The Role of the Citizens in Policy Making Thomas Tufte, Roskilde University, Denmark IAMCR Pre-conference on ’Promoting Public Knowledge of’ Media Policy Research

Governance - of the media, but also through the media  ‘The role of the media and of communication structures at all levels (community, sub regional, national, regional and international) is inextricably bound up with how citizens understand and engage in democratic life. The rights and capacities of people, particularly those living in poverty, to voice their own perspectives and have them heard in public debate, particularly through the media, are increasingly recognized as critical to effective governance’ (Deane 2008: 161)

The alternative research framework?  A lot of work is being done  Communication for Development networks, processes, etc –CFSC University Network (15 universities) –A particular attention needed on Africa –The CFSC anthology (a participatory process of identifying body of knowledge: 6000 mails, 500 responses, texts, expert panel, 200 texts) –In this region: ØRECOMM, NOMAD and MEDIeA

Media and Communication for Empowerment (UNDP OGC + CFSCC)  Pursuing 3 needs: Voice, access to information and space for public debate  Information and Communication Audits (5 countries) for policy development. Link to UNDP  Co-incides with international organisations ’turn to the citizen’: community conversations (UNDP), listener studies (SIDA), communication audits (World Bank)

HIV/AIDS Communication Strategies  In crisis  To narrow  Lack of connection between theory and practice  Donor driven  Short term  Positivist orientation. Where is social constructivism?

Researching the Citizen Experience  Beyond legal frameworks, institutional set-ups and more of a focus on everyday life experiences..  What are the implications of existing policies for ordinary people?  A call for media ethnography (MEDIeA’s two PhDs)

Beyond professional journalists  Include communication researchers, anthropologists, political scientists, sociologists, economists, business and management experts, and probably many more…  Interdisciplinarity of the field

People Speaking Back? Media, Empowerment and Democracy in East Africa (MEDIeA),  Overall objective; to explore the role civil society driven media and communication technologies potentially can have in enhancing participatory governance processes in East Africa, particularly in Kenya and Tanzania.  What is the current situation of youth, particularly marginalized female youth, vis-à-vis the development challenge of the country, and how does government, media and civil society act in response to the youth situation?  How do youth experience, make use of and engage in civil society driven media and communication platforms (be they analogue or digital)?  What do these media and communication platforms do/produce, and how socially inclusive are the production processes?  What mechanisms are developed to hold governments accountable and transparent? (what advocacy strategies do the involved civil society organisations have, if any)  How do the civil society organisations ensure their own legitimacy and accountability to the groups of citizens the advocate on behalf of?  How is the legitimacy and accountability of the selected NGOs/CSOs experienced at community level?