Soul Beat Africa

• * PROGRAMME EXPERIENCES on promoting fair taxation and reducing trade in bushmeat...
• * STRATEGIC THINKING on using ICTS for citizen security and the empowerment of young girls...
• * EVALUATIONS of an HIV mass media campaign and a television talk show...
• * RESOURCES on media law and on social movements for gender equality...
• * EVENTS on ICT for development and media and democracy...
• * AWARDS for rural women and photographers...

• 1. Capacity for Research and Advocacy for Fair Taxation Project - Uganda, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, and BangladeshRunning from 2012 to 2016, the Capacity for Research and Advocacy for Fair Taxation (CRAFT) project is working to contribute to fair and pro-poor tax systems and more transparent and accountable fiscal policies, with the end goal of helping create more democratic states. The CRAFT project is designed to strengthen civil society through training, action research, policy advocacy, civic education, and alliance building to undertake monitoring, watchdog and advocacy actions to achieve fair and pro-poor tax systems in focus countries, which include Uganda, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, and Bangladesh. The project is led by Oxfam Novib and the Tax Justice Network.
  
  
• 2. Media Million Lives Project - AfricaMedia Million Lives is an initiative launched by Development Media International (DMI) to create integrated radio, television, and mobile phone campaigns to promote key maternal and child health behaviours in ten African countries, with the objective of saving a million lives. The project predicts that a multi-issue campaign in a typical sub-Saharan African country will reduce child deaths by 16-23%, neonatal deaths by 5-21%, and maternal deaths by 2-20%, and that running campaigns in ten African countries for five years each will save a million lives.
  
  
• 3. Biiftuu Jireenyaa and Jember Radio Programmes - EthiopiaLaunched by BBC Media Action in 2013, Biiftuu Jireenyaa, which means "Dawn of Life" in Afan Oromo, and Jember, which means "maternal light" in Amharic, are radio programmes designed to improve reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child Health (RMNCH) in Ethiopia. The radio programmes deliver a series of lessons focused on maternal and neonatal health, and are also designed to reflect the varied preoccupations and experiences of the listeners themselves, and tackle such topics as the demands of making a living in rural areas or the challenges of relationships. Presented by a male and female presenter team, both programmes use interviews, discussion, and fly-on-the-wall encounters between health workers and women.
  
  
• 4. Local Voices: Congolese Communities and The Kivu Conflict - Democratic Republic of CongoLaunched in December 2013, the Local Voices project is working to share the experiences of the local populations who, in remote areas of Kivu, have been facing militias and armed violence for 20 years. The project uses photo stories, video, and written accounts of personal testimonies to give a voice to local people, from warlords and youth to displaced women and local authorities. The project is a collaboration between Local Voices, Search For Common Ground, and International Alert.
  
  
• 5. Everyday Heroes Comic Book Campaign - South AfricaThe Everyday Heroes Comic Book campaign was launched in 2012 as part of a victim empowerment programme initiated by the South African government to respond to the growing needs of victims of crime and violence. Jive Media Africa designed and implemented the campaign, which highlights the role of communities in supporting victims of crime and violence, for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in association with the National Department of Social Development (DSD).
  
  
• 6. Juvenile Justice Project - GhanaThe Juvenile Justice Project was launched in 2011 by Child's Rights International (CRI), in collaboration with PLAN Ghana and the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition to counteract injustices faced by juveniles and to protect the rights of children in conflict with the law. Activities include: training Child's Rights Clubs on juvenile justice; development of a checklist based on national and international standards to assess juvenile institutions; establishment of child-friendly reporting systems at the community level; and sensitisation of the media.
  
  
• 7. My Wildlife - My Community - TanzaniaLaunched in 2013 by PCI Media Impact, My Wildlife - My Community is a communications for behaviour change campaign designed to positively shift knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours of local populations with regard to the unsustainable harvesting, trade, and consumption of bush meat in Tanzania. Focusing on protected areas where hunting and trade threatens wildlife, the project encourages awareness and behaviour change through a serial radio drama, a call-in show, and local coalition building. The project is in being implemented in partnership with the College for African Wildlife Management (Mweka), United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bush meat-Free Eastern Africa Network (BEAN), and Image Transfer Limited radio station (Radio Kili FM).
  
  

• 11. Evaluating the Impact of a Joint Communication Campaign on Multiple Sexual Partnerships in Mozambique: Interim Report [March, 2013]By Maria Elena Figueroa and D.Lawrence KincaidThis report shares insights from an interim evaluation of a year-long mass media behaviour change communication (BCC) campaign focusing on HIV prevention and the reduction of multiple sexual partnerships (MSP) and concurrent partnerships (CP), which was conducted jointly by four organisations in Mozambique. By evaluating the initiatives and identifying the factors that contribute to or hinder their success, the organisations sought to build on lessons learned for more effective programmes in the future.
  
  
• 12. The Forum: Promoting Accountability Through the Media in Zambia [September, 2013]This research summary shares the experience and audience survey results following broadcasts of The Forum, a debate programme which was recorded with a live studio audience and broadcast nationally on radio and TV in February and March 2013. BBC Media Action, in partnership with the Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), produced and broadcast these two national television debates focusing on the United Nations (UN) World Day for Social Justice and the UN Day for Women's Rights and World Peace. According to the report, most of The Forum's audience reported improved understanding of governance-related topics covered in the programme and believed it played a role in government accountability.
  
  

• 13. Media Law Handbook for Southern Africa Volume 1 and 2 [July 2011/ August 2013]By Justine LimpitlawThe Media Law Handbooks for Southern Africa, published by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Regional Media Programme, are intended to be a practical guide for journalists practicing in Southern Africa. The handbooks not only contain a comprehensive overview of applicable media laws (governing both the print and broadcast media) for each country reviewed, they also contain suggestions on possible law reforms to improve the protection of media in the countries under review. Volume 1 (published in July 2011) covers Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zambia, while Volume 2 (published in August 2013) covers the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania.
  
  
• 14. BRIDGE Gender and Social Movements WebsiteLaunched in September 2013, this website on gender and social movements offers ways of accessing a range of resources from over 3 years of research on this theme by the BRIDGE team at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). BRIDGE has undertaken a collaborative approach, driven by an expert advisory group and actively involving communities of practice made up of over 100 activists and scholars from a range of global regions and social movements. The purpose of this website and the BRIDGE Cutting Edge programme on gender and social movements (with the report and brief that emerged) is to inspire and help build more effective, gender-just social movements, better able to create positive transformation and equality for all.
  
  
• 15. Haki Zetu: Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in Practice [2010]The Haki Zetu handbook series is a practical toolkit for local organisations working with communities to realise their economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR). This toolkit is designed to support local activists and development workers who use a rights-based approach to tackle economic and social problems and provides information and tools to raise awareness, monitor, and advocate for improved access to these rights. The framework for this series was developed in consultation with an advisory committee of experts and ESCR practitioners in Africa.
  
  
• 16. Early Marriage and Female Genital Cutting: Ethiopian Orthodox Church Faith Leader Toolkit [January 2013]Published by Religions for Peace, this toolkit is designed to educate faith leaders and make it easier for them to talk about early marriage and female genital cutting. The toolkit is also designed to help leaders to answer the tough questions they may receive from their congregation and includes medical facts and theological references that help faith leaders to speak out against these practices.
  
  

• 17. 4th International Conference on Mobile Communication for Development (April 8-9 2014) Dakar, SenegalMobile Communication for Development 2014 (M4D2014) is intended to provide a forum for researchers, practitioners, and all those with interests in the use, evaluation, and theorising of mobile communication for development. According to the organiser, the Center for HumanIT at Karlstad University in Sweden, the last few years have seen a surge in mobile phone use, particularly in developing regions in the global south. It is not just a growing need for communication services that has seen this explosion in mobile phone use, but the need for technically driven services in crucial sectors such as banking, health, education, and even democratic processes.
  
  
• 18. Africa Media and Democracy Conference 2014 (Aug 6 - 9 2014) Accra, GhanaThe Africa Media & Democracy Conference is hosting its bi-annual conference under the theme: "Media, Democracy and Development". The Conference is intended to address and examine various perspectives, interventions and issues of media in the practice of democratic governance in Africa.
  
  

• 19. Prize for Women's Creativity in Rural Life AwardDeadline date: April 30, 2014 These prizes (US$1,000 each for individuals and US$3,000 for specific African women's organisations), awarded by the Women's World Summit Foundation (WWSF) - an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) working towards the empowerment of women and children - aim to honour creative and courageous women and women's groups around the world for their contributions to improving the quality of life in rural communities.
  
  
• 20. Through your Lens Photo Competition 2014Deadline date: April 14 2014 Organised by eLearning Africa, the 2014 "Through Your Lens" Photo Competition is being held under the theme "Social Africa: Building Bridges through ICT." Photographers are invited to submit snapshots depicting how ICT is enhancing the way individuals and communities in Africa live, learn, cooperate, and connect.