Voice, Citizenship and Civic Action Current Challenges in Communication for Development Thomas Tufte, PhD Professor Roskilde University, Denmark Keynote presentation given at Symposium V at Moi Univeristy’s VIIth International Conference: ’Knowledge Creation and Dissemination for Realization of Millenium Development Goals’ Eldoret, Kenya, 7 September 2011

Today’s presentation:  Communication for development at a crossroad  Role of network society and media developments in the new dynamics between citizens and decision-makers  Dominant paradigms in communication for development  Case from Tanzania: civil-society driven media platform  New opportunities of voice

The Crossroads  transformation of the relation between production of media content, technology and audiences  social media have altered the relation between sender and receiver in communication processes.

ComDev on the move…  public connection  public sphere engagement  citizen journalism  participatory journalism  citizen media  civic engagement

Civil Society-driven Media Platforms  Altering relations between decision- makers and citizens?  Leading to new spaces of deliberation and public debate, critique and civic action?  Unpacking the processes of empowerment and citizen participation?

Communication, Citizenship and Social Change  Co-evolution of new and old media  Citizenship: a social practice grounded in everyday life  Civic action: active manifestation of citizens as claimants of development  Citizens as media producers, citizen journalists, bloggers

Communication Power  ‘in a world marked by the rise of mass self- communication, social movements and insurgent politics have a the chance to enter the public space from multiple sources. By using both horizontal communication networks and mainstream media to convey their images and messages, they increase their chances of enacting social and political change – even if they start from a subordinate position in institutional power, financial resources, or symbolic legitimacy’ (Castells )

Innovation and Caution  Innovation: social media offer us a new communication model: dynamic and interactive  Caution: The media don’t drive social change. The sentiment of exclusion is the driving force.

Dominant Paradigms in…  Development Support Communication (UN/FAO)  Development Communication (Los Banos/Quebral)  Behaviour Change Communication (Public Health)  Information, Education and Communication  Participatory Communication  Alternative Comm (Latin American Scholars)  Communication for Development  Communication for Empowerment (UNDP)  Communication for Social Change (RF)  Comm for Social and Structural Change (Servaes)  Comm for Social and Sustainable Change  Social and Behaviour Change Comm (Wits)  C4D (UNICEF)

Models of communication..  Persuasion  Behaviour change communication  Social marketing  Information, education and communication (IEC)  Participatory communication  Communication for social change

Communication for Social Change  ‘process of public and private dialogue through which people themselves define who they are, what they need and how to get what they need in order to improve their own lives. It utilizes dialogue that leads to collective problem identification, decision making, and community-based implementation of solutions to development issues’ (

CfD - Multiple Approaches (Obregon & Mosquera, 2005) Diffusion/ Individual Participatory/ Structural Diffusion/ Persuasion/ Social Marketing Information/ Education/ Communication Behavior Change Communication Social Ecological Approach Communication For Social Change Convergence model No magic formula Diversity of frameworks + diversity of strategies + multiplicity of interventions = growth of the field = New conceptual approaches Communication Continuum

Civil Society-driven Media Platforms The case of Femina HIP  Tanzanian NGO,  Largest print media producer in Tanzania  Many donors on board, but is a ’homegrown’ organisation  Entertainment-education through real life stories  Multi-media platform

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)

FEMA  FEMA. A glossy magazine, 64 pages, copies  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.

Multi Media Platform  Pilika Pilika. A radio soap opera. 4 x week.  FEMA Tv Talk Show. Half ½ hour talk show, national TV 4 times a week.  ChezaSalama (‘play safe’). Interactive website. First of its kind in Tanzania.  Femina Clubs in schools and communities  Community outreach programme

Reach and Social Media  Femina reaches approx. 10 mio of Tanzania’s 42 mio people  Social Media Use: -ChezaSalama –Femina Facebook –SMS-strategy

Outcomes  Continuity sustains engagement  Community mobilization enables engagement  Young people engage in journalistic practice  Sparks motivation and self-confidence  New public spheres emerge  Embryonic civil society

Accountability  Upward Accountability: –Gaining political clout –Balancing social critique and political influence  Downward accountability –Balancing a mass vehicle for millions of audiences with space for personal engagment

Why voice matters - the role of media and technology in carving out space  Allowing voice in public for a vastly increased range of people  A greatly increased mutual awareness of these new voices  New scales of organisation  Understanding what spaces are required for political organization  New forms of listening

Citizen Tactics  Efforts made by ordinary peple to create spaces for themselves, overcoming power structures to which they are subjected

Citizen Media  The term ’citizens media’ implies, first, that a collectivity is enacting its citizenship by actively intervening and transforming the established mediascape: second, that these media are contesting social codes, legitimized identities and institutionalized social relations: and third, that these communication practices are empowering the community involved, to the point where these transformations and chages are possible (Rodriguez 2001/2006: 774)

Thank you! or