CONDUCTING AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN FOR POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS IN PAKISTAN: Tools, Challenges and Recommendations Dr. Ahlam Tariq Fatima Jinnah Women University, The Mall, Rawalpindi.

PLANNING PROCESS OF AN EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN ON A NATIONAL LEVEL Discussing the Stages

STAGE 1 Identification of Objectives

Stage 1: Identification of Objectives Specify the Kind of message intended and result desired Identify the intended audience State the time period involved

STAGE 2 Analysis

Stage 2: Analysis- Message 1. How familiar is the audience with the intended message 2. How easy is it to understand 3. To what extend does it agree or disaree with current held values

Stage 2: Analysis - Situation 1. What are problems that people see in cooperating with the census volunteers 2. What effort have already been made to develop acceptance of the census in a give population 3. Where the results of those efforts

Stage 2: Analysis - Audience 1. How will the audiences be divided into manageable subsets so the message reaches and affects most if not all of them 2. For each subset the following questions need to be asked What are the major characteristics of these expected population (Education, Language, rural/urban, financial resources ) What is the location and inhabitancy of the population How much they know about census and how cooperative you expect them to be What are their sources of information and entertainment

STAGE 3 Devising the Media Campaign

Stage 3- Devising the media Campaign Availability of Funds Choosing the Methods

Stage 3- Devising the media Campaign The National Campaign A national Campaign in various Languages to be disseminated Via the following communication channels 1. Radio 2. Television 3. Newspaper 4. Social media

Stage 3- Devising the media Campaign Interpersonal Communication For hard to reach or challenging areas Identifying Opinion Leaders in Specific Communities To identify the problems these communities have with the census To identify the resistance leaders of these communities To practice Diplomatic skills and to disseminate the advantages of census to these communities To open dialogue with these communities To understand their perspective To arrange for feedback form these communities

Stage 3- Devising the media Campaign Timing the Campaign The Educational Campaign relating to the Census on a national level will be conducted on a closer date as compared to the interpersonal communication conducted in the more challenging areas. To maximize the retention and reminders the campaigns becomes more concentrated closer to the census dates However the call for volunteers and training campaigns would star t much earlier The website and the social media campaign may also be prepared way before hand

Stage 3- Devising the media Campaign Devising the Messages The messages devised must be clear and concise Easy to understand Also longer detailed information about how the census process will happen is also required as a part of the campaign But smaller messages disseminating information in bits and parts are also suggested

Stage 3- Devising the media Campaign Testing the message It maybe a good idea to test the effectiveness and clarity of messages in a given subset of a population to make sure your message is getting across.

Stage 3- Devising the media Campaign Disseminating the message Involving people Pacing the campaign Evaluating the campaign

Challenges Smaller development messages are easier to disseminate However in Pakistan a current case study is relevant National Emergency Action plan for Polio Eradication 2014 is an important case in point

Challenges Assumptions of communication 1. Societies are immanent in Nature, therefore by correctly identifying these immanent factors we can formulate policies that could bring change in these societies 2. Communication If correctly used can bring about change 3. People have similar characteristics and they will respond to messages in a predictable manner