Warren Feek's blog

To: The Early Child Development Network within The Communication Initiative

IMPROVED PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

Work to improve the physical environments for children is a primary priority for many organizations focused on early child development including The Bernard van Leer Foundation

Reviewing some of the communication processes used to improve those physical environments I was struck by the creativity: circuses in Ecuador; brick kiln children in India; an animal therapy centre as part of a comprehensive programme in Colombia; art in the United Kingdom and Brazil; Sanitation Clubs in Mozambique; theatre in Kenya; story rooms in the USA; information collection in Brazil; and much more.

Please do share the creative communication processes and contexts which yo

To: The HIV/AIDS Network within The Communication Initiative
From: Warren Feek - Executive Director - The Communication Initiative
Change the World: A Toolkit for Citizen Journalists

Hi and best wishes. I was struck by this contribution to The CI network on the theme of Citizen Journalists with specific reference to HIV/AIDS:

"Citizen journalists are playing an increasingly important role reporting on sensitive issues, such as HIV, particularly in countries where free speech and media access is limited."

Can I please encourage you to review that knowledge summary and comment (you can just reply by email to this note or comment and rate in the summary itself) on these questions or any other points you wish to make:

Q1: In your context is the increasingly prevalent "citizen journalism" process (online, on air and in print) opening up the many sensitive issues around HIV/AIDS for increased public recognition and conversation?

Q2: If that is the case is this contributing, in your context, to an increasingly open dialogue on the often very sensitive issues that are an integral part of the HIV/AIDS scenario in almost all contexts?

Q3: If there is a more open dialogue on these sensitive issues is that helping to accelerate effective HIV/AIDS related action in your contexts?

Thanks for sharing your insights, based on your experiences and insights in your contexts, as a support to others engaged in HIV/ADS action.

Best wishes and thanks

Warren

Warren Feek
Executive Director
The Communication Initiative
http://www.comminit.com/hiv-aids/

To: The HIV/AIDS Network within The Communication Initiative
From: Warren Feek - Executive Director - The Communication Initiative
Change the World: A Toolkit for Citizen Journalists

Hi and best wishes. I was struck by this contribution to The CI network on the theme of Citizen Journalists with specific reference to HIV/AIDS:

"Citizen journalists are playing an increasingly important role reporting on sensitive issues, such as HIV, particularly in countries where free speech and media access is limited."

Can I please encourage you to review that knowledge summary and comment (you can just reply by email to this note or comment and rate in the summary itself) on these questions or any other points you wish to make:

Q1: In your context is the increasingly prevalent "citizen journalism" process (online, on air and in print) opening up the many sensitive issues around HIV/AIDS for increased public recognition and conversation?

Q2: If that is the case is this contributing, in your context, to an increasingly open dialogue on the often very sensitive issues that are an integral part of the HIV/AIDS scenario in almost all contexts?

Q3: If there is a more open dialogue on these sensitive issues is that helping to accelerate effective HIV/AIDS related action in your contexts?

Thanks for sharing your insights, based on your experiences and insights in your contexts, as a support to others engaged in HIV/ADS action.

Best wishes and thanks

Warren

Warren Feek
Executive Director
The Communication Initiative
http://www.comminit.com/hiv-aids/

To: The Environment/Natural Resource Management Network within The Communication Initiative

Best wishes. How are you assessing the added value of digital technologies for increasing the effectiveness of environment and natural resource management strategies and action.

Four perspectives include:

Emerging Voices in ICT and Agriculture

ICT Can Cut Africa's Food Import Bill - Hailu

Bet on Complementarity

Digital Revolution: A Value Addition Platform to the Agricultural Ecosystem

Your view?

Thanks for engaging - Warren

There is little doubt that tremendous progress has been made towards the eradication of polio. Big challenges remain of course. And polio has been an extraordinarily well funded programme.

What can be learned. There are many blogs on theme.

Three that attracted my attention were:

Polio: Is it too late for participation?
Story of Struggle of a Female Polio Worker
Polio Eradication: key choices for the end-game

What insights have you drawn from the polio experience and progress for making further impact on the development issues that are your priorities?

To: The 5th Entertainment Education Conference (New Delhi) participants

From: Warren Feek

Hi folks (with apologies if you also received this direct). Citurna/Imaginario in Colombia have just launched their rights based, entertainment-education focused strategic initiative on sexual and reproductive health and violence against women. A copy of a note just sent to the full Drum Beat network follows with an introduction to the key principles and strategic elements of this initiative. We would welcome your review. From your understanding of effective entertainment-education principles and strategies, what are your questions and critique related to this initiative. Thanks - Warren

NETWORK NOTE

Entertainment-Education: Violence Against Women, Youth, Adolescence, Gender Dynamics and Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Revelados - from all positions

Entertainment-Education

Edutainment - Africa

Greetings

Violence against women and the gender dynamics in sexual health are major development priorities both in their own right and because they are such integral elements of so many other development priorities; from household decision making on health issues to an equitable democracy and governance process.

To: The Health, Rights, Media Network

From: Warren Feek

Hi folks (with apologies if you also received this direct). Citurna/Imaginario in Colombia have just launched their rights based, entertainment-education focused strategic initiative on sexual and reproductive health and violence against women. A copy of a note just sent to the full Drum Beat network follows with an introduction to the key principles and strategic elements of this initiative. We would welcome your review. From a health, media, rights perspective what are your questions and critique related to this initiative. Thanks - Warren

NETWORK NOTE

Entertainment-Education: Violence Against Women, Youth, Adolescence, Gender Dynamics and Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Revelados - from all positions

Entertainment-Education

Edutainment - Africa

Greetings

Violence against women and the gender dynamics in sexual health are major development priorities both in their own right and because they are such integral elements of so many other development priorities; from household decision making on health issues to an equitable democracy and governance process.

At the heart of gender based dynamics, including violence against women, HIV/AIDS, access to legal abortion, and other issues are factors of social norms, cultural contexts and determinants, individual behaviours, religious principles, public policies and other social pressures. These are very difficult and challenging themes. They require public debate, private dialogue, the voices of those that are most affected and relevant knowledge and information.

To: The Media Development Community within The Drum Beat network

Hi - I want to share with you the recent "Media Development - Resources for Journalists" issue of the Soul Beat Africa e-magasine. The full issue follows and it can also be accessed and reviewed at this link.. Please do review and provide your comments in this thread:

The Soul Beat Issue 227 - Media for Development - Resources for Journalists August 28 2013

From SOUL BEAT AFRICA - where communication and media are central to AFRICA's social and economic development In this issue of The Soul Beat:

• MEDIA RESOURCES to report on tuberculosis, reproductive health, and disability...
• GUIDES to report on science and agriculture...
• RESOURCES for journalists reporting on elections, corruption, and governance...
• MEDIA TOOLS to report on gender-based violence...
• How to keep journalists and their information safe...

This edition of The Soul Beat offers a selection of resources from the Soul Beat Africa website that are designed for the media to improve reporting on social and development-related issues.

To: Media Development Community within The Drum Beat network

There has been a large international development focus on media development in Iraq. Perhaps yourself or colleagues have been involved? BBC Media Action has published a policy briefing "The Media of Iraq Ten Years On: The Problems, the Progress, the Prospects" which is "designed to generate greater understanding of the complex challenges facing support to the media in Iraq and other countries in the Arab region. In short, it argues that the Iraqi media landscape of 2013 has real strengths, as well as weaknesses, which reflect the reality and complexity of modern Iraq."

The policy briefing highlights some lessons learned: Media support needs to be holistic; Media development is a goal in itself; Stakeholders should be carefully mapped; Independent regulation is a useful model; People's expectations of the media are not universal; Public service broadcasting is a challenging necessity; and, Media support must consider market realities. See details in summary form here

From your media development experience are these lessons with which you agree?

If not what lessons do you learn from your media development work?

Thanks for sharing your valuable strategic insights in support of all of our work.

Warren

To: The Early Child Development community within The Drum Beat Network

Hi folks - just to bring to your attention three recent ECD related job opportunities from The CI process. Please do share these with your own networks.

Chief, Communication, P-5 - UNICEF - Brasilia, Brazil

Sr. Technical Manager for Project Design & Business Development - Management Sciences for Health - Cambridge MA or Arlington VA

Technical Advisor II: Strategic Information Advisor - Global Health Fellows Program II - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

There are regular job postings at Classifieds Jobs where organisations can also submit their own job vacancies to the network

Thanks - Warren