Nic WoodsDevelopment Communication

and Civil Society AdviserDFID’s ICD Team

March 14th 2005

Media and Development

• Media Assistance & Dev’t Communication

• Changing Environment: 1994-2004

• Communication and Nation Building

• Communication, Empowerment and Poverty

• Media and Conflict

• MDGs & Impact through Communication

• Summary of Challenges

Introduction

• “A reliable news media enables well informed citizen decision making that contributes to democratisation”

• The Enabling Environment: Developing Professional journalism, independent regulatory frameworks and supporting media law and policy

• Dual public / private broadcasting / the role of civil society as a watchdog for social accountability

• Audio / visual / face to face participation / theatre / comics / puppetry / song etc

• Development Communication is bottom up

Media Assistance & Dev’t Communication

• Global technologies & coverage increases media profile dramatically – impact of news / impact of learning / impact

• Only for those with access : cultural appropriacy / language / technological sophistication / electricity etc

• Old + New

– Interactive media enables participation of audience

– Personal communication technologies enhance this on a one to one & one to many basis i.e.: mobile phones + radio

• Increasingly important is the role of media as a change agent in political behaviour, “political and social will” through advocacy & demand driven public opinion

• Media and conflict - / local // national // international

Changing Environment

1994-2004

“ A necessary condition for sustainable development occurs when a just, tolerant and inclusive state is responsive to informed demand from citizens. Communication is a keystone of the relationship between citizen and state.”

“There is more to governance than how the government conducts itself. It is about the whole realm in which the state operates, including areas like parliament, the judiciary, the media and other organisations of society which remain in place when a government changes.”

“ The media has a pivotal role in brokering public dialogue through increasing the knowledge of the citizen and providing space for debate and learning.”

Communication and Nation Building

World Communication, Empowerment and Poverty Reduction

World Bank’s 4 Key Elements of Empowerment

• Access to information

• Inclusion and participation

• Accountability

• Local organisational capacity

All rely on flows of communication

 

• Different types:

– Media & humanitarian assistance

• Non conflict related disasters : disease

• Rapid onset disasters : environmental

– Media and conflict reduction

• Latent conflict : political, religious, economic or ethnic tensions

• Open conflict: violent conflict, light weapons, blurring of combatants & civilians

• Post conflict: once peace achieved, peace building, enhanced reconciliation & reconstruction

Media and Conflict

• Communications disrupted during conflicts and other emergencies // low end technologies like radio are often the only way to reach large #s

• Those in greatest need demand most on traditional means – ie: radio. The challenge is to facilitate making programmes to reflect target audience needs

• Different forms of humanitarian emergency can require very different kinds of media intervention – e.g S. Leonne youth soldiers: theatre / video / comics / art

Key Points of Media & Conflict

• Civil society are critical & most often the major players when states are unwilling or unable to deliver services

Examples: IRIN in Angola / Radio Okapi in DRC

• Media based initiatives can best be achieved by partnerships between donors, civil society humanitarian agencies and local / int’l media practitioners

Examples: Afghanistan / DRC / Sudan

Key Points of Media & Conflict … cont

Communication for Poor Peoples Benefit

Communication Channel

for Poverty Alleviation

Enabling Environment

Liberalised Media Access / Ownership

Use - by People (poor)

- by Gov (local, edu, health, - by Civil Society

Change in Livelihoods

Policy MakersDEMAND

Millenium Development Goals

1.Get rid of extreme poverty & hunger

2. Make sure that all children receive primary education

3. Promote sexual equality & give women more power

4. Reduce child death rates

5. Improve the health of mothers

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other communicable diseases

7. Make sure that the environment is protected

8. Develop a global partnership for development

Botswana.

Community radio for school children.

© Giacomo Pirozzi / Panos Pictures

MDG 4: Reduce Child Mortality

•       Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate amongst Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015

• South Africa - Soul Buddyz - Children's TV, Radio and School materials

•http://www.comminit,com/evaluations/idkdv2002/sld-2382.html

Burkina Faso.

Live debate on football and witchcraft on

Radio Vive le Paysan, based at Sapone,

40km south of the capital Ouagadougou.

This debate is the equivalent of a phone-in except that no-one has a phone so participants cycle in from the surrounding area and gather in the studio. Some, hearing the broadcast at home, turn up during the programme wanting to take part in the debate. The station gives a voice to the surrounding villages, broadcasts are in the local language.

© Crispin Hughes / Panos Pictures

•   Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio

Jordan - Together for a Happy Family Campaign – Mass Media Campaign

http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/idkdv2003/sld-2357.html

MDG 5: Improve Maternal Health 

Douentza, MALI.

Dogon women listening to the radio as

they work.

© Rhodri Jones / Panos Pictures

       Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

      Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major

diseasesSenegal - Evaluation of “Improving the Reproductive Health of Youth

in Senegal” –- Mass Media Campaignhttp://www.comminit.com/evaluations/id2004/sld-2425.html

Cameroon - Evaluation - “Among Youth” – Mass Education Campaign

http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/id2004/sld-2420.html

MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Zimbabwe.

Villagers gathered around listening to the

radio outside a hut adorned with an

AIDS emblem.

© Chris Sattlberger / Panos Pictures

• Freedom of Expression

• Recognising the rights of the citizens

• Financial Sustainability

• Capacity Building for all types of use of communication for democracy

• Partnership with service providers and civil society = active role in policy change processes

• Potential of communication technologies

• M&E techniques and tools

• Impact to provide evidence

• Funding: Public / Private

Key Challenges

Media and Communication for Development is complex and often overlooked.

Communication is the lifeblood of transparent, informed and open societies as it enables debate, successful reforms and accountability of the state to the citizen.

Empowerment from poverty requires knowledge and learning from appropriate, accessible means of communication.

Without communication, openness is not possible and citizens voice is silenced.

Conclusions