"The paper synthesises findings from quantitative and qualitative data from across African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries. The second section draws on baseline data from Bangladesh, Burma, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestinian Territories and Sierra Leone to explore the media and governance contex
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ts in the countries where we work. The third part then summarises what we are learning about who is being reached by BBC Media Action interventions. The fourth section, firstly, reports regression analysis conducted on baseline data from Sierra Leone and midline data from Kenya to build up evidence on the impact of debate and discussion programmes on audiences’ political knowledge and participation. Then findings are presented from a qualitative study assessing how Nigerian drama Story Story is promoting dialogue as a means of reducing conflict. Comparing findings across countries is helping us to learn more about the governance and media contexts in which we work and inform programming. A first glance at key governance outcomes across countries attests to the centrality of country context in shaping how political knowledge, discursive participation, political participation and interest in politics relate to each other. Disaggregating these outcomes by demographic variables underlines the importance of gender in structuring them, with women reporting lower levels of political knowledge and interest in politics, and discussing and participating in politics less than men. However, disaggregating political participation by income reveals less consistent results: in Nigeria and Bangladesh, those with more resources are more likely to participate, whereas in Kenya and Sierra Leone, those with more resources and less likely to participate." (Executive summary)
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"This paper seeks to identify the extent to which the national TV and radio programme Sema Kenya (Kenya Speaks), part of BBC Media Action’s governance work in Kenya, supported accountability, peace and inclusion at the time of the 2013 Kenya election. It shows the specific value placed on Sema Ken
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ya by audiences and experts at election time [...] Sema Kenya is a weekly programme, in the Kenyan national language of Swahili, involving a panel discussion led by questions from the audience. In its first season, episodes were recorded in 14 different locations across the country. Sema Kenya is not an election programme, which allowed it to tackle local and national governance issues and present a diversity of views and dialogue at a time when the rest of the Kenyan media maintained a very narrow election focus [...] The research also shows that at a time when media coverage and debate was influenced by a peace agenda, resulting in an avoidance of sensitive issues, Sema Kenya provided the public with arguably more detailed information than other media sources." (Abstract)
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"Das Buch konzentriert sich auf den Aspekt des möglichen Einsatzes von Blogs zur Schaffung einer Gegenöffentlichkeit. Dazu werden englischsprachige, ägyptische Blogs untersucht, die während der Revolte gegen das Mubarak-Regime erstellt wurden. Zentral ist dabei die Frage, ob und wie ägyptische
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Blogger versuchen, mithilfe ihrer Blogs Nachrichten und Positionen zu vermitteln, die in der staatlich autorisierten Medienberichterstattung während des Mubarak-Regimes unterdrückt wurden. Dazu werden ausgewählte Blog-Einträge mittels einer Dokumentenanalyse daraufhin untersucht, ob mit ihnen erkennbar eine Gegenöffentlichkeit konstituiert werden soll und wie dies gegebenenfalls geschieht." (Klappentext)
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"Media use and talking with others have been found to have positive effects on citizens' civic participation according to Wyatt, Katz, and Kim (2000). Recent research links informational uses of the mobile phone to increased involvement in civic and political life. Building on this line of research,
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this study explores the effect of smartphone use on civil discourse engagement in China, with its nearly 900 million mobile phone user. Results reveal the smartphone's role as an outlet of public information, which fosters political talk with others, but also suggest use of government-controlled traditional media stifles open civic discourse. Hierarchical regression analyses show that talking politics in private, extensive use of the smartphone, and mobile tweeting were positive predictors of engagement in online civic discourse." (Abstract)
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"Die 'Grüne Bewegung', die Protestbewegung infolge der iranischen Präsidentschaftswahlen, machte im Sommer 2009 international Schlagzeilen. Das Mobiltelefon wurde dabei zum Symbol und zur Waffe des Volkes: Mit Handyfotos und -videos wurde das brutale Vorgehen der iranischen Machthaber gegen die Be
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völkerung in die Welt getragen. Inmitten des Kampfes um eine verheißungsvolle Neuordnung der iranischen Machtverhältnisse stand das Handyvideo vom Tod der jungen Iranerin Neda Agha-Soltan. Mareike Meis untersucht, wie sich die feminisierende und solidarisierende Wirkung dieses Todesvideos erklären lässt, wie das Mobiltelefon Symbolcharakter erlangte und wie der Deutungskampf um die iranische Protestbewegung in der deutschen Berichterstattung dargestellt wurde." (Klappentext)
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"Masudul Biswas and Carrie Sipes perform a comparative content analysis of Twitter and Facebook posts from a sample of Syrian and Libyan activist groups. By considering online content in the context of post-revolution Libya and the continuing upheaval in Syria, the authors shed new light on online a
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ctivist agenda-setting. They find that while social media is used as a tool to maintain and expand momentum during revolution, in a post-revolution climate the same media serves as a venue for idea-sharing and political discourse." (www.arabmediasociety.com)
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"Through a paired comparison of two moments of mass mobilization, in Ukraine and Argentina, focusing on the role of different actors involved, this text maps out a multi-layered sequence of events leading up to mass mobilization." (Publisher description)
"This chapter provides an overview of development and social change by talking about advocacy approaches to social justice. Advocacy communication offers a critical approach within the field of development, working toward social justice. Recognizing conditions of globalization contributes toward an
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analysis of problems and solutions that privilege normative and structural change. Advocacy communication engages strategic intervention with clear political positions, having no pretense toward neutrality, and resisting hegemonic dominance in valuing social justice. Focusing on advocacy allows one to consider the potential value of social change, recognizing the latent and manifest politics of approaches to intervention. The chapter also explores the role of communication and media in facilitating and limiting the potential for advocacy. It concludes with future research areas that would contribute toward social justice." (Summary)
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"An overview essay by Beth Kerley based on insights from the International Forum for Democratic Studies’ expert workshops reflects on the challenging landscape that confronts organizations seeking to deploy AI tools. Fernanda Campagnucci, spotlighting the work of Open Knowledge Brasil (OKBR), expl
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ores how AI advances are creating new opportunities for citizens to scrutinize public information. Finally, Demos’s Carl Miller sheds light on how AI technologies that enable new forms of civic deliberation might change the way we think about democratic participation itself." (Executive summary)
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"This essay examines the Responsible Procreation campaign of Acción Cultural Popular (ACPO) within the context of “zones of crisis” characterized not only by the legacy of long-standing violence but by tensions experienced within the Catholic Church and Colombian society at large during the tum
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ultuous decades of the 1960s and 1970s. ACPO centered its Responsible Procreation campaign on a radical critique of authoritarian and exclusionary gender relations that could only be remedied by guaranteeing women’s access to education and their participation as equals in household and community decision making. As a Catholic-affi liated organization, ACPO enjoyed legitimacy many secular organizations did not, enabling it to provide spaces where rural Colombians, especially women, could experiment with voice and agency and explore alternative visions of citizenship and community development without fear of reprisal or social ostracism. Christian social activism, the essay concludes, often laid the basis for the proliferation today of social movements spearheaded by rural women." (Abstract)
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"The main objective of this book was to explore contemporary expressions of civic culture in Estonia by looking at civic experiences: how do young people in Estonia experience their relationship with the political, politics and fellow citizens, and how do their civic experiences intersect with media
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experiences? The participants expressed civic experiences in diverse ways. One of these forms was media criticism, which is a critical reflection on media as institutions and content, or as Carpentier (2011) puts it, “discourse machineries”. Hence, I distinguished between practices that arise out of media criticism as expressed in the material, namely the practices of critical media connectors and critical media disconnectors. Both of these groups shared critical standpoints about the media failing in their role as watchdogs and information providers." (Conclusions, page 112)
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"Research on new media has always highlighted the assumption that in authoritarian contexts, communication technologies provide political activists with ampler space than available in the heavily policed physical world. However, social and political changes taking place throughout Egypt and the Arab
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region reflect a shift. In a country like Egypt, where only around 30 % of the population have internet access, the vibrant digital media scene is relocating itself once more in public spaces. Digital initiatives, such as Askar Kadhibun (Lying generals) and Musirrin (Steadfast), are transforming online media material into older (pre-modern) modes of traditional media, such as graffiti and traveling street performances. This constitutes a shift towards the ascendancy of popular cultural production, and a challenge to the reification and sacrilization of digital media in a context where poverty and illiteracy play a major role in both the dissemination of information and in political mobilization." (Abstract)
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"The purpose of this report is to share the key findings of the VVD radio project in Southern Madagascar after six months of broadcasts in 2012, in particular to document the design and evolution of the pilot project; feedback the outcomes to participating stakeholders; inform the donor community ab
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out the impacts of the VVD project; and provide lessons and perspectives to assist a proposed scaling up process. The document focuses on the findings of a two month evaluation process which was also informed by regular monitoring and feedback in the field during the course of the project activities." (Executive summary)
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"El kit se conforma de varios recursos para facilitar la tarea de los y las radialistas, tanto para la producción periodística previa a cada programa, como para el desarrollo del programa en sí. Se contempla como un eje de fundamental importancia la participación de la audiencia, y en ese sentid
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o, se incorpora varias sugerencias para lograr dicho objetivo. Los temas desarrollados en este kit, son de gran relevancia para la discusión con la ciudadanía en el marco del proceso electoral, tales como: proceso electoral abril 2013; democracia; política y participación política; participación política de las mujeres en Paraguay; políticas públicas; derechos humanos: los derechos económicos, sociales, culturales y ambientales (DESC); el derecho a la comunicación; la tierra en Paraguay. La estructura de cada tema se compone básicamente de un breve desarrollo teórico, una guía para el uso antes y durante los programas radiales, los microprogramas sobre cada tema, y un apartado en donde se explica en qué consiste cada una de las técnicas y formatos sugeridos para promover la participación de la audiencia, invitados e invitadas al programa. La información utilizada en el breve desarrollo teórico de los temas es una recopilación y posterior selección de publicaciones de diferentes organizaciones y autores, principalmente de la organización Decidamos, Campaña por la Expresión Ciudadana. En el apartado de fuentes y bibliografía de este kit se menciona detalladamente. Es importante mencionar que este Kit conto con el valioso aporte de validación en una jornada taller con las y los representantes de las 16 radios comunitarias involucradas, generando sugerencias, nuevos aportes y recomendaciones que garantizan una mayor adecuación del material, al uso de las y los radialistas desde su realidad comunitaria y práctica radiofónica." (Presentación del material, página 9)
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"Any observer of the so-called Arab Spring, the massive wave of political revolt that has been sweeping the Arab region since 2011, could not help but notice the visible role that women have been playing in it. Hundreds of thousands of Arab women throughout the region, including in some of the most
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traditional, conservative countries, like Yemen and Bahrain, took to the streets, alongside men, calling for an end to dictatorship and repression and demanding dignity and freedom (Khamis 2011; Radsch 2011, 2012). In doing so, they were not confining themselves to stereotypical gender roles, such as nurturing or supporting men in their struggle for freedom. Rather, they were often in the front lines of resistance, risking their lives, exposed to the dangers of arrest or assault. The Arab Spring unveiled “numerous examples of courageous Arab women heroes risking not only their reputation but also their physical safety for the sake of reform” (Al-Malki et al. 2012: 81)." (Abstract)
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"This report focuses on the role of factual debate and discussion programming, defined for the purposes of this review as “dialogic formats”, on political participation, knowledge and efficacy [...] The review of the existing evidence base is followed by an in-depth look at the relationship betw
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een exposure to one of BBC Media Action’s own debate programme formats and political participation. Factual debate and discussion programme formats have been implemented in a number of countries in which BBC Media Action has worked in recent years. This paper presents data from Nepal, where the political debate programme Sajha Sawal (Common Questions) has been broadcast nationally on radio and television for more than five years. The analysis provides evidence that exposure to a debate programme on the radio – which fulfils a mediated deliberation function – is positively associated with both latent and manifest forms of political participation. While it is not inferred that there is a causal relationship between the media output and political outcomes, the evidence presented goes some way to adding to the body of evidence of the impact dialogic programme formats have on interpersonal political discussion and more manifest types of participation in a developing country context, even when controlling for demographic factors and other personal characteristics." (Executive summary)
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"The review found that there is evidence that exposure to dialogic formats can have an impact on political participation. It is clear, however, that the relationship between exposure to programming and manifest forms of participation cannot be studied in isolation to other important outcomes such as
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knowledge, efficacy and most especially interpersonal discussion. Studies show that exposure to dialogic formats can increase both the effectiveness and intensity of interpersonal discussion, which in turn is found to be associated with more goal-oriented forms of participation such as intention to vote and participation in public forums. Likewise, knowledge is strongly associated with both manifest and political forms of participation, and so has the potential to play a mediating role in the relationship between exposure and increased participation." (Executive summary)
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