Soul Beat Africa
African development action with informed and engaged societies
Soul Beat Africa
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
Time to read
2 minutes
Print
a- a+
Published 14 years ago
Last updated 3 years ago
Read so far

Soul Beat Africa Democracy and Governance Knowledge and Networking Survey Report

0 comments
Date
Summary

Soul Beat Africa (a partnership between The Communication Initiative and the Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication, South Africa) and the Mobilising Knowledge for Development (MK4D) programme of the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) Knowledge Services are collaborating to create an online space to support knowledge sharing and networking among people and organisations working on democracy and governance issues in Africa with a focus on media and communication for development.

Both Soul Beat Africa and IDS Knowledge Services (through their Eldis website) have extensive resources and networks related to Democracy and Governance (D&G) in Africa. This initiative hopes to build on these to create an Africa-focused website and associated online networking space to facilitate easier access to knowledge with a focus on D&G and communication.

In preparation for this initiative, Soul Beat Africa conducted a survey with the aim to:

  • Identify key focus areas in democracy and governance research and practice in Africa
  • Identify some key continental or regional initiatives
  • Identify current sources of information for research and practice
  • Identify gaps in information
  • Explore how organisations share their work and what challenges they face
  • Identify key [pan-African] organisations working on democracy and governance
  • Identify existing partnerships and networks between democracy and governance organisations
  • Explore the strengths and limitation of these networks
  • Explore how best to support researchers and practitioners in their work (in terms of knowledge and information)
  • Explore the need for South-South knowledge sharing and networking

The survey results revealed that there is a lot of D&G activity in Africa, several significant though largely regional networks, a strong though somewhat fragmented base of knowledge, the engagement of many organisations across a range of often isolated sectors and an urgent feeling that the qualifiers to each of these capacities need to be addressed. Regional networks need to be more effective in their regions and have ways to network amongst themselves. Knowledge needs to be less fragmented, widely shared and easily accessed. Sectors and organisations need to be less isolated and more linked through networks and knowledge sharing. If there is a single message to take away from this survey it is that the greatest need is to strengthen what exists through better communication. That means more knowledge and knowledge sharing, more networking between organisations and existing networks, and better tools to do this with. The survey findings underline the importance of this initiative and the relative accuracy of its initial assumptions while also identifying some important priorities and areas to emphasise.

The survey was sent to subscribers of the Soul Beat Africa and Eldis e-newsletters and 318 people participated in the survey. Nearly half of all respondents were from African NGOs and CBOs, followed by academic institutions, and the media and media organisations.

Respondents rated current information on the Soul Beat Africa and Eldis websites highly while also indicatng a need for African D&G knowledge that was easily accessed and provided ways for them to share their own work and knowledge as well as enable them to gain access to others’. Although face-to-face networking was shown to be the preferred option for communication and sharing information, online discussion forums and e-newsletters were being used by most respondents and were considered an important method of communication. In terms of knowledge priorities, responses showed a demand for knowledge related to all areas of D&G though most placed a stronger emphasis on participatory governance, accountability, and human rights than on parliaments and legislature, corporate governance, and elections.

An overwhelming majority of respondents indicated that they wanted to be subscribed to a D & G e-newsletter and a high percentage also indicated that they were interested in information from Latin America.

To download or view the survey in PDF format click here.