All Together Now: Oral Testimony, Theatre, Media, Debate: How One Community’s Concerns Reached a National Audience

From the Introduction:
"This case study demonstrates Panos’s integrated approach to communication for development: combining first person testimony, relationship-building, inclusive dialogue and working with the mainstream media so that the voices of people most affected by development issues contribute to national-level understanding and decision-making.

It examines the long battle by the fishing and farming communities on the shores of Pakistan’s Manchar Lake to achieve national recognition and action on the pollution caused by a government-led land drainage project that has steadily been destroying their livelihoods and health. Panos London and Panos South Asia, local and national civil society organisations (CSOs), the community of Manchar, and local and national media worked together on a range of communication activities and outputs culminating in a People’s Assembly in 2007. The different activities, and the strength of the media coverage they generated, drew provincial and national government officials into dialogue, resulting in a number of positive outcomes for the people of Manchar Lake.

Key lessons include the following:

• making direct voices of affected individuals central to the public debate, enhances the relevance, legitimacy, inclusiveness and accessibility of that debate
• using a number of communication methods, and producing different outputs in order to engage a variety of audiences, is important
• building relationships and mutual understanding between communities, NGOs [non-governmental organisations] and the media significantly increases awareness and strengthens advocacy campaigns
• local stories can raise national interest if they are conveyed well
• involving local elites and gaining their support is crucial in reaching higher-level policymakers."

Media outputs included: a non-governmental organisation (NGO) newsletter (an  illustrated Urdu newsletter); documentary television; radio features; current affairs television; and other media coverage - for example: the Urdu channel Dhoom TV, two Karachi-based TV channels, five Sindh newspapers,  and the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) radio Urdu Service and online Urdu website.


According to this document, successes that resulted included:

"Community ownership - ...[C]ommunity members were supported from the beginning to present their own case to the wider world. The planning and execution of the People’s Assembly was carried out in close consultation with the lakeside community and the Save Manchar Alliance (MBI) from the start, giving them a strong sense of ownership of the event.

Focus on voices - Community ownership of the People’s Assembly was reinforced by the central focus on voices from the community at the event and in the related media and communication activities. This was made possible through the oral testimony collection, which also added a crucial element to the evidence base built up by Shirkat Gah on the impacts of the pollution of Manchar. The testimonies presented a wide range of personal experiences and responses, shedding light on local people’s own understanding of the situation. These powerful first-hand accounts provided a foundation for the advocacy and media activities that followed.

Interactive theatre: inclusive and accessible - The interactive drama used local people’s words (from the oral testimonies), involved members of the community in a workshop at which the play was first devised, and presented the issues surrounding the pollution of Manchar Lake in an entertaining and accessible way which encouraged participation by the audience.

Bringing together interest groups - One feature of the play was that it looked at the situation at Manchar Lake from the point of view of both fishing and farming families. In this respect, they echoed an important achievement of the overall campaign. Shirkat Gah recognised from the beginning that these two groups needed to work together, and actively encouraged them to combine forces. Another innovation which broke down barriers between different groups, including the local elite, was the avoidance of hierarchical seating arrangements at the People’s Assembly – everyone sat on the floor at the same level, regardless of social status or political power.

Engaging the local elite - ... Local government officials and landowners attended the People's Assembly, one of whom called it 'a truly unique experience'...."

Challenges included reaching politicians and obtaining the participation of women, despite training efforts.