The Soul Beat 208 - Communication and Change News and Issues
In this issue of The Soul Beat:
- PROGRAMME EXPERIENCES on a legal drama series and a multimedia project on poverty...
- EVALUATION of a malaria campaign and a radio project...
- STRATEGIC THINKING on social mobilisation and women's participation in elections...
- RESOURCES for MDG campaigning and building partnerships...
- EVENTS for science journalists and community radio stations...
This is a general issue of The Soul Beat e-newsletter which contains a selection of summaries from the Soul Beat Africa website. It includes programme experiences, evaluations, strategic thinking documents, resource materials, and events which cover a range of communication for development issues related to health and HIV/AIDS, science, democracy and governance, gender, radio for development, and information and communication technologies.
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PROGRAMME EXPERIENCES
1. Why Poverty - Global
With the goal of building a global movement that will address the structural issues around poverty and inequality, Why Poverty? is a cross-media initiative working to reach more than 500 million people around the world via television, radio, internet, and live events in November 2012. It consists of several one-hour-long and 30-minute-long documentary films to be distributed via broadcasters, the internet, and mobile platforms. The films tackle issues like food security, inequality, globalisation, education, gender equality, maternity and child mortality, the conditions into which children are born, corruption, climate change, the effectiveness of global aid, and the effects of disease and wars.
2. Programme for African Investigative Reporting (PAIR) - Africa
Running from September 2009 to December 2012, PAIR works to support and develop investigative journalism in West Africa by providing grants to carry out investigations and through peer-to-peer cross-border investigative journalism networks. Developed by International Media Support (IMS) and the Danish Association of Investigative Journalism (FUJ), and carried out in cooperation with Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), PAIR's objective is to provide greater oversight over human rights, good governance, and stakeholder groups by supporting investigative journalism in Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso.
3. Police Case Television Drama - Sierra Leone
Launched in July 2012 in Sierra Leone, Police Case is a legal-themed television series which follows the story of Adama, a woman who is subject to regular domestic violence from her husband until one day she reacts after a particularly violent fight. The series follows Adama through the criminal justice system, educating viewers about key legal issues, such as rights when you are arrested, bail, rights at court, domestic violence, and the role of paralegals. A project of AdvocAid, produced by Concept Multimedia and supported by a number of different partners, the television series is supported by post-broadcast discussions and interactions through Facebook.
4. Kenya National Library Service’s E-health Corners - Kenya
In May 2010, the Kenya National Library Service (KNLS) set up e-health corners, dedicated spaces where health workers can use the internet to access online health resources, in two libraries in the rural towns of Kisumu and Eldoret. The project is a combination of technology and capacity building, which includes training for health workers, students, and members of the public.
5. Shuga: Love, Sex, Money Radio Drama - Africa
Launched in June 2012, Shuga is a 12-episode serial radio drama that tells the stories of a group of four young fictional characters aged 15-24, their choices, dreams, friendships, challenges, and triumphs in a world where HIV and AIDS are ever-present. The radio series is the initiative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), MTV, and the HIV Free Generation (HFG) partnership, and builds on the previously aired Shuga television series. Produced in French, English, and Swahili, the radios series is being distributed as free to air for broadcasters.
6. Tupange: Kenya Urban Reproductive Health Initiative - Kenya
The Kenya Urban Reproductive Health Initiative, known locally as Tupange (Let’s Plan), is a 5-year project, running from 2010 to 2014, to empower people living in Kenya’s urban slums to take control of their lives and build a brighter future with family planning. Tupange is assisting the government and private health providers to provide a full range of high quality family planning services with a goal of increasing the contraceptive prevalence rate in selected project areas by 20%. The accompanying communication strategy includes multi-media and a radio drama designed to generate demand creation. The five-member implementing consortium is led by Jhpiego and includes Marie Stopes Kenya, Pharm Access Africa Ltd, the National Coordinating Agency on Population and Development, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
7. ARDYIS (Agriculture Rural Development and Youth in the Information Society) - Africa
The purpose of ARDYIS is to raise youth awareness and capacity on agricultural and rural development issues in African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries through information and communication technologies (ICTs). More specifically, it works to strengthen the capacities of youth on ICTs for development issues, particularly in the agricultural and rural sector, as well as to contribute to sensitising youth on questions related to agriculture and rural development in ACP countries. The goal is to contribute to the promotion of opportunities for youth in ACP countries in the sectors of agriculture, rural development, and ICT. Launched in May 2010, ARDYIS is a project of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).
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EVALUATIONS
8. Cameroon Malaria Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices: Progress from 2011 to 2012 (August 2012)
This report shares findings of progress related to Malaria No More (MNM)'s work in Cameroon, particularly MNM's contributions to the national K.O. Palu (Knock Out Malaria) campaign. The results of the 2012 Malaria Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) Survey were compared to 2011 baseline indicators in order to track progress over the previous year, measure the impact of malaria control interventions, and identify priorities for future malaria communication campaigns. According to the evaluation, the campaign has successfully impacted on behaviour change related to malaria prevention.
9. Driving Change Through Rural Radio Debate in Uganda: Evaluation Report (March 2011)
By Kitty Warnock
This mid-term evaluation report shares findings of an assessment of the Rural Radio Debate (RRD) Project implemented by Panos Eastern Africa (PEA) since July 2009. Part of the "Deepening Democracy" programme, PEA supports 20 radio stations to hold debates in communities on development, governance, and political process topics that are generally selected by the communities themselves. In January 2011 PEA commissioned an independent evaluation with four areas of focus: to assess the methodology and its potential, to assess the results so far, to examine the topics for debate emerging from the communities, and to identify any challenges in implementation. This evaluation was designed to feed into the preparation of a proposal for a second phase of the project.
10. Marketing on the Airwaves: Marketing Information Service (MIS) and Radio (2011)
By Sheila Huggins-Rao
This report presents the findings and lessons learned from a series of radio-based Marketing Information Service (MIS) case studies designed to respond to the unique market information needs of local farmer listeners in Ghana, Uganda, Mali, and Tanzania, to improve food security. The case studies were part of a 42-month action research project called the African Farm Radio Research Initiative (AFRRI), which sought to discover, document, and disseminate best practices for using radio-based communications to enhance food security in Africa. The findings conclude that an effective MIS has the potential to benefit smallholder farmers in profound ways.
JOIN OUR UPCOMING DISCUSSION ON DEVELOPING A DEMOCRACY, GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS JOURNALISM NETWORK IN AFRICA!!
Does Africa need such a network? And if so, how would it function and what purpose would it have?
To participate in the discussion, please join the Democracy and Governance Online Network here.
(select Join Soul Beat Africa: Democracy and Governance Network) or you can email us on soulbeat@comminit.com
We will send you a notice through this online forum as soon as the discussion is launched.
11. Gender and Citizenship at the Grassroots: Assessing the Effect of NGO Initiatives in Social Mobilization and Political Empowerment in Kenya and Bangladesh (Feb 2011)
By Simeen Mahmud and Celestine Nyamu Musembi
This study assesses the extent to which social mobilisation and political empowerment initiatives led by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have influenced gender dynamics in Kenya and Bangladesh. It focuses on the role of agency in the construction of citizenship: micro-level day-to-day expressions of citizenship and related gender dynamics, and the influence of NGO-led social mobilisation and political empowerment initiatives in cultivating agency.
12. Mediating Voices, Communicating Realities: Using Information Crowdsourcing Tools, Open Data Initiatives and Digital Media to Support and Protect the Vulnerable (April 2011)
By Evangelia Berdou
This final project report analyses the Map Kibera project, a citizen mapping and citizen media information and communication technology (ICT) project in Nairobi, Kenya, implemented by Map Kibera and GroundTruth. The research is from the Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction Research Team of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).
13. Women's Participation in Elections Across Africa 2011
This report, published by Make Every Woman Count (MEWC), provides an overview of the role of women in elections across Africa in 2011. It discusses the position of female candidates before and after the elections have taken place, as well as provides analysis of women's participation in African politics. By providing this data, MEWC hopes to maintain an information gateway for researchers, policy makers, students, women's organisations, and local voters against which to measure progress.
14. The Need for an African Science News Service (May 2012)
By Julie Clayton and Marina Joubert
This report explores the idea of setting up an African science news service that would receive press releases from African research institutions and distribute them to the African (and international) media. Prepared on behalf of SciDev.Net for the United Kingdom National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the report states that the launch of such a science news service for Africa could improve the quality and relevance of the continent's media coverage of scientific research. Such a news service could also play a role in introducing journalists to relevant experts and pro-actively provide information on topical issues, as well as track major stories involving African scientists and create press releases around these.
15. Campaigning Toolkit for Civil Society Organisations Engaged in the Millennium Development Goals
By Jacqui Boulle and Debbie Newton
One of the CIVICUS toolkits designed to enable organisations to improve their capacity in a number of communication and planning areas, this online manual is designed for civil society organisations (CSOs) campaigning to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and provides them with a framework and a starting point in developing their campaign strategy.
16. Partnership Matters: Practical Partnership Stories and Observations from Plan in Eastern and Southern Africa (2011)
Published by Plan International, this booklet contains stories, examples, tools, and agreement formats that emerged from work to explore and build on the question, what is partnership. According to the booklet’s introduction, Plan’s Regional Office in East and Southern Africa (Plan RESA RO) has been actively exploring this question since 2008 and has engaged in a wide range of organisational relationship work over the past 3 years to better understand what partnership means in theory and in practice. The goal in producing this booklet was to share their experience of observing and creating connections between organisations - and invite others to use it, build on it, and improve it.
17. Accessing Information for Your Community: A Guide to Using the Promotion of Access to Information Act to Empower South African Communities to Promote and Protect Human Rights (2012)
By Tammy O’Connor
This guide, developed by the South African History Archive's (SAHA) Freedom of Information Programme, outlines the important role that access to information can play in the achievement of advocacy goals and the protection of rights in South African communities. It examines the legal right to information in South Africa and, using key issues that face many South African communities - access to housing, water, education, and employment - illustrates the ways in which access to information can help communities to realise other rights.
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18. West Africa Science Journalists Conference (Nov 26 -28 2012) Cotonou, Benin
The West Africa Science Journalists Conference (WASJC) is being held under the theme "Science journalism as driving force of sustainable development in West Africa", and is intended to promote the role of science journalists in science, society, and media, as well as encourage dialogue on the role of science and technology in society and public policy.
19. AMARC Africa/FORCOM International Conference: Community Radios and Access to Information in Southern Africa (Dec 3-5 2012) Maputo, Mozambique
The National Forum of Community Radio Broadcasters of Mozambique (FORCOM), in collaboration with the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) in Africa, are organising an international conference on the theme: "Critical Reflections on Community Radios and Access to Information in Southern Africa." The Conference seeks to critically examine both the governance of community radios and their effective role as channels of participatory and democratic communication for development for the poor and marginalised communities in the various Southern African countries.
SOUL BEAT AFRICA THEME SITES
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