Document details

Make it Theirs: The Imperative of Local Ownership in Communications and Media Initiatives

Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace (USIP) (2010), 17 pp.
"This report presents the author's experiences regarding the relation of international interventions and local institutions in the (post-)conflict countries of Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan. Haselock states that media reforms are most successful where they are the result of partnerships with local stakeholders, or where local professionals and the civil society have taken ownership of the peacebuilding process. This approach involves international planners having a high understanding of the social and cultural situation and the conditions of the conflict. Therefore, they need to be part of two-way communication, where they are regarded as learners, following a "you know best", instead of a "we know best" approach. However, Haselock shows that foreign implementers often do not include local stakeholders enough, evoking refusal of international peacebuilding interventions." (commbox)
Nation Building in Bosnia, 2
Addressing Hate Speech in Kosovo, 5
Letting Go in Kosovo, 7
Encouraging Independent Media in Iraq, 8
Encouraging Local Ownership of Darfur Peace Process, 10
Building Relationships in Afghanistan, 13