

The first series of this multi-part comedy/drama television programme was broadcast in 1994 before the first post-apartheid elections in South Africa. The series later broadened its focus to include issues of human rights and civic responsibility. This includes voting knowledge, creating a voting culture, human rights knowledge (specifically socio-economic rights) and human rights attitudes, including accountability and the civic responsibilities that come with human rights.

Contact Lesley Fahey faheylk@sabc.co.za

4. Curious Mind - Ghana

Under the supervision of a professional journalist, children act as radio presenters and producers to help inform Ghanaians about children's rights issues. The programme is divided into segments. A "letter to the one who cares" touches on a pressing issue related to children, children share their opinions as to what should be done to honour the best interest of the child in each case. The "facts corner" explores issues in a specific subject area chosen for the week. The partnership segment touches on what various sections of the society can do to address this issue. The majority of the 55-minute-per-week schedule is reserved for discussion.

Contact Kingsley Obeng-Kyereh tkok212@yahoo.com

5. Rural Outreach Programme (ROP) - Uganda

Created by the Uganda Media Women's Association (UMWA), the programme aims to sensitise communities on their rights and various topical issues in 10 Ugandan districts. The women journalists visit a district four times in a year to conduct participatory workshops on a range of issues including family life, reproductive rights, constitutional rights, political and economic rights. The topics raised are often are adapted into plays, which are staged for a fee to contribute to the sustainability of the project. On every visit the women journalists carry with them recorded programmes for the people in the rural areas. They in turn record the participants' experiences.

Contact Margaret Sentamu-Masagazi umwa@utlonline.co.ug

6. Meeting the Development and Participation Rights of Adolescent Girls - Malawi

Five key areas were identified by the project organisers as barriers to girls obtaining equality. These were: low participation of girls in development activities in the communities; poor education attainment; poor reproductive health; lack of vocational skills training; and low socio-economic status. The project addresses these five barriers in a manner that includes the whole community. The project was developed to address these issues through training of youth and organisational staff.

Contact Wilfred Lichapa wlichapa@yahoo.com

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Film & Video - Call For Entries - SACOD Forum 2004

The Southern Africa Communications for Development (SACOD) Forum 2004 will take place from November 10 - 14 2004 in Cape Town, South Africa. SACOD is calling for entries from directors and producers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for completed films and videos produced after 1st January 2003, that reflect and pursue development issues. Themes may include social, political and developmental issues with the intention to inform, educate, entertain as well as to motivate and stimulate audiences to take action in a personal or organised way. SACOD Forum is primarily for SACOD members. However every year a number of non-members are invited to showcase their work.

For more information and entry regulations, contact SACOD sacodsec@icon.co.za. To read about SACOD, please visit the website click here.

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STRATEGIC THINKING

7. Refugees: Communication As a Tool for Advocating the Rights of Refugees

by Jean-Marie Vianney Kavumbagu

"Communication can be seen, therefore, as a useful advocacy tool through its dual function in the defence and promotion of a person’s rights. It is, in fact, by means of mass communication, such as the media and reports by organisations defending human rights, that the cry of alarm can be raised in order to prevent or combat serious violations of refugees' rights. It is also by means of information in those same media and by means of the educational work of organisations in civil society that refugees can learn about their rights, duties and obligations, so that they can make legitimate claims in conformity with the internal laws and regulations of the countries that give them shelter."

8. ICTs in Support of Human Rights, Democracy and Good Governance

by Audrey N. Selian

"Attention to the protection of human rights through the use of new communication technologies is an area of growing interest, not only from the point of view of the technology and communications sectors, but from the vantage point of those working toward the betterment of governance mechanisms and the continued development of an equitable 'global civil society'. This includes those who work at the community 'grassroots' level, as they form networks of collaboration that extend the span of their missions to the international stage, as well as major public/private sector and governmental entities."

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Looking for more information about human rights? Please visit Soul Beat Africa website and use the easy to use search function. Have information to contribute? Contact Anja Venth aventh@comminit.com

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TRAINING

9. Media Practitioners Advocacy - Nov 22-27 2004 - Kampala, Uganda

This participatory workshop is designed for both print and electronic media reporters, and will seek to give participants insight into the wider socio-economic impact of reproductive health and sexual rights in rural and peri-urban communities in Uganda. Participants will also be taught computer aided research skills, as well as interview and field research techniques during a series of role-playing sessions with expert mentors and "real life" field exercises.

10. Promoting Gender in Reproductive Health & Rights - Oct 25 - Nov 12 2004 - Nairobi, Kenya

Using a format of core modules and regional case-material, the course has been adapted to highlight regional priorities and current controversies in diverse countries. At the end of the course participants will be able to: conduct gender analysis in reproductive health; advocate for gender-responsive policies and programmes; apply gender analysis to their own health systems, examining determinants of health, health policy formulation, and implementation.

MATERIALS

11. Reporting Children's Rights: A Case Study on Ethiopia

by Lullit G. Michael

This report discusses how the Ethiopian media reports children's issues. It begins with background information about the Ethiopian context including legislation in place, government actions, and cultural traditions. It goes on to review content of media stories, and the awareness of journalists about children's issues.

12. Human Rights Handbook for Southern African Communicators

by Gwen Ansell & Ahmed Verlava

This guide provides journalists and other communicators with a resource to assist with the reporting of human rights issues, while broadening their understanding of these issues. With special reference to Southern Africa, the handbook includes explanations of key issues, articles from specialists, national and international conventions defining human rights, and special features of the African human rights framework. It includes narratives, charts, maps and lists to provide information.

13. A Handbook for Advocacy in the African Human Rights System: Advancing Reproductive & Sexual Health

This 193-page manual aims to facilitate use of Africa's human rights system to promote and protect reproductive and sexual health. Intended as a resource for women's health and rights advocates working in Africa, it provides an overview of the context of reproductive and sexual health in Africa, and an introduction to the African regional human rights system. It further provides "how-to" information on using the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and background on the Commission's casework relevant to advocacy.

14. Children's Rights and the Media: A Resource for Journalists

by Shareen Singh, Nisha Naidoo & Shereen Usdin

This booklet aims to provide media professionals with a practical resource for reporting on children and children's rights. It encourages the media to re-examine the way in which children's issues are covered and raise the priority accorded to children in print and broadcast media. It is a source of information and statistics and provides contact details of individuals and organisations to facilitate sourcing expert opinions.

AWARDS - NEW SECTION!

15. Reebok Human Rights Award

The awards recognises activists under 30 who have made significant contributions to human rights causes through non-violent means and aims to generate positive international attention for the recipients to support their efforts. Honorees receive a $50,000 grant from the Reebok Human Rights Foundation to further their work.

Deadline: December 31 2004

16. Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Scholarships

Coordinated by MISA, this scholarship exchange programme aims to assist individual media practitioners from Southern Africa in all areas of the media - managerial, editorial, advertising, and technical - to work on attachment in another media institution to learn new skills and develop existing ones. Individuals who are involved in human rights organisations in a media capacity may also be considered.

Deadline: Rolling Deadlines

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The Soul 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 Soul Beat to the Editor - Anja Venth aventh@comminit.com