The Drum Beat 331 - CI Stories

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We would like to welcome the following four organisations as strategic partners of The Communication Initiative (The CI). As Partners, these organisations will help decide the overall vision for The CI and review progress on key performance indicators. We look forward to our partnership, and to strengthening support for The CI networks and process through these new connections.

• Healthlink Worldwide works to improve the health and well-being of disadvantaged and vulnerable communities in developing countries, by working in partnership to strengthen the local provision, use and impact of health communication and to support advocacy initiatives to increase participation and inclusion.
• Sesame Workshop - Founded in 1968, Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit educational organisation working to make a meaningful difference in children's lives around the world. Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programmes and products are engaging and enriching. Sesame Workshop is behind award-winning programmes like Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, and Pinky Dinky Doo and multimedia productions in South Africa, Egypt and Russia. As a nonprofit, Sesame Workshop puts the proceeds it receives from sales of Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, Sagwa, and Pinky products right back into its educational projects for children around the world.
• UNDP - United Nations Development Programme - Democracy & Governance - UNDP is the United Nation's global development network, an organisation advocating for change and working to connect countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP's democratic governance work aims to help countries enhance responsiveness, accountability and integrity of governing institutions, strengthen access to justice and human rights, and support the process of improving the enabling environment for a more open, representative and participatory society at local and central levels.
• W.K. Kellogg Foundation is a foundation with a focus on building the capacity of individuals, communities, and institutions to solve their own problems. Programming activities centre around a vision of the world in which each person has a sense of worth; accepts responsibility for self, family, community, and societal well-being; and has the capacity to be productive, and to help create nurturing families, responsive institutions, and healthy communities.

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This issue of The Drum Beat looks at ways members of The CI network are using and sharing information exchanged through The Communication Initiative (CI) processes (The Communication Initiative, La Iniciativa de Comunicacion, Soul Beat Africa, The Drum Beat, Son de Tambora and The Soul Beat). Comments below were gathered from those emailed directly to The CI teams, page reviews on The CI websites, and contributions to The CI websites' feedback forms.

PLEASE - send us your stories! How do you share information from The CI? Have you found new opportunities through the summaries or the e-publications? Have you used models you have found on The CI websites? Do you find inspiration in the experiences and thinking of the network? Have you connected with people you "met" through The CI? Send your stories to Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com

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"When I have to consult information on communication projects I always look at the Comminit page info."

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"I am...the director of Projekta, an organization regarded as one of Suriname's leading NGO's in the fields of gender, participatory processes and community development. One of the secret weapons that have helped us achieve this status is the Communication Initiative. We are subscribers to and faithful visitors of their website. We rely heavily on the background information provided; we love the Drum Beat, and those quirky polls and facts we get in our mailbox each week.

I have also been making videos and theater before I had even heard of such a thing as development communication. So yes, we do that too.

And it is when these two worlds can come together that I feel most blessed.

Almost four years ago we were introduced by PAHO-Suriname to a phenomenon from across the world: Soul City. It was love at first viewing. We studied Soul City, also through the Comminit-website, we visited their production facilities in Johannesburg, and I slept with their manuals next to me. It was quite uncomfortable.

The result was Wan Lobi Tori, a Love Story. In the year since it was first broadcast Wan Lobi Tori has traveled to many countries within the Caribbean, winning over audiences everywhere. We even won the Carec Caribbean Media Award for alternative media story on HIV/AIDS.

But the biggest achievement, we feel, is when people in the English speaking Caribbean watch this Dutch spoken Surinamese movie and say: this is just like us here, in Guyana, or Trinidad, or Barbados. Much like we watched Soul City, and Soul Buddyz and said: wow, this is just like Suriname.

Like Soul City, Wan Lobi Tori is proving that a good story transcends borders, cultures and languages. It confirms that the way people look at HIV, and deal with it in their lives is almost universal. The success had also opened new perspectives: we now dream of a pan-Caribbean edutainment series, linking story lines across borders, emphasizing Caribbean unity, and making better use of scarce resources. Learning again from the communication initiative we aim to be regional forces, local choices, telling universal stories." [Transcription of a video-taped interview conducted by CI Partner, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).]

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THE DRUM BEAT, SON DE TAMBORA, THE SOUL BEAT

1. "...I have forwarded...items to colleagues, (including two daughters who are in the development communications business) and friends. The latter are TV producers and adult educators. Nowhere can one find this valuable information in a readily accessible format, set up to forward instantly."

2. "I think what you're doing with the Drum Beat is so important - especially for people like me, whose background is more in media than in development. I never studied Communications or International Development, and I think that is the case of many participatory video people who read the Drum Beat. It connects us into a more academic thinking about the nature of communications, and of course - nothing is more valuable than learning about the work of other people and feeling part of a community. So thanks again for what you do..."

3. "Thanx for the information. I am currently busy with a project for a development communication subject that I am studying - and always need extra sources as they provide the academic richness I need, and this provided the short and sweet nugget of richness that I've searched for!"

4. "It has been very useful as people from South Africa, Sierra Leone and Mozambique have written to me to know more about this project as they also have the same ideas. i have been assisting where possible and because of that we are in a process of writing our experience on the listening clubs and hopefully it shall be posted to the web soon. thank you very much and keep it up."

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AVIAN INFLUENZA Public Information and Guidance/Instruction

Click here for the primary Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Hong Kong Government, World Health Organization (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) public communication messages for preventing the contraction and further spread of Avian Influenza.

Please send us information about communication materials or initiatives focusing on Avian Influenza/Bird Flu - dheimann@comminit.com

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SUMMARIES
The Communication Initiative
La Iniciativa de Comunicacion
Soul Beat Africa

A. Sharing of Models:

5. Re: Health Communication Insights: The Role of Communication in Vietnam's Fight Against Tuberculosis...
"Shared with office colleagues and sent to another region - very easy to understand and lessons pretty universal. Viet nam has a unique action - and innovation seeking environment with effective centralized control."

6. Re: Soul City Series 4 Evaluation: Sentinel Site Studies...
"It gives me insight about how to conduct practical evaluation of our programmatic activities."

7. Re: Advocacy Communication - The SAfAIDS Experience...
"I find this page, particularly this article, is very useful to me. As a teacher, I'm engaged in a little project in my school concerning nationalism in action. This page shows me a model to arrange an action plan. Thanks a lot."

8. Re: Theatre for Development (TfD)...
"This is great to know that great work in TFD [Theatre for Development] is going on also in Nepal. Awesome, well, i have been actively involved in the practice and teaching of TFD in Ghana in the communities and in the University. I would like to know how you have gone about evaluating your past projects, and the framework you used for evaluation. I believe we can forge an alliance between us so we can share ideas especially as our work is similar but in just slightly different locales. I would appreciate any recordings, papers and documentation. Best wishes and keep the great work."

9. Re: Family Tree of Theories, Methodologies & Strategies in Development Communication: Convergences & Differences - Participatory theories and approaches...
"We are in the process of designing a Curricula on Regional Sustainable Development in the interethnic regions of Veracruz in a Intercultural University. For this work, this paper is crucial. Thanks for your good work."

10. Re: Teachers Net in East Africa...
"I think is a particularly interesting initiative, in light of the common perception that there has been little progress in applying ICTs to education and other developmental processes. My organisation - United Nations University Institute for New Technologies - recently completed a survey of Internet use (for research purposes) among university lecturers in Kenya and Nigeria, which found that costs still inhibit access to online learning materials. I am therefore very keen to follow the progress of this project and to see if the concept is picked up by other institutions."

11. Re: Advocacy for Water, Environmental Sanitation and Hygiene...
"I find this piece highly interesting to reality. It is very relevant in African communities where water and sanitation issues have become sources of conflict. My organisation is planning to work on project similar to this. Please let us get in touch to share experiences and lessons. Thank you."

12. Re: Smritivan Initiative in Pune, India...
"I find this initiative a very innovative way to conserve our environment. Here in Africa, Uganda in particular, imagine a country of 24 million people, if half of this population was to plant one tree for memory purpose. This would greatly help in conserving the environment. Personally, I am working on a project that encourages the rural people to plant trees for recreation purpose. One should plant trees expecting a future income."

13. Re: Formative Communication Research on Early Childhood Development in Uganda: Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Project...
"Excellent article - very useful model for educating our counterparts about the role of formative research in ECD Communication Strategy development in Myanmar."

14. Re: People First Network (PFnet) in the Solomon Islands...
"Excellent information. A very good initiative. Here in Cuba we could do something similar at the more than 2000 rural schools that are now equipped with solar photovoltaic panels and PC desktop computers. Adding a VHF or UHF radio in our case would be a good alternative as many of those schools are within radio range of the TV transmitting towers located at the highest elevations of the Cuban archipelago. It is a low cost, practical and effective system that can send web pages by e-mail, answer questions of the students and keep the teachers up to date. Congratulations for a job well done."

15. Re: Towards an International Child and Youth Radio Manifesto...
"This has been very useful to us in Chikuni. We are in a process of establishing a Children Media Group which shall be working more or less like the Listening Clubs. We want to give the children a more and better voice for simultaneous development with the adults."

16. Re: Radio Chikuni Listening Clubs in Zambia...
"It has been very useful as people from South Africa, Sierra Leone and Mozambique have written to me to know more about this project as they also have the same ideas. i have been assisting where possible and because of that we are in a process of writing our experience on the listening clubs and hopefully it shall be posted to the web soon. thank you very much and keep it up."

17. Re: Indonesia HIV/AIDS, STDs Prevention and Care Project...
"Thank you for this report. I was looking for exactly this type of information for a presentation I will be doing in Canada at the end of July on attempts by religious communicators to overcome stigmatisation of people affected by HIV/AIDS."

18. Re: Handling the Media: A Free Toolkit from CIVICUS...
"This is great information! I have been looking for exactly this for the past four years as I am involved in coordinating media skills training for CBOs and NGOs. I am going to download the info now and will then decide on how to distribute it to the 13 organisations that are part of our media & democracy project Sunrise Initiative. Thanks."

19. Re: Divided City: Information Poverty in Nairobi's Slums...
"Great to get this - and very timely since we are working on the Water & Sanitation Comstrat for Nairobi and the whole of Kenya right now. Have written to the author about getting a full copy and to thank her for this useful report."

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PLEASE - send us your stories!

How do you share information from The CI? Have you found new opportunities through the summaries or the e-publications? Have you used models you have found on The CI websites? Do you find inspiration in the experiences and thinking of the network? Have you connected with people you "met" through The CI?

Send your stories to Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com

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B. Networking & Access to Information:

20. Re: The CI Home Page...
"I am happy to report that one of our GSM providers, CELTEL company of Tanzania has activated GPRS and so we in rural areas ill be able to access internet by using a special modem. I am in the trial team and I am accessing Drumbeat from Kilema village, Moshi rural district, 35 Km away from the nearest cafe! This is great news for when the system is fully operational rural secondary schools without libraries will be able to access documents and materials and download them for their own use."

21. Re: the "Earth Peoples" Project...
"I read the review of the project of the educational video 'Earth Peoples'. I think that this type of communication allows persons interested in the work with indigenous communities to get in touch with persons that share the same interests, and coordinate the efforts to preserve the ancestral Indian communities. I toast to that." [Translated by La Iniciativa de Comunicación.]

22. Re: Enhancing Community Over the Airwaves: Community Radio in a Ghanaian Fishing Village...
"I've had several requests for my full thesis from development practitioners who saw the posting on the Soul Beat Africa Site. One of these practitioners then followed up by visiting Radio Ada which then led to collaboration amongst Radio Ada and the FAO/DFID sustainable livelihoods fisheries project! I've been a subscriber to the Communication Initiative for a couple of years and find it a very useful resource. Thanks."

23. Re: Radio/Video Project on Older People's Rights in Africa...
"As a radio producer working with groups in Sierra Leone and Liberia, I found the article quite useful, and intend to contact the organization for copies of the scripts."

24. Re: Ciencias sociales y comunicación: desencuentros y encuentros...
"I enjoyed a lot the lecture of Orlando Fals' ideas, whose perspective I share. It is also very important to generate new pedagogical perspectives and cultural conceptions of communication, that interact with the teaching centers of education on communication, where formation is conservative and far removed from new perspectives." [Translated by La Iniciativa de Comunicación.]

25. Re: Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication Initiative...
"I have passed [this information] on to the friends in UNDP and other organisations who are working on disaster management programme."

26. Re: Britkid.org in the United Kingdom...
"I really like your website and would really like to see a site happen here in the U.S. Your site helps teens see the need for more interaction no matter what race or background. I run a program called "Shades To Clear" and we talk about learn not to stereo type and judge based upon color. Our motto "We don't judge people by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character" means allot. Students I work with are learning slowly and assuredly. Please let me know if there is ever a summit for teens or something I could help put together that would bring teens together from different backgrounds and countries."

27. Re: La Iniciativa de Comunicación Página Principal...
"I work for the Peace Research Seminar in Zaragoza, Spain. Thanks to your page I’ve had accesss to many themes of interest, related to my research on the role of the Mass Media in the prevention of conflicts and non-violent conflict resolution." [Translated by La Iniciativa de Comunicación.]

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SEND YOUR STORIES!

Please complete this sentence and send to dheimann@comminit.com - The Communication Initiative processes have been useful to me in the following ways...
 

[1]
[2]
[3]
 

"Yes, 'development communication' when done right can have a direct impact and there is ample proof of this. But the communication element must be built in from the start, research-based and above all planned and implemented with the participation of the 'beneficiaries.' And you need monies for evaluation. Too often, it's an after-thought added on when the 'outputs' and 'results' falter. Canada's attempts to bring clean water and sanitation to the vast Upper Region of Ghana, cited in Warren Feek's analysis, demonstrated the value and the hazards of this art form. It took 20 years of trial and error to develop a blend of technical inputs and communication support in providing hand-pumps and latrines to more than 2,000 scattered villages. An interesting lesson: selling the idea of clean drinking water is relatively easy compared to changing behavior related to use of latrines. It's what makes this business so fascinating and challenging."

"The whole issue of impact of media on the develpoment process is a routine hurdle that every development communicator has to battle everyday. Therefore I strongly go with the pulse and would like to thank Warren for presenting such a wonderful piece of analysis before us."