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The Drum Beat - 5 - Communication and Change News and Issues
October 25th, 1998

The email and web network from THE COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE partnership -
The Rockefeller Foundation, UNICEF, USAID, WHO, BBC World Service, CIDA,
Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, Soul City, The Panos
Institute, UNFPA. Information, ideas, linkages and dialogue on
communication, development and change.

Web Site: http://www.comminit.com

Contact: wfeek@coastnet.com  NOTE - If you have been trying to email this
address and your emails have bounced back to you - our apologies. There was
a problem at the ISP. It is fixed. Please re-send your message. Many
thanks.

PROGRAMMES

1. Econews Africa's Community Media Programme promotes community-based
media in Kenya and East and Southern African. One activity is The Kenya
Community Media Network, a national network of individuals and
organizations involved in participatory, community-based media for
development and democratization. The network comprises professional media
workers, community-based and non-governmental organizations dealing with
information, communications, development, civic education and human rights.
It's starting premise is that the greatest impediments to the involvement
of community groups in relevant policy-making fora is a regulatory
environment unconducive to freedom of expression, freedom of information
and community-based organizing. Contact Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki
 wanyeki@iconnect.co.ke


2. Grameen Communications (GC) promotes development through information
access, use and exchange. Two new programmes are planned. "Village Internet
Program" will seek poverty alleviation by reducing migration from villages
to cities through creating IT related job opportunities for the rural poor.
The Village Email Program [joint collaboration of Grameen Communications
and Volunteers in Technical Assistance] will provide early warning of
disasters to villagers. Contact Nazneen Sultana gc@grameen.com


3. Straight Talk in Uganda is a communication initiative to improve mental,
social and physical development of adolescents and young adults. Two
monthly newspapers are produced: Straight Talk [for 15-24 years] ] and
Young Talk [10-15 years]. They are "adolescent-driven", offering
age-appropriate information on reproductive health, life skills and child
rights. Wide distribution is through Uganda's main newspaper, 100 NGOs and
the postal service to 10,000 primary and secondary schools and tertiary
institutions. There are plans to start radio programmes. Contact Anne Akia,
Catharine Watson strtalk@swiftuganda.com Visit their new web site at
http://www.swiftuganda.com/~strtalk


4. Radio Zibonele is a community station in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South
Africa. That township had serious violence between two Taxi associations. A
number of commuters have been killed or injured. As a contribution to
resolving this situation, Radio Zibonele invited parties to the violence to
explain why they were "at war" and facilitated the community speaking with
the Taxi associations. The crisis seems to have been settled. Zibonele is
now working to ensure peace is maintained, Contact Vusi Tshose, Station
Manager care of  pphcmtc@sn.apc.org


5. A Video Training and Production Project designed to enhance the access
of Southern video producers to mainstream television was launched in July,
l998 in Maputo, Mozambique. The organizers are WETV - Global Access
Television, with support from UNDP, Austria and Radio Nederland Training
Centre. Sixteen producers made short videos on  sustainable development.
The best have been asked to prepare programs which will air on WETV's 38
affiliate broadcasters in 4 continents. Contact Charles Morrow
cmorrow@wetv.com


MATERIALS

6. 'Communicating To Improve Health' summarizes presentations and
recommendations from a conference hosted by The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation. A diverse group of communications professionals discussed the
state of the art in health communications: what works, what do we still
need to learn, what roles for philanthropy? Report is on  www.rwjf.org
 Contact Frank Karel FK@rwjf.org


7. The book 'Communication for Development' by Colin Fraser and Sonia
Restrepo-Estrada draws attention to the fundamental importance of
communication for development and change. Roy Colle's review [Journal of
Development Communication] says " 'This book has numerous characteristics
that make it extraordinary "must" reading for policy makers, ministry
personnel, donors, project coordinators, academics, and students. Anyone
who wonders what "communication for development" is, or..the potential role
and impact of communication in development, or what its value is in
economic terms, can find convincing answers..." Publishers: London: I.B.
Tauris Fax: +44 171 831 9061 - US/Canada, St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth
Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Contact colinsonia@compuserve.com


PEOPLE

8. Amartya Sen, who was recently awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics, had
this to say: "[on] the role that democratic processes - plural politics,
the freedom of the press, opportunities for public criticism - play in
preventing disastrous deprivations of the kind that you see in famines and
other catastrophes.....I believe that those roles are very important in
preventing [such] desperate deprivations..." He wrote on this subject. For
this interview and other coverage see The Times of India
 http://www.indiatimes.com/amartyasen/ Do you agree or disagree? Comment on
the Forum section of the C.I. site - http://www.comminit.com/bin/forum.cgi


9. Dana Faulkner is to be the Project Director of the CHANGE programme -
[see previous Drum Beats]. She will provide the overall strategic direction
and be the liaison point for the relationship with USAID. Contact
dfaulkner@aed.org


10. OneWorld Online is looking for an African Regional Coordinator. The
person in this position will work with local NGOs to build their capacity
to use the Internet, help them network together and ensure that African
material is strongly featured on the OneWorld supersite. Contact
miriam@oneworld.org


11. Leo Kenny is taking up a post in UNICEF's Regional office in Geneva
with responsibility for a broad focus on HIV/AIDS related issues, including
adolescent health, in Central and Eastern Europe. Tasks include a regional
journalist training consortium, National Media Awards and the supply of
relevant media programming. Contact lkenny@chsmtpgw.unicef.ch


FEATURED ON THE COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE WEB SITE - http://www.comminit.com

12. INTERVIEW - with Jennifer Sibanda, Executive Director, Federation of
African Media Women-SADC. Jennifer reflects on support for disadvantaged
and marginalised women accessing media channels and media trends in
Southern Africa. http://www.comminit.com/interview.html
Do you agree with Jennifer's views? Comment on the Forum
http://www.comminit.com/bin/forum.cgi


13. PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMERCIAL MEDIA - Analysis of the implications for
development  of the increasing commercialisation of media in developing
countries. Presentation of a strategic direction in a series of
 partnership activities that are not dependent on paying for air time or
funding http://www.comminit.com/peerrev.html
Please review and comment through the Forum
http://www.comminit.com/bin/forum.cgi


WEB SITES

14. The Media Institute of Southern Africa promotes Media Diversity,
Pluralism, Self Sufficiency and Independence. The site focuses on
contemporary media issues in Southern Africa.
http://www.misanet.org/index.html Contact John Barker
 johnb@ingrid.misa.org.na


15. The Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programmes web
site has recently included "Tools for Life" - a 'versatile health
communication kit designed for front line community health workers and
health educators in Anglophone and Francophone Africa'. Review at
http://www.jhuccp.org/tools/ Contact Casey O'Brien cobrien@jhuccp.org


GATHERINGS

16. Africa Alive [AA] will hold a stakeholders meeting in Harare, November
16-19. AA is a regional Adolescent Reproductive Health and AIDS prevention
communication initiative to enable young people in making positive
reproductive health choices. The meeting will refine the project's
structure and strategy. 40 people representing governments and NGOs will
attend. Facilitation will be by JHU/PCS. Contact Antje Becker
ABECKER@jhuccp.org


17. WHO and UNESCO meeting of communication field staff on "Applications of
IEC to Reproductive Health" will be held in Geneva - 26-30 October. Topics
include "The Enabling Environment for Sexual and Reproductive Health" and
"Innovative Communication Strategies for SRH and Rights" Contact Marilyn
Rice ricem@who.ch


18. UNAIDS' regional workshop on the development of a framework for
communications programming for HIV/AIDS in Latin America and Caribbean will
be held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, November 4-6, 1998. Contact Bunmi Makinwa
 makinwab@unaids.org


19. The Development Communication Roundtable meeting will be held November
10-12 in Bahia de Salvador, Brazil. Hosted by UNICEF, topics for this
global meeting include: Facts for Life; Capacity Building and Training
Opportunities; and Edutainment Guidelines. Contact Morten Giersing
  mgiersing@unicef,org


20. The First International Conference on rural telecommunications,
November 30 - December 2, Washington D.C. will be hosted by the National
Telephone Cooperative Association (NTCA) and the World Bank. From the
brochure: "Finding ways to serve rural residents is one of the most
critical concerns in international communications technology development".
Contact  international@ntca.org or visit the Conference web site on
http://www.ntca.org/events/intl/regform.html

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We would be honoured to communicate summaries of your programmes, policy
developments, new positions and people, web sites, materials and
gatherings/meetings to this growing network [1600plus] of people involved
in communication and change. Please send information to wfeek@coastnet.com
 Many thanks and best wishes. Warren Feek