Communication for Conflict Prevention and Resolution

From SOUL BEAT AFRICA - where communication and media are central to AFRICA's social and economic development.

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Many countries across Africa are currently experiencing, or have recently experienced conflict, either within or across borders. These include Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Liberia, to name just a few. This issue of The Soul Beat shares summaries of programme experiences, strategic thinking documents, evaluations and materials related to communication that aims to monitor and prevent conflict.

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 the Editor - Anja Venth aventh@comminit.com

click here to The Soul Beat or email Seipati Fountain sfountain@comminit.com

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DOCUMENTING CONFLICT AND CREATING AWARENESS

1. Eyes on Darfur - Sudan
Launched in June 2007 by Amnesty International, Eyes On Darfur is a website-based project that uses the internet to show satellite images of what is happening in 12 vulnerable villages in Darfur, Sudan. The programme aims to protect human rights by allowing people around the world to literally "watch over" and protect the villages. According to the organisers, the project's high resolution satellite imagery allows human rights advocates to document abuses, even in areas sealed off from ground researchers. The Eyes On Darfur website includes an archival feature, which shows village destruction since the conflict began in 2003 and includes expert testimony. The project also includes a petition, a fundraising CD,and an e-card to raise awareness about the initiative.
Contact sct@amnesty.org.uk OR crisis@aiusa.org

2. Darfur is Dying - Sudan
Launched in April 2006 by mtvU, MTV's University oriented network, in partnership with the Reebok Human Rights Foundation and the International Crisis Group, Darfur is Dying is an online video game designed to increase awareness of and activism around the conflict situation in Darfur. The game aims to do this by placing players in the shoes of a Darfurian refugee and requires that players keep their refugee camp functioning in the face of possible attack by Janjaweed militias. The activism video game is played online at no cost and is part of an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of the situation in Darfur.
Contact Jason Rzepka Jason.rzepka@mtvstaff.com

3. Eyes on Zimbabwe
A project of the Open Society Institute (OSI), Eyes on Zimbabwe is a web-based advocacy campaign designed to raise awareness of the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Zimbabwe. In anticipation of the country's 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections, the project launched a blog and an online social networking outreach programme intended to inform and involve people around the world to speak out against rights abuses in the country.
Contact Paul Silva psilva@sorosny.org

4. Using Cellular Technology to Monitor Rights Violations and Improve Child Protection in Eastern DRC - Democratic Republic of Congo
In April 2005, Ajedi-Ka and the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict(CAC) began work on a pilot project using cellular phones and internet technology to facilitate existing Village Committees for Child Protection (VCCP) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to monitor and report on child rights violations. The programme aimed to empower local organisations and community members to use the technology in the context of armed conflict, and make monitoring and reporting more efficient. These cellular phones were used to relay information on child rights violations from the VCCPs to Ajedi-Ka staff. Ajedi-Ka shared detailed information about each of the fully verified cases with Watchlist headquarters in New York.
Contact Bukeni Beck info@ajedika.org OR bukeni@ajedika.org

5. Media and the Rwanda Genocide
by Allan Thompson (ed.)
According to authors in this collection of essays, the news media played a crucial role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide: local media fuelled the killings, while the international media either ignored or seriously misconstrued what was happening. This book, which is the result of a symposium hosted by the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University in Ottawa, explores both sides of that media equation. Published through the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and with contributions from
local reporters and commentators from Rwanda, high-profile Western journalists, and media theorists, the book "examines how local radio and print media were used as a tool of hate, encouraging neighbours to turn against each other. It also presents a critique of international media coverage of the cataclysmic events in Rwanda."

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Stop Sexual Violence in Congo Campaign
The Global Fund for Women (GFW) is an international network of women and men committed to a world of equality and social justice. Along with committing funding resources to support women's groups to challenge sexual violence and impunity against women and girls in Congo, GFW is also encouraging people to sign a solidarity letter found on their website, make donations to support women's groups on the ground and inform leaders and friends about the situation in the country.

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FOSTERING PEACEFUL TRANSITION

6. Communicating Justice - Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, ierra Leone, Uganda
Launched in 2007, this project is a two-year joint project between the BBC World Service Trust and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) that aims to raise awareness and debate around transitional justice issues in five post-conflict African countries: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. According to the organisers, media, which is the general population's main source of information, is key to the success of transitional justice processes. The project aims to help increase both the quality and quantity of transitional justice media coverage though training broadcast and print journalists.

Contact BBC World Service Trust ws.trust@bbc.co.uk

7. Radio Talkshows for Peacebuilding: A Guide
According to this guide, radio talkshows are becoming the most influential form of media and a great many use conflicts and disagreements as a way of attracting listeners, risking doing more harm than good. They can intensify the conflict under discussion, and rather than inform listeners, leave them angry or fearful, or with the sense that the conflict will go on forever. This guidebook is designed to help talkshow presenters and producers learn new skills to deal with conflict effectively on air. The guide offers techniques and skills to enable presenters to talk about conflict in a way which is interesting and informative, and offers positive alternatives.

8. Coming Home: Understanding Why Commanders of the Lord's Resistance Army Choose to Return to a Civilian Life
This report looks at the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) commanders' return to civilian life in Uganda following years of civil war. The document examines the factors that contributed to the decision to return home and found that communication played an important role. While radio broadcasts were considered the most accessible source of information, the report found that telephone conversations, letters, notes and personal contacts between LRA commanders and members of their families and communities also contributed to influencing the decision to return. Based on this, the report makes recommendations on how the process of encouraging middle-ranking LRA commanders to return can be strengthened.

9.Women Talk Peace - Philippines, Uganda
Women Talk Peace, produced by The International Women's Tribune Centre (IWTC), is a series of radio productions that seek to raise awareness about the varied aspects of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, which specifically addresses the impact of war on women, and women's contributions to conflict resolution and sustainable peace. The Women Talk Peace radio productions use varied formats including features, dramas and short plugs to communicate information about UNSCR 1325, as well as other international conventions and legal mechanisms relevant to women in conflict situations.
Contact Mavic Cabrera Balleza mavic@iwtc.org

10.Mega FM – Uganda
Launched in August 2002, Mega FM aims to provide northern Ugandans with nformation to engage people with peace and development issues, as a way of promoting peaceful means to resolve conflict in the region. Initiated as part of a 5-year joint initiative by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and the Government of Uganda, the station carries a range of programmes including news, drama, cultural events, as well as Acholi music which traditionally contains commentaries on social issues and conflict. According to DFID, MEGA FM raises sensitive issues likely to be factors in any future outbreak of conflict, broadcasting programmes on human rights abuses, justice, corruption, and reconciliation.
Contact enquiry@dfid.gov.uk

11. Liberia Media Project – Liberia
Launched in 1998, the Liberia Media Project aims to enhance communication for peace building across the country through radio, with the hope of transforming the conflict through dialogue. A programme of International Alert and three Liberian groups - the Press Union of Liberia, Center for Justice & Peace Studies and the Justice and Peace Commission - the project aims to enable groups who feel marginalised and alienated to articulate their views, needs and rights through media rather than resorting to violence. The project also trains journalists in responsible reporting.
Contact Malcolm Joseph malcolmjoseph2000@yahoo.com OR malcolmj@liberianmedia

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Click here if you looking for more information on the role of communication in conflict situations.

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FOSTERING A CULTURE OF PEACE AND PREVENTING CONFLICT

12. Advocacy for Peace and Conflict Resolution Programme - Uganda
Launched by the Uganda Peace Foundation Initiative (UPFI), the Advocacy for Peace and Conflict Resolution programme aims to strengthen community peace and conflict transformation capacities in northern Uganda and establish a culture of peace, tolerance and non-violence within the population. This includes sensitising communities about peace through radio programmes, sport activities such as football and netball, exchange visits between refugee camps, and cultural activities. It also includes holding workshops, providing training in conflict resolution and non-violence communication, and assisting with the formation of peace commissions.
Contact info@ugandapeacefoundation.org

13. Never Again Rwanda – Rwanda
Launched in 2002, Never Again Rwanda works to sensitise and engage young Rwandans about peace through creative education such as theatre, music, dance and sports in school clubs. Part of the international Never Again initiative, the Rwandan organisation is run locally by volunteer staff with the aim of advancing a peaceful society and world. Youth clubs in secondary schools aim to give space to both youth of families, who participated in the genocide, and survivors. The clubs aim to support the psychological needs of the traumatised youth and hope to create a safe and open forum to discuss sensitive issues, such as ethnicity, social prejudice and the genocide.
Contact Joseph Nkurunziza info@neveragainrwanda.org

14. Witness to Truth: A Video Report and Recommendations from the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission - Sierra Leone
As part of the peace and reconciliation process in Sierra Leone, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) considered it vital to convey the findings of the report emerging from the TRC process to a broad variety of audiences, using as many different media as possible. The documentary “Witness to Truth” was produced to accompany the TRC report, summarising the key findings and recommendations and highlighting the main causes and consequences of the war. It aims to raise public awareness of the TRC's peace-building efforts, encourage civil society in Sierra Leone and beyond and ensure that the government is held accountable for implementing the recommendations that form part of the TRC report.
Contact Bukeni Waruzi bukeni@witness.org

15. A River Blue Project - Uganda, United States
This is an arts empowerment project for the children of Alepdong, Aloi and Amoro internally-displaced persons (IDP) camps in Northern Uganda. Funded and overseen by Barefoot Workshops, a media-based educational and development organisation from the United States, the project used various artistic mediums to allow children to share their experiences with one another and their community, exploring their pasts as means to creating a more positive future. The project began with a music, drama and art festival to nurture and celebrate the creativity of the children in the camps. During the festival, many young artists created images depicting acts of violence and atrocities committed by the Lords Resistance Army in their villages. Others portrayed beautiful images of what they had lost.
Contact Chandler Griffin chandler.griffin@ariverblue.org OR Brooke Bassin brooke.bassin@ariverblue.org

16. Radio for Peacebuilding
The goals of the Radio for Peacebuilding Africa project are to develop, spread and encourage the use of radio broadcasting techniques and content that have a constructive impact on the conflicts that exist at many different levels in African societies. The project also seeks to promote knowledge about and use of the techniques already used by Search for Common Ground and others, and to promote the new techniques and skills developed during the workshops. The objective of this evaluation is to assess whether the project outcomes have been successful in contributing to these goals. The evaluation found that "in spite of the changes being experienced in the. African media landscape, the most powerful media - the radio sector – often still lacks the capacity to fulfil its potential role, and particularly so in peacebuilding. The vast majority of broadcasters interviewed and surveyed made a compelling case for the ongoing need to support radio stations to contribute to peace building efforts in their communities."
Contact Radio for Peacebuilding radiopeaceafrica@sfcg.be

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To view other issues of The Soul Beat newsletter that contain information on conflict communication, see:

The Soul Beat 87 - Communication for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons

The Soul Beat 74 - Communication for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa

Click here to view archived editions of The Soul Beat Newsletter.

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