"UNDP's Digital Strategy builds on the momentum created by the first strategy launched in 2018 and lays out a long-term vision for UNDP to 'help create a world in which digital is an empowering force for people and planet'. It outlines three interconnected objectives through which UNDP will support
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countries in reaping the benefits of digital technology while mitigating the risks. Digital Strategy 2022-2025 is intended to maintain and accelerate the momentum that has already been generated across UNDP and among its partners. Indeed, many of the components are already in place such as the Accelerator Labs, the Digital Advocates Network, a comprehensive IT transformation, and the Chief Digital Office. Continuing to build the capabilities of UNDP's workforce to imagine, plan, and implement integrated digital approaches has the potential to truly generate a multiplier effect on its support to partners." (Publisher description)
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"This report features 13 case studies that together highlight the range and impact of UNDP’s engagement with the media for the purpose of achieving development outcomes. These examples vary widely in scope and aim: from an election media monitoring initiative in Georgia to an initiative promoting
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local empowerment through community radio in remote areas of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR); from engagement with media for peacebuilding in Lebanon to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) awareness campaigns implemented in partnership with the private sector in Brazil. By showcasing successful examples of UNDP’s latest media initiatives, this report is meant to serve several purposes. First, it seeks to demonstrate that, across development contexts, UNDP has increasingly identified media engagement as a priority for its policy and programmes. Indeed, the case studies show that there is growing recognition that engaging the media has become indispensable for making progress on inclusive governance, peace and development outcomes and ultimately for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Second, the report seeks to outline UNDP’s comparative advantage and unique role in this area of work as well as to spark new approaches on media engagement and build new partnerships with media actors, the private sector, civil society and governments. This report therefore builds on broader UNDP efforts at promoting the media’s role in development, including an expert roundtable hosted by the Oslo Governance Centre in November 2017 on the role of media in promoting peace in conflict-prone settings." (Introduction)
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"This report examines the myriad ways that the agencies and bodies of the United Nations support the development of healthy media systems. Author Bill Orme highlights the role of four UN organizations in particular—UNESCO, UNDP, UNICEF, and DPO—and makes recommendations targeted to these agencie
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s, as well as to UN member states and donors. The UN should promote greater coordination among the UN agencies active in the media sector, following on the successes from the UN Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists. UNESCO and UNDP, in particular, have untapped synergies in this field. In post-conflict states, the UN’s mandate should explicitly include support for public access to information and the protection of journalists and independent media in those countries. In their support for 2030 Agenda implementation, member states should prioritize a broader and freer flow of public information on both the national and global levels on progress toward every 17 SDGs and their 169 associated targets. Bilateral and multilateral development programs should help accelerate the implementation of the SDG 16.10 (which commits all UN members to “protect fundamental freedoms,” including press freedom) by supporting voluntary national assessments of the status and effectiveness of access-to-information laws and the overall enabling environment for independent media." (Key findings)
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"The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has commissioned iMedia Associates (iMedia) to conduct a Capitalisation Exercise (CapEx) of its media assistance, with the primary objective of examining its current programmes and bringing out lessons learned. As the second output of this CapE
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x, iMedia has carried out a review of what other donors are doing on media assistance. As agreed, it focuses on current media support by five donors/agencies: DFID (UK Aid), Sida (Sweden), UNESCO, UNDP and the Knight Foundation. We have chosen the five donors to reflect the diversity of donor-types, namely two large and influential Western donors (UK’s DFID and Swedish Sida), agencies in the UN system (UNDP and UNESCO) and a well-endowed US-based private foundation (Knight Foundation). This review of other donors also synthesises key findings from a literature review of the wider media assistance sector in order to identify good practice and situate SDC’s approach in relation to other donors. Our emphasis is on current programmes, policy documents and funding mechanisms." (Introduction)
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"What role does mass media play in the promotion of global norms? We address this question through an analysis of Human Development Reports (HDRs) produced by the United Nations Development Programme. Although HDRs have promoted human development ideology over the past twenty-five years, little is k
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nown about how and to what extent their messages have been disseminated to the public. Addressing this gap in the literature, we examine a critical intervening factor in the process of international norm diffusion: political communication via the mass media. Highlighting the importance of framing and agenda setting, we identify four communicative mechanisms that can facilitate norm diffusion: credibility, persistence, resonance, and decentralization. Through qualitative and quantitative content analysis, we assess how these mechanisms have enabled HDRs to attract favorable global media attention such that they are now cited much more frequently than their rival, the World Bank's World Development Reports." (Abstract)
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"Development practice has a critical role in providing the foundation for preventing violent extremism. UNDP’s conceptual framework proposes eleven interlinked building blocks for a theory of change explaining how development can help prevent violent extremism. These building blocks, which will in
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form global, regional and national strategies for PVE include:
1. Promoting a rule of law and human rights-based approach to PVE;
2. Enhancing the fight against corruption;
3. Enhancing participatory decision-making and increasing civic space at national and local levels;
4. Providing effective socio-economic alternatives to violence for groups at risk;
5. Strengthening the capacity of local governments for service delivery and security;
6. Supporting credible internal intermediaries to promote dialogue with alienated groups and reintegration of former extremists;
7. Promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment;
8. Engaging youth in building social cohesion;
9. Working with faith-based organizations and religious leaders to counter the abuse of religion by violent extremists;
10. Working with the media to promote human rights and tolerance;
11. Promoting respect for human rights, diversity and a culture of global citizenship in schools and universities." (Executive summary, page 5)
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"This publication describes the main media assistance funders outside the USA in an alphabetical fashion from 'Arab States' to 'United Kingdom', complemented by data on the European Commission (EC), UNESCO and UNDP. The EC is likely to be the biggest single funder of media development projects besid
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es the United States. An approximate and conservative guess was a current yearly commitment by the EC of about $82 million worth of media-related projects. For comparison, Sweden and Norway provided $30 million and $19 million on media support, respectively, in 2008, and the Netherlands and Switzerland were estimated to fund about $37 million and $29 million per year, respectively. In forming part of the "governance" agenda of many donors the rationale for media support is being much more precisely articulated than in the past, and it is no longer as confused with either communications as public relations or with communications as a tool for social or behavioural change. Nevertheless, often there is no long-term strategy or commitment for media development and, as a result, more complex media reform programmes (for instance legislation, reform of state broadcasters, or establishment of national training structures) are not tackled accordingly." (CAMECO Update 1-2010)
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"The experience of citizen involvement in public policy advocacy around the world has shown that the status quo tends to prevail unless political will to implement change is strengthened by active citizen participation. A “Global Information Society Watch” is needed to make governments and inter
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national organisations accountable. This publication, the first in a series of reports covering the state of the information society on an annual basis, focuses on the theme of participation. The report has three interrelated goals: surveying the state of the field of ICT policy at the local and global levels; encouraging critical debate; and strengthening networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society. It discusses the WSIS process and a range of international institutions, regulatory agencies and monitoring instruments from the perspective of civil society and stakeholders in the global South. Alongside this discussion, we present a series of country reports which examine issues of access and participation within a variety of national contexts." (Introduction)
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"This evaluation has five main objectives: to evaluate the implementation results of the project, to extract the lessons learnt, to propose a way forward for the Khoun Radio, to assess the feasibility of a national scale-up strategy, and finally to consider which role UNDP could play in these proces
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ses. In summary it can be said that the project has managed to have a number of the crucial components of the project implemented. In spite of strong and committed initiative, support and management from the UNDP side, the uniting and facilitating organisational framework is not yet fully in place. It is, however, considered possible to remedy this lack through an intensive, participatory planning process in Khoun among the board members and the community broadcasters – facilitated by the project staff. The report presents, analyses and extracts recommendations in connection with all of the project’s four activities: establishment of a radio station; training of district and provincial information officers; training of (volunteer) programme producers and the board; elaboration of a baseline study and collaboration with other communityoriented radio activities in Laos." (Executive summary, page 6)
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"This Practical Guidance Note aims to demonstrate that media can play a crucial role in empowering vulnerable and marginalized groups. This can best be achieved if media support and media capacity development is directed in a way that enables the media to better respond to and reflect the informatio
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n and communication needs of these groups. This kind of media support can be called Communication for Empowerment. Communication for Empowerment is a critical driver for securing the necessary participation, ownership and accountability for achieving the MDGs. The Guidance Note explains Communication for Empowerment and its importance to poverty reduction. It identifies trends in the media, and highlights key opportunities and challenges, including the impact of liberalization and the ongoing struggle many media face in holding onto hard fought media freedoms. The Note underscores the particular importance of radio in Communication for Empowerment strategies because of its reach, accessibility to the poor and increasingly interactive character." (Abstract)
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"This Guide complements the Practical Guidance Note on Right to Information, which provided guidance on approaches for designing and implementing programmes in this area. It builds on this knowledge, and focuses on the monitoring and evaluation of those programmes, paying particular attention to the
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use of appropriate indicators, including gender and pro-poor indicators. It outlines the basic principles of programme evaluation, but concentrates on assessing outcomes. It outlines four broad areas of right to information that must be considered in any context for a thorough evaluation. These are: (1) the legal regime for the right to information; (2) the implementation of right to information legislation by government; (3) the use of right to information by the general public and civil society; and (4) the use of right to information by marginalised group. It then suggests questions for each area, and derives from these typical baseline assessment features, outputs and outcomes." (Abstract)
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"This Practical Guidance Note aims to: heighten awareness and knowledge within UNDP country offices (COs) on right to information generally and right to information legislation specifically; assist COs by providing practical information and guidance for right to information legislation programming;
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signpost additional resources, sources of expertise and further reading." (Executive summary)
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"The first section provides summary information on 69 UNDP supported projects and initiatives as of 2002/03. These initiatives were identified primarily by desk research from three main sources: (i) direct feedback from the Sub-Regional Resource Facilities (SURFs)2), the COs and Regional Bureaux, (i
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i) scanning of UNDP intranet databases and internal reporting systems especially the data contained in the ROAR3), and (iii) scanning of the internet including CO, SURF and Regional Bureaux websites and general Internet searches [...] The second section provides information on more than 100 international organizations actively working on Access to Information issues. The majority of these organizations work with developing countries to promote freedom of expression and information. They were identified through (i) internet and literature searches (ii) direct feedback from country offices, regional bureaux and SURFs and (iii) referrals from within and outside UNDP." (Page 6)
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"Implementation of the rights to freedom of expression and to access information are prerequisites for ensuring the voice and participation necessary for a democratic society. Access to information and communication build on these internationally recognized rights and together encompass the core pri
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nciples of democratic governance: participation, transparency and accountability. The promotion and protection of both access to information itself and flows of information that exist between constituents, government, parliament, community groups, civil society organizations and the private sector are of equal importance. It is essential to create and strengthen communication mechanisms that enable poor people to influence national and local government policy and practice." (Executive summary)
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