Resounding the Voices - Letter Writing, Audience Participation and HIV/AIDS Communication for Social Change Minou Fuglesang, Femina HIP, Tanzania & Thomas Tufte,Roskilde University, Denmark Presentation given at IAMCR, Communication and HIV Working Group Stockholm, 23 July, 2008

Letter Analysis  A strategic tool to assess an NGO’s relation with its constituency  A retrospective analysis. Letters from  Key Question: What is Femina HIP’s role in contributing to social change among Tanzanian youth?

Sub-Questions  What are the most important themes/topics discussed by letter writers to Fema and Si Mchezo! magazines over the years ( ), and by whom?  What kinds of audience involvement and citizen participation are expressed in the letters?  What does the analysis of the letters say about Femina HIP’s ability to meet its overall development objectives?

Conceptual Approach  Participatory Communication/CFSC  Exploring citizenship and governance perspectives on an HIV/AIDS communication initiative  Exploring CFSC-oriented process indicators (ownership, leadership, particpation, social norms, etc)

Introducing Femina HIP  Tanzanian NGO,  Focuses on RH and HIV/AIDS  Many donors on board, but is a ’homegrown’ organisation  EE through real life stories  Media outlets include: Two large magazines, tv talk show, radio drama, interactive website  Femina clubs

Femina HIP Objectives To build supportive environments in Tanzania where:  Young people in their communities enjoy their right to access information & services and are empowered to make positive informed choices around sexuality and lead healthy lifestyles in order to reduce the negative impact of HIV/AIDS.

Femina HIP Objectives To build supportive environments in Tanzania where:  Communities exercise their right to express themselves, participate in public debate & engage in civil society. (Femina HIP Logical Framework, 2007)

Tanzanian Context  Stil low – but now growing- levels of participation in public life and decision- making  Weak civil society – but is changing  Low/weak media infrastructure  Femina HIP became a visible NGO early on

FEMA  FEMA. A glossy magazine, 64 pages, copies (rising to by end of 2008). Published 4 x a year. Targets youth aged especially secondary school students in every region of the country

SiMchezo  Si Mchezo! 32 pages, copies.  6 x a year. Targets out of school youth and their communities particularly in rural areas.  Will rise to by end of 2008.

Other Media Outlets  Pilika Pilika. A radio soap opera. Carries messages from Femina as well as two other organisations. Airs on national radio 4 times a week.  FEMA Tv Talk Show. Half ½ hour talk show. Broadcasts on national TV 4 times a week. Mobile phones are used for feedback and voting, particularly around the TV.  ChezaSalama (‘play safe’). Interactive website with a series of activities and information in English and Swahili. First of its kind in Tanzania.  Individual Publications: Range of specialist publications produced on for example HIV-testing, Treatment ( copies distributed to all CTC clinics), youth empowerment (Watata Bomba, for children/youth was produced in ).

Letter Analysis  Of received, sample of 680 letters ( )  All received by either Fema or SiMchezo  80% written in Swahili, 20% in English  Between a few lines and 10 pages in length, most below 1 page

Methodology  Conceptual development for letter analysis  Connecting Suruchi Sood (BCC oriented indicators) with CFSC indicators: 11 indicators for audience involvement  Sampling of 680 letters  Developing code sheet  3 day coding seminar  Quantitative processesing and reporting  Sampling of 70 letters for qualitative analysis (11 indicators organised in 3 categories)  Qualitative thematic analysis underway

Who are the letter writers?  More men than women (some group letters)  81.5 % written by youth (15-24)  Fema writers have secondary education  SiMchezo writers max primary  National coverage  Most writers from areas with Femina community work  All English letters sent to Fema  Many send their foto!  Steady growing amount of letters

Character of letters  Descriptive (telling a story)  Advisory (giving advice, making recommendations)  Questions (asking questions)  Opinions (expressing opinions) Expressing opinions and advisory were slightly bigger than the other categories.

Content  Breadth in topics  HIV/AIDS most central  Career/eduction, sex and sexuality, healthy lifestyles, violence, youth involvement in society are amongst other significant topics

Forms and Degrees of Audience Involvement Orientations: Individual behaviour change (mostly articulated) Individual behaviour change (mostly articulated) Interpersonal communication and collective efficacy Interpersonal communication and collective efficacy Collective action and participation in the public sphere Collective action and participation in the public sphere

Challenges  Deepen the understanding or Femina HIP intentions vis-a-vis actual audience discourse and practice  A gradual move towards increased audience participation  Methodological constraints and limitations in letter analysis alone