"In this publication, we focus on the people who make right to information laws come to life, and who use them as tools to fight corruption. In the following pages, you will find the stories of citizens from 10 countries across the Asia Pacific region who have used their right to information to dema
...
nd accountability from their governments. From uncovering wrongdoing in Bangladesh and Mongolia, to ensuring that citizens get the services they need in Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and from holding politicians to account in the Maldives to ensuring that governments share key guidance and statistics in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, these stories show the difference access to information can make. Information requests should be seen as a routine way for citizens to understand their government’s work and to hold it accountable. However, in many places around the world, this is not the case. In many countries, making these requests requires great courage from citizens who may face challenges and danger in doing so." (Introduction, page 3)
more
"This report provides an overview of the profile of women in the Papua New Guinea media sector, focussing on major or signifcant media outlets in the capital, Port Moresby. The purpose of this report is to provide background information and analysis needed to make recommendations to overcome barrier
...
s to women being in decision making positions and to progress professionally within their organisations and the media sector overall. The first part of the study provides a sector overview of gender diversity at the decision-making level and the number of policies, practices, and opportunities available to support women in the workplace. In total, 13 media organisations across, radio, TV, print and online participated in the study [...] The second part of the study analyses interviews from female and male media sector personnel with experience ranging from 3 months to 25 years. 14 interviews were conducted in total. Participants were selected from the organisations covered in Section 1 of the report. Interviews covered the current state of workplace culture and environment, barriers to women’s career development and recommendations for reducing barriers to women’s career progression in the media industry." (Introduction)
more
"Young people are among the most affected and vulnerable groups in the HIV epidemic. Targeting young people in prevention strategies requires inclusive and participatory approaches. This paper discusses a film production project that involved youths in a remote rural community in the Highlands of Pa
...
pua New Guinea. It explores some of the processes and impacts of integrating a visual methods community action project in a local community context while targeting young people in an effort to engage them in a reflective dialogue on HIV and AIDS." (Abstract)
more
"This unique transdisciplinary publication is the result of collaboration between UNESCO’s Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) programme, the United Nations University’s Traditional Knowledge Initiative, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and other organizations. Ch
...
apters written by indigenous peoples, scientists and development experts provide insight into how diverse societies observe and adapt to changing environments. A broad range of case studies illustrate how these societies, building upon traditional knowledge handed down through generations, are already developing their own solutions for dealing with a rapidly changing climate and how this might be useful on a global scale." (Back cover)
more
"Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a key development challenge. In Papua New Guinea, a country with one of the highest rates of GBV, the issue has been prioritised in the national development agenda. The programme Yumi Kirapim Senis (Together Creating Change) was created to support the development
...
of the National GBV Strategy. To build on existing understandings and workable solutions in communities, six community-led programmes were examined. This article explores a crucial component of the initiative which utilised participatory visual media to bridge communication gaps between national agencies and communities to drive social change at all levels." (Abstract)
more
"The Bougainville Audience Research Study is a comprehensive baseline study on the media and communication landscape in Bougainville. It offers key insights into the access and ownership of media and communication channels, and provides an in-depth picture of the audiences’ views and aspirations i
...
n relation to the Bougainville Peace Agreement." (Introduction)
more
"The Bougainville Audience Research Study seeks to increase understanding of the Information and Communication landscape in Bougainville [Papua new Guinea] for the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG). The research is designed to inform the development, implementation and evaluation of communica
...
tion initiatives and awareness undertaken by ABG. The focus of the research is on understanding the access and use of media and communication channels by the people in communities, and to provide a voice for their understandings and concerns with regards to the Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA) and the upcoming Referendum. The study was undertaken by the Centre for Social and Creative Media (CSCM) at the University of Goroka. As part of the study 16 field researchers from Bougainville were trained in research design and data collection. The study used a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods. It presents a baseline study that can be used to monitor changes in the media and communication landscape in the years to come. As information and communication is key to most development and addressing social issues, it is hoped that this research study provides useful information to other government departments, non-government organisations, aid agencies and local groups and organisations. Above all, this reports aims to represent the voices of the audience, the people of Bougainville, as it captures their current situations and their aspirations." (Introduction)
more
"While the Kanaks’ pro-independence protests against French settlers have been extensively documented in the global media and academic literature, another protest – more subtle and diffused, but deeply embedded – is now taking place in New Caledonia (South Pacific) to decide whether to remain
...
in the French Republic or become independent in a referendum between 2014 and 2019. This article suggests that there is a polarisation in the New Caledonian media sphere that deeply affects journalistic practices. Drawing on data collected from archival research, participant observation and interviews conducted at both the metropolitan daily newspaper, Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes, and the pro-independence radio station, Radio Djiido, this article demonstrates how local journalists problematically navigate and, often, contest diverse sociocultural values, practices and principles prevailing at different times and places/spaces, creating a deep division in the New Caledonian media sphere." (Abstract)
more
"Applied Theatre: Performing Health and Wellbeing is the first volume in the field to address the role that theatre, drama and performance have in relation to promoting, developing and sustaining health and wellbeing in diverse communities. Challenging concepts and understanding of health, wellbeing
...
and illness, it offers insight into different approaches to major health issues through applied performance. With a strong emphasis on the artistry involved in performance-based health responses, situated within a history of the field of practice, the volume is divided into two sections: Part One examines some of the key questions around research and practice in applied performance in health and wellbeing, specifically addressing the different regional challenges that dominate the provision of health care and influence wellbeing: how the aging population of the global north creates pressure on lifetime healthcare provision, while the global south is dominated by a higher birth rate and a larger population under 15 years old. Part Two comprises case studies and interviews from international practitioners that reflect the diversity of practices across the world and in particular differences between work in the northern and southern hemispheres. These case studies include a sanitation project in a Hmong refugee camp in Thailand in the 1980s, and the sanitation and rural development projects initiated by the traveling theatre troupes of a number of University theatre departments in Africa – Makerere in Kampala, Uganda; Botswana; Lesotho and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – which began in the 1960s. It considers the emergence of Theatre for Development's use as a health approach, considering the work of Laedza Batanani and the influences of Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed." (Publisher description)
more
"There have been significant changes in journalistic practices in various countries over the years. Yet little is known about the nature of changes in journalism in transitional developing countries following military rule. Drawing on email surveys of journalists in Nigeria and Fiji, two countries w
...
ith recent histories of military dictatorship that are rarely examined in the research literature, this comparative study investigates journalistic practices in the two countries. Results show that in Nigeria, the transition from military rule to democratic system of government in May 1999 and the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act in 2011 have ushered in significant changes in the way journalism is practised. However, there remains an adversarial relationship between the government and journalists. In Fiji, the 2006 coup, the fourth in the country’s history, led to a more restrictive environment for journalists, despite democratic elections in 2014. Under pressure, journalists are rethinking their roles, with some now considering ‘development journalism’ as a legitimate journalistic genre." (Abstract)
more
"This article argues that an indigenous approach to communication research allows us to re-think academic approaches of engaging in and evaluating participatory communication research. It takes as its case study the Komuniti Tok Piksa project undertaken in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The proj
...
ect explores ways in which visual methods when paired with a community action approach embedded within an indigenous framework can be used to facilitate social change through meaningful participation. It involves communities to narrate their experiences in regard to HIV and AIDS and assists them in designing and recording their own messages. Local researchers are trained in using visual tools to facilitate this engagement with the communities." (Abstract)
more
"This article has provided a benchmark for further detailed examination of the issue of foreign aid and media education in Solomon Islands. It acknowledges that aid funding comes with a political agenda and that there are difficulties in evaluating the effectiveness of media education where recipien
...
t countries did not start as empty vessels to be filled with Australian values and behaviour. Drawing on the thinking of Kincheloe (2008), this article acknowledges that students (of journalism, or of anything else), need to be aware that power comes through attempts to win people’s consent, by social and psychological means. Despite some early political mistakes in the way media assistance was conducted by Australian staff, the later SOLMAS project performed some important work, especially around the 2010 election, with staff acutely aware of the limitations of the project and of the work of expatriate trainers. This article also raises concern about ABC International’s lack of transparency over the SOLMAS project (in fighting access to documentation about the project). It is ironic that the ABC International managers in Australia clearly saw their role firstly as part of Australian foreign policy, rather than journalism trainers/supporters of the Fourth Estate in the Pacific." (Conclusion, page 46)
more
"International trade in creative industries showed sustained growth in the last decade. The global market for traded creative goods and services totaled a record $547billion in 2012, as compared to $302 billion in 2003. Exports from developing countries, led by Asian countries, were growing faster t
...
han exports from developed countries. Among developed country regions, Europe is the largest exporter of creative goods. In 2012, the top 5 creative goods exporters included Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium. Exports of creative goods from developed economies grew during the period 2003 to 2012, with export earnings rising from $134 billion to $197 billion. Among developing countries, China is the largest exporter of creative goods. In 2012, the top 5 exporters were China, Hong Kong, China, India, Turkey and South Korea. Exports of creative goods from developing economies grew during the period 2003 to 2012, with export earnings rising from $87 billion to $272 billion. Developing countries are playing an increasingly important role in international trade in creative industries." (Executive summary)
more
"This article presents the attitudinal response of rural villagers in Papua New Guinea to mobile telephony, based on a threshold study made during the early stages of its adoption. The research indicates that the introduction of mobile telecommunications has generally been viewed positively, with mo
...
bile phones affording social interaction with loved ones. Nonetheless, negative concerns have been strongly felt, notably financial costs and anxiety about mobile phones aiding in the coordination of extramarital liaisons and criminal activities. The communities investigated previously had scant access to modern communication technologies, some still using traditional means such as wooden slit drums, known locally as garamuts. The expansion of mobile network coverage has introduced into communal village life the capability to communicate dyadically and privately at a distance. Investigation into the adoption of mobile phones thus promotes understanding about traditional means of communication and notions of public and private interactions." (Abstract)
more
"This collection offers fresh perspectives on the aesthetics, politics and histories of applied theatre. With contributions from leading scholars in the field, the book illuminates theatre in a diverse range of global contexts and regions. Divided into three sections - histories and cultural memorie
...
s; place, community and environment; and poetics and participation - the chapters interweave cutting-edge theoretical insights with examples of innovative creative practice that traverse different places, spaces and times." (Publisher description)
more
"This book advances new understandings of how technologies have been harnessed to improve the health of populations; whether the technologies really empower those who use information by providing them with a choice of information; how they shape health policy discourses; how the health information r
...
elates to traditional belief systems and local philosophies; the implications for health communicators; how certain forms of silence are produced when media articulates and problematizes only a few health issues and sidelines others; and much more." (Publisher description)
more