"Visual anthropology has proved to offer fruitful methods of research and representation to applied projects of social intervention. Through a series of case studies based on applied visual anthropological work in a range of contexts (
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health and medicine, tourism and heritage, social development, conflict and disaster relief, community filmmaking and empowerment, and industry) this volume examines both the range contexts in which applied visual anthropology is engaged, and the methodological and theoretical issues it raises." (Publisher description)
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"FilmAid International (FilmAid) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to use the power of film to promote health, strengthen communities and enrich the lives of the world’s vulnerable
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and uprooted populations. FilmAid offers programming that aims to facilitate social change by providing communication tools, information, and opportunities for people to come together to explore, debate, and express ideas. Although other aid organizations have used film as a medium of change and instruction, unlike the FilmAid approach this has generally been ad hoc, irregular, and part of a wider program of interventions. The FilmAid approach is therefore unique and offers an opportunity to conduct a study of the impact of showing films to a refugee population. Apart from an evaluation conducted in 2003 of FilmAid’s own program in Kakuma, Kenya, the authors are not aware of any other formal assessments. Consequently, there is little known regarding the impact of the FilmAid program. Gaining knowledge on this subject will not only assist FilmAid in their operation of programs, but will also provide guidance for other organizations interested in using films as interventions. The purpose of the assessment reported here was to evaluate the impact of the FilmAid International program in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kakuma, Kenya. We used a three-phase approach employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The assessment was led by an independent consultant assisted by faculty at the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and the staff of FilmAid." (Executive summary)
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"Overall, South Africa has a relatively vibrant and developing media environment. The 15 interviewees were involved in 37 media development init
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iatives between them. These development initiatives comprise the following: 12 training initiatives; nine advocacy initiatives; five research initiatives; three training media initiatives; two legal support initiatives; one award initiative; one grant making initiative; one conference; and, one revenue stream generation initiative [...] Through their experiences of designing, implementing and evaluating their media development initiatives, interviewees offer the following learning points regarding success. They stress the importance of strategic and long-term planning, of working with partners where possible, avoiding dependency on donors and taking the cultural context into account [...] Interviewees praised media development initiative donors for starting to seek advice about the real needs on the ground. However, interviewees feel that donors are falling short in the following ways: the withdrawal of funding from South Africa; the duplication of initiatives; conducting the wrong training; only providing short-term funding; being too prescriptive; and, not providing for core costs. According to the participating media professionals, the strategic priorities for media development are media management training, community participation, specialised reporting training and media monitoring." (Summary & conclusions, page 99-100)
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"[...] this book provides students with an introduction to the theory and practice of Theatre for Development (TfD). Since the 1970s, TfD has established itself as a process through which communit
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ies can address issues within their own self-development through participation in theatre practice. From its beginnings in sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian sub-continent and Latin America, TfD has now spread across the globe as an effective development strategy. The author examines TfD within the context of evolving development theories and practices, including participatory approaches that encourage individuals and communities to transform themselves from the objects into the subjects of their own development. The book is illustrated with case studies taken from around the world, and from many different development sectors, including health, literacy and voter education." (Publisher description)
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"The changes are mostly of a quantitative nature: proliferation of newspaper publications, an increase in the number of frequencies attributed to radio stations (commercial and community stations). Greater superficiality in the editorial lines of m
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ost newspaper publications has also been noted. The key projects examined included those run by: Panos Institute West Africa ALTERCOM; the Media Centre of Dakar; Génération TV and SYNPICS. Funding is one of the main weaknesses of the media sector of Senegal. The press support fund is very low. Funding of media activities is handled mostly by a few foundations, such as the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and a few NGOs, such as OSIWA. Evaluation of media activities is a real problem in Senegal. The culture of evaluation is obviously missing in the endeavours of most of the organisations approached in this research. Actors are conscious of the problem and are developing initiatives to solve it. There are few exceptions to this rule, especially for those who believe that there is no progress without evaluation. Beyond financing matters, the success or lack of success of media development activities can be explained by state obstacles to the development of the media, training, professionalism and self-regulation, decriminalising press offences, media evaluation, and the involvement local of groups in community radio." (Summary & conclusions, page 68)
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"Changes have been gradual but the watershed was 1992/4 when the airwaves were liberalised, leading to the mushrooming of media institutions especially in the broadcasting area. In the past five years, the media in Uganda has become more vibrant, more liberated
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and there has been more freedom of expression overall. Opening up of media space led to the proliferation of private newspapers, private radio stations and private television stations, and the introduction and eager embrace of the Internet and mobile phones by many people. The horizon of news reporting has been widened to cover East Africa and the Great Lakes Region. There has been more diversity in what the media is reporting. The media has acquired prominence as one of the four pillars of governance. Investigative journalism has been improved, but there are many draconian laws on the books. Some are active but others lie dormant and may be activated at any time. There is a recognition by the media that there is a need to move their relations with government to a level that is more professional and more engaging, rather than accusing the latter simply of control and denial of access. More people are using the media as a tool for advocacy and development. Communities now actively participate in, and influence media programmes by contributing ideas." (Summary & conclusions, page 61)
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"There have been significant changes in the Botswanan media in the past five years. Some of the changes noted include the recent proliferation of newspapers and the partial freeing of the airwaves by the Botswanan government, which has led to the s
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etting up of two new commercial radio stations. There has been some improvement in the content and quality of reportage in various media. There have been changes in the legislative and regulatory framework prevailing in the country. More training opportunities have opened up and there is now professional development of journalists – especially following the establishment of the first and only journalism school in the form of the Media Studies Department in the Humanities Faculty of the University of Botswana. Before this, most journalists in Botswana were trained abroad, mainly in Australia, the UK, Canada, the USA, South Africa and various other African countries. Several NGOs in the country are also now involved in the mentoring and training of journalists and media workers at various levels. There have been developments in self-regulation, the establishment of media pressure groups, and a commitment to professionalism in the media – particularly with the establishment of the Press Council of Botswana, the Media Advisory Council and the Botswana Editors’ Forum." (Summary & conclusions, page 66)
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"Draws together thinking and analysis that covers the breadth and depth of the media development landscape. The opening section, 'Why Media Matt
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ers: Global Perspectives' gathers the work of several thought leaders on major trends that cut across both the communications and development policy arenas; this is followed by an examination of the current debate that is engaging researchers, development professionals and media assistance experts alike, namely 'How Media Matters: Measuring its Impact'. The third section, 'Challenges in Media Matters: Practitioner Experiences' presents a range of regional and sectoral case studies, and the final section forms a guide to current information sources and studies of the field of media support, in 'Mapping the Sector - Literature, Surveys and Resources'. Media matters has four key aims: 1 To help development policy makers and practitioners understand the relevance of vibrant, independent media systems to their wider goals; 2 To highlight work on the evidence of the relationship between media, communications and the development agenda; 3 To flag key global and regional trends and opportunities in media assistance; 4 To map the media assistance sector, its growing body of literature, and the emerging international research partnerships that will help define its priorities to 2015." (Overview + executive summary)
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"Since 2001, UNESCO has established more than 87 Community Multimedia Centres (CMCs) in over 22 developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America
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and the Caribbean with major funding provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The evaluation describes the initiative's main achievement: 'The CMCs are accepted by and fully integrated into the communities and can in many cases be sustained beyond the pilot phase without core operating grants. The effort and funding that UNESCO has channeled into this transformative initiative have been exceeded by the hard work and commitment of the CMC staff and the communities where they are based. Among other key findings, the evaluators clearly acknowledge the contribution of CMCs to local development, noting that longer term benefits are already being realized within individual communities, such as the gradual removal of barriers to social inclusion, the stimulation of poverty alleviation through access to knowledge of better health, resource management, agriculture practices and the creation of new livelihoods opportunities. CMCs are also recognized as critical tools for local communities to mediate changes brought on by globalization and the advent of new technologies: The CMC role in fostering cultural resilience. The capacity of a community to retain critical knowledge and at the same time adapt to external influences and pressures - is particularly remarkable. In addition to an extensive review of documentation, the evaluation used field research, interviews, questionnaires, an online survey, and case studies to review the CMC initiative, a flagship activity of UNESCO's Communication and Information Sector. Equitable and expanded access to ICTs is promoted in many ways, such as subsidized training for those with special requirements and/or marginalized groups; close work with schools, small businesses and the independent sector; or the provision of information to more remote communities through radio, says the evaluation report. The evaluation also points out challenges faced by the CMC initiative, including the strategic use of CMC networks as delivery mechanisms for development services, from projects and programmes of UN agencies and national governments to those of local civil society groups. Many challenges relate to sustainability of local facilities in low-income and least-developed localities. As CMCs depend on volunteers for the delivery of training, radio programming and other services, they face difficulties in finding appropriate incentives for volunteers and struggle with managing volunteer turnover. Another challenge consists of opportunities for networking and staff development, which to date have been limited. Evaluators point out the need for CMCs to learn from and access expertise more easily and systematically from each other in order to be sustainable. Enabling national policy environments are very important for the development and sustainability of CMCs. Sudden changes in national policies on connectivity charges can destabilize CMCs and broadcast licensing restrictions or restrictions on press freedom can prevent CMCs from being able to broadcast freely and to a broader constituency, says the report." (UNESCO website)
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"In passing and implementing the Access to Information Act 2002, Jamaica has established a new and more open form of governance and accomplished
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what many other countries are still attempting. The Act, which provides citizens an enforceable right to official documents held by public authorities, is key to enhancing democracy, ensuring citizens’ participation, and building greater trust in Government decision making. Access to public documents can assist citizens in exercising their other fundamental socioeconomic rights, such as the right to housing, appropriate health care, and a clean and healthy environment, and it can serve to make government more efficient and effective. Passing an access to information law is, relatively speaking, easy in comparison to the practise of implementation, which can be challenging for any country. Successful implementation of an open information regime requires a commitment of resources (human, financial, and time), preparation of public bodies, development of procedures, change in culture and behaviours, and expertise. It is clear that the Jamaican Government and its public authorities, who entered into effect in phases with the final large group beginning in July 2005, have made great progress in the implementation of the Act including training of civil servants in the law and best practices. Many of the efforts in Jamaica serve as a model for other jurisdictions. However, as with any new regime there is the potential for constructive reform and advancement." (Introduction)
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"This toolkit and associated material, including the CD-ROM provided, introduce you to Forum Theatre as a tool for HIV and AIDS education. The toolkit has been written with special consideration f
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or youth groups and amateur theatre groups in English-speaking Africa who wish to address HIV- and AIDS-related issues in ways that are creative and engaging." (Page 2)
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"This book argues that indigenous modes of communication - for example the oral tradition, drama, indigenous entertainment forms, cultural modes and local language radio - are essential to the societies within which they exist
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and which create them; and that coupled with newer, or modern forms of communication technology such as the internet and digitised information, endogenous modes of communication are paramount to the processes of human development in Africa." (Publisher description)
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"This publication contains a collection of scripts and selected radio episodes that have been produced and distributed by ABC Ulwazi in Southern Africa
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. The scripts focus on social and health issues, and recognize that local communities are the key drivers of their own development. Each of the programmes, only partially presented, were produced with the systematic participation of community members and with a conscious effort to ensure easy adaptation of the original English versions to local languages. They attempt to demonstrate formats that combine information and education approaches to engage the public audience in critical development issues. The scripts of the three programmes included here promote poverty eradication, gender equality, and the prevention of HIV/AIDS. Each programme was produced to influence social change for economic growth and stability." (Introduction)
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"This book is designed to provide practical guidelines to those in the field of entertainment-education drama who want to sharpen their skills. With separate sections for various users - programme managers, writers, producers, directors and actors
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- the book is a structured, step-by-step manual that provides answers to the problems they can face. The book focuses in detail on the 'design approach' for determining and articulating effective messages that are contained in the drama. It draws on methods that have been tried and tested worldwide. In addition to a number of actual scripts that have been converted into dramas, it also contains useful appendices that provide sample documents of various procedural requirements as suggested in the book. Esta de Fossard is Senior Communication Advisor and Professor at the Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Communication Programs. She previously taught at the universities of Southern California, Ohio and George Mason. John Riber is a Independent Film-Maker and Director, Media for Development (East Africa), Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania." (Publisher website)
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