"Does social influence exerted through role modeling of collective action impact social change in contexts that are not conducive to collective action, such as long-lasting violent conflicts? We examined this question in two field experiments in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. We created t
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wo versions of an episode of an existing media intervention (a show aiming to promote positive social change), in which fictional characters either planned collective action (role modeling condition), or did not plan action (control condition) to address grievances. In Study 1, role modeling affected individual-level outcomes: it increased perceived collective efficacy and willingness to take action, but exacerbated intergroup attitudes and reduced tolerance. Study 2 tested the influence of role modeling on a group-level outcome (group discussions). Discussions following the role modeling show focused less on grievances, and included more positive lessons of the show, as well as more statements about collective efficacy and collective action. The findings highlight the influence of role modeling of collective action through media on efficacy and action for social change, but caution against unintended consequences on intergroup attitudes." (Abstract)
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"Drawing on examples ranging from the Indignados movement in Spain to media activists in Brazil, from rural community workers in Malawi to UNICEF's global outreach programs, [the author] presents cutting-edge debates about the role of media and communication in enhancing social change. He offers bot
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h new and contested ideas of approaching social change from below, and highlights the need for institutions - governments and civil society organizations alike - to be in sync with their constituencies." (Publisher description)
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"This book explores the role and purpose of journalism to spark and propagate change by investigating human rights journalism and its capacity to inform, educate and activate change. Downman and Ubayasiri maximize this approach by proposing a new paradigm of reporting through the use of human-focuss
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ed news values. This approach is a radical departure from the traditional style that typically builds on abstract concepts. The book will explore human rights journalism through the lens of complex issues such as human trafficking and people smuggling in the Asian context. This is not just a book for journalists, or journalism academics, but a book for activists, human rights advocates or anyone who believes in the power of journalism to change the world." (Publisher description)
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"The growing emphasis on collective action raises new questions for research and practice in communication for development and social change. What actors drive processes of collective action? What are the communication features of their interventions? What type of social change processes do they enh
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ance? What evidence demonstrates the impact of collective action processes? What theoretical frameworks inform our understanding of collective action and social change? What is the role of communication scholarship in this context? In this article, we address these questions, review the contexts of contemporary transformation and key debates in communication for development and social change, and propose a research agenda for an interdisciplinary field of inquiry." (Abstract)
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"This article renders an account of the rapid institutionalization of the academic field of Communication for Development and Social Change in Spain in recent years following a period of neglect and marginalization. The ongoing expansion of the field of Communication for Development and Social Chang
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e in the Spanish context is understood as a process of implosion, i.e., a collapse inwards, which results from the inconsistencies and weaknesses of fast and late institutionalization. The methodological approach for this inquiry is a documental review of both academic literature and research and institutional reports produced in Spain between 1980 and 2010. Based on this review, the article contrasts the trajectory of the field in Spain with the debates at the international level, establishing relevant continuities and differences." (Abstract)
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"The first International SBCC Summit 2016 brought together the global community of social and behavior change communication (SBCC) organizations, practitioners and researchers from February 8 - 10, 2016, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The three-day event offered talks from SBCC field practitioners, a mar
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ket fair of tools, skills-building workshops, and panels on methodologies, programs and research. Blue Sky sessions allowed participants to consider the way forward in elevating the science and art of SBCC. Twenty-four technical panels and 10 preformed panels were created from the more than 600 abstracts received. Topics ranged from HIV and Ebola to nutrition and sanitation." (Introduction)
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"This book identifies the strengths and weaknesses of different methodological approaches to research in communication and social change. It examines the methodological opportunities and challenges occasioned by rapid technological affordances and society-wide transformations. This study provides gr
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ounded insights on these issues from a broad range of proficient academics and experienced practitioners. Overall, the different contributions address four key themes: a critical evaluation of different ethnographic approaches in researching communication for/and social change; a critical appraisal of visual methodologies and theatre for development research; a methodological appraisal of different participatory approaches to researching social change; and a critical examination of underlying assumptions of knowledge production within the dominant strands of methodological approaches to researching social change." (Publisher description)
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"The role of communication in planned social change is portrayed as a linear conduit for inducing pro-development behavior change in the "undeveloped" world. Later versions of social change communication started incorporating culture and participation into multicultural participatory development pro
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grams. This essay suggests that development discourses, including their later incarnations incorporating culture and participation, serve as vehicles for capitalist market promotion. These new forms of planned social change communication, scripted in the narratives of local empowerment, community-based participation, and entrepreneurship, work to systematically erase subaltern communities. Building on the theoretical framework of the culture-Centered approach (CCA), I examine the ways in which dialogues with the margins of development discourse resist these dominant conceptual categories of development. The subaltern, standing in for the popular, resists neoliberal interventions through her active participation in popular politics." (Abstract)
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"This paper draws on the experience of conducting participatory video in the Rift Valley of Kenya after the 2007–2008 post-election crisis, when the country underwent a period of intense ethnic violence. By linking development communication to conflict transformation theory, this article offers a
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framework that highlights the impact that communication for social change can have in post-conflict settings through the use of participatory media. It shows how this type of media productions can contribute to re-establishing relationships and creating a shared understanding of the conflict, while building the view of an interconnected future among opposing groups. In this case study, I illustrate how a collection of participatory videos became a peacebuilding tool for the youth in the Rift Valley. Through the information gathered from the interviews with young victims and perpetrators of the Kenya Post-election Violence, I discuss how both the filming and the screening of these films have opened a dialogue between different groups and contributed to processes of social change." (Abstract)
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"This guide is for anyone who wants to create social change, and who wants to learn how storytelling can help. The guide is divided into four color-coded sections. The strategy section is about how to use storytelling to best effect. The storytelling section offers ideas on how to tell a good story.
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The methods section covers some techniques in storytelling. And the structure section looks at how to incorporate storytelling into your everyday work." (Page 1)
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"This book critically examines directed social change theory and practice while presenting a conceptual framework of development communication to address inequality and injustice in contemporary contexts. This third edition features significantly revised and updated chapters to include the latest sc
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holarship on, and practices of, media and communication for development. It explores empowerment and social justice to individuals and communities around the world in the context of increasing globalization. Tracing the history of development communication, it looks objectively at diverse approaches and their supporters, and goes on to provide models for the future. It also offers a new chapter presenting the authors' framework foregrounding empowerment and social justice as goals for development communication in the 21st century." (Publisher description)
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"El inicio del siglo XXI ha venido marcado por los debates que, en el plano internacional, están sometiendo a revisión la comunicación para el desarrollo con el fin de proponer otras alternativas como comunicación para el cambio social o comunicación para el empoderamiento ciudadano y ecosocial
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. El debate conceptual que tiene lugar está lejos de resolverse con una respuesta fácil e inmediata, en la medida en que todos los términos que entran en escena requieren de un trabajo genealógico que permita identificar las tensiones, los actores sociales y las perspectivas de investigación en conflicto." (Editorial)
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"Este libro nace como una propuesta que busca dar visibilidad a una serie de iniciativas sociales e investigaciones enmarcadas en el ámbito de la comunicación, los conflictos y el cambio social, que en ocasiones no tienen los espacios ni la cobertura necesaria en los contextos académicos. Su obje
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tivo es mostrar buenas prácticas que apoyen el desarrollo de las actividades profesionales y de intervención social de los comunicadores y los activistas, además de favorecer el pensamiento crítico sobre la violencia que se transmite desde el periodismo, el cine o la publicidad, entre otros. En un escenario como el actual, en el que los medios de comunicación están sometidos a un acelerado proceso de concentración y mercantilización que daña su papel como garantes de una democracia de alta calidad, cobra más relevancia que nunca la investigación y la reflexión que favorezcan la difusión de una información plural, responsable, crítica contra las injusticias y que aborde las cuestiones centrales de interés colectivo. La comunicación para el cambio social, o los diferentes conceptos que sirven para detallar una comunicación transformadora, se posiciona como un enfoque de contrapoder que busca revertir los discursos de control. Un posicionamiento ético que incentiva la autonomía de las personas en cuanto a sus capacidades de reflexión, crítica y análisis, especialmente en relación a la violencia que margina, excluye e invisibiliza. Otro objetivo de este tipo de comunicación es promover la participación de los ciudadanos en los debates y en las decisiones comunes que impliquen una mejora de sus sociedades, en un contexto de reconocimiento mutuo." (Introducción, página 11)
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"This chapter documents the experience of the Communication for Change (C-Change) project in developing and rolling out a holistic and comprehensive socioecological approach to social and behavior change communication (SBCC) within the context of a donor-funded program with short term goals. C-Chang
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e's SBCC framework uses a socioecological model for change. This model views social and behavior change as a product of multiple, overlapping levels of influence as well as political and environmental factors. The “health belief model” helps to find out why audience's perceptions are not in favor of change in the search for tipping points for change. The chapter describes three characteristics of SBCC. The key models and concepts of the C-Change's SBCC framework are incorporated into at least 75 government programs in Africa. The advocacy and social mobilization strategies of SBCC are aimed at ensuring sustainability through host government “buy-in” and support." (Summary)
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"This chapter first discusses evaluation of communication for development in relation to ideas around participation and social change, before presenting the framework for evaluating communication for development and social change, and the key principles that underpin it. It then describes some of th
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e most interesting current trends and debates in development evaluation that informed the development of the framework, and outlines some strategies for overcoming the many challenges and issues associated with implementing this alternative evaluation approach. The chapter discusses some of the aspects of systems thinking and complexity theory that informs the framework, and gives brief examples to illustrate their relevance. Finally, the chapter discusses the implications for increasing the sustainability and effectiveness of communication for development and social change." (Summary)
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