"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
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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)
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"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
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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)
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"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
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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)
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"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
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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)
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"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
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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)
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"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
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n relation to the Bougainville Peace Agreement." (Introduction)
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"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
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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)
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"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
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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)
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"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
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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)
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"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
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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)
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"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
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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)
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"This article discusses the trial of visual research methods in a socio-economic research and development project with women subsistence farmers and their families in two regions of Papua New Guinea. It reports on the benefits and challenges of three visual research methods (drawing, participatory p
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hotography, and picture elicitation) to explore the agricultural practice of women subsistence farmers and their families. The paper discusses the potential of these methods for enhancing community engagement, reducing the power imbalance between researchers and participants, and promoting dialogue and reflection to better understand the needs and practices of subsistence farmers." (Abstract)
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"This study is an attempt to see how religion plays a part in development in a country where Christianity is seen as a major force behind social change. Government and business houses have done their part in enhancing people’s livelihood. However, it is claimed that Christianity has played a major
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role in enhancing people’s well-being. How people’s well-being is enhanced is vague, and might be understood through the concept of development communication. Development communication has been defined as “the art and science of human communication linked to a society’s planned transformation from a state of poverty to one of dynamic socio-economic growth that makes for greater equality and the larger unfolding of individual potentials.” Research participants were interviewed and their narratives were analyzed using thematic analysis." (Abstract)
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"The research for this report was developed and undertaken between June 2012 and April 2013 across 14 Pacific Island nations: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Nauru, Niue, Republic of Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon I
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slands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The report provides a regional overview of the PACMAS key components (Media Policy, Media Systems, Media Capacity Building and Media Content) as they emerged through 212 interviews focused upon the six PACMAS strategic areas. It also provides basic background information, an overview of the media and communications landscape and discusses in detail media and communications technicians; emergency broadcast systems, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVETs), media associations, climate change and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). For this reason, observations on the four PACMAS components should be understood to represent changes in the media and communication environment based upon an investigation focused on the PACMAS strategic activities." (www.pacmas.org)
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