The Drum Beat 422 - Communicating for Human Rights

From The Communication Initiative Network - where communication and media are central to social and economic development.

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This issue of The Drum Beat is offered in honour of Human Rights Day, which is celebrated annually across the world on December 10 (except in South Africa, where it is celebrated on March 21, in remembrance of the Sharpeville massacre). This year also marks the 18th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child. Below please find a small sample of the many rights-related summaries available on our website that focus on how communication and the media are being used in creative ways to raise awareness about - and spark action to protect those who are deprived of - fundamental human rights.

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RIGHTS ACTION IN CYBERSPACE

1.Raising Saontal Voice - Bangladesh
This project is working to assist the Saontal Community (a community of indigenous people living mainly in the northern part of Bangladesh) in speaking out about such issues as human rights and sustainable development. CCD Bangladesh is lobbying with media owners through daylong regional workshops in an effort to pave the way for underprivileged Saontal men and women to participate freely and actively as journalists in mainstream print and electronic media, as well as to encourage accurate coverage of issues that are of interest to this ethnic group. As part of this effort, CCD Bangladesh has created a printed community magazine, an e-bulletin, a series of 20-minute radio talk shows, and a website. Communication is being used here in an effort to familiarise members of the "majority" population and policymakers with indigenous knowledge, art, culture, history, socio-economic conditions, and exploitation being experienced by the Saontal and other minority populations in Bangladesh. The Saontal beneficiaries of the project are playing central roles in preparing, arranging, and publishing the news and reports in the community magazine, and are preparing, conducting, and broadcasting the radio talk shows.
Contact ccd@ccdbd.org OR info@ccdbd.org

2.Eyes on Darfur - Sudan
This initiative aims to leverage the power of high-resolution satellite imagery to provide evidence of the atrocities being committed in Darfur, Sudan, and to spark action by private citizens, policymakers, and international courts around the world to protect the rights of those living in this war-torn area. By using the internet to show images of the conditions on the ground (e.g., destroyed huts or fleeing refugees) in 12 vulnerable villages, the Crisis Prevention and Response Center (CPRC) of Amnesty International hopes to enable human rights advocates to document abuses, even in parts of Darfur that are sealed off from on-the-ground researchers. In addition, this project is designed to mobilise ordinary people worldwide to take action. Visitors to the project website may view the satellite images (as well as take advantage of an archival feature, which shows destroyed villages since the conflict began in 2003 and includes expert testimony). They may then respond to various calls to action, such as by signing a petition, purchasing a fundraising CD, or sending an e-card to inform friends and family about Eyes on Darfur.
Contact sct@amnesty.org.uk OR crisis@aiusa.org

3.Take Back The Tech! Campaign - Global
This campaign is designed to educate people and inspire their activism around issues surrounding the interconnections between information and communication technology (ICT) and violence against women (VAW). Supported by an interactive website in order to inspire local action, the initiative draws on the idea that both ICTs and VAW affect women's capacity to enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms. For example, websites can be a useful place for women in violent relationships to get information and help; in contrast, tools like spyware and global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices have been used by abusers to track and control their partner's mobility. A blog hosted on the website is designed to encourage debate about questions such as this: can mobile phones, webcams, blogs, and other ICTs transform power relations between women and men? Because the ultimate aim is to foster change in communities around the world, one page on the website includes campaign tools designed to enable women to localise the ideas shared on the website.
Contact Chat Garcia Ramilo Chat@apcwomen.org

4.The Hub for Human Rights Media and Action - Global
This project uses ICT in an effort to create a participatory platform and resource for human rights advocacy, globally. The human rights organisation WITNESS created this community-driven, participatory website to enable human rights workers, students, academics, filmmakers, journalists, activists, teachers, and concerned citizens worldwide to bring their human rights stories and campaigns to global attention through videos, audio, or photos. This ICT-based launchpad for activism seeks to engage and invite the perspectives of everyday people around the world, providing them with tools and a forum so that that may educate and motivate others to act to end human rights violations and create community around their issues. The Hub is scheduled to enter its public beta phase on December 10 2007.
Contact Sameer Padania Sameer_Padania_of_WITNESS@mail.vresp.com OR Chris Michael hub@witness.org

5.Don't Hide It Campaign - Great Britain & Northern Ireland (UK)
This child protection initiative was launched in May 2006 in an effort to encourage children and young people experiencing all forms of abuse to speak out. The 8-week communications campaign involved the creation of a dedicated website, to be continually accessed over time, in an effort to draw on the power of youth online social networks to aid the fight against abuse in the UK. This website highlights a series of case studies based on children's experiences of abuse - but concealing their identities by using the voices of actors and actresses. The site also provides concrete information about bullying, neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. An online game enables children to create a personalised "badge" (with different shapes, styles, and looks) to show peers they support the campaign and care about the issue of child abuse. In addition, they may learn about the ChildLine telephone service.
Contact newmedia@nspcc.org.uk

6.Violence Against Children in Cyberspace
by Deborah Muir
This document discusses abuse and exploitation of children via ICTs such as the internet, mobile phones, GPS, webcams, instant messaging, and chat rooms. The document outlines a variety of challenges, including the fact that imagery can be recorded and transmitted through mobile technology, making pictorial pornography accessible on telephones or game consoles that are mobile- and internet-accessible. Several collaborative strategies for addressing this issue are discussed in the document; among them: undertake rights-based policy advocacy on national and international levels; convene a global multi-stakeholder body for protecting children in relation to new ICTs; craft a multidisciplinary research agenda; and ensure that children and youth are actively involved in creating comprehensive adult and child safety education in multiple languages.

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For access to all Rights-related information on The CI website, with a focus on Communication Approach, please click here.

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AMPLIFYING YOUNG VOICES

7.Creating an Enabling Environment: Capacity Building in Children's Participation
by Henk van Beers, Vo Phi Chau, Judith Ennew, Pham Quoc Khan, Tran Thap Long, Brian Milne, Trieu Tri Anh Nguyet, and Vu Thi Son
This book gives an account of how Save the Children Sweden and partners in Vietnam assessed their efforts to build the capacity of adults to create an enabling environment for the participation of children. Among the findings:

• Individual lifetime learning about children's capacities and rights is an important area through which awareness of children's participation can be raised; and, as the beginning of that learning continuum, early childhood development (ECD) programming might be a crucial point of entry for capacity building at local level.
• Understanding of the rights to have an opinion heard appeared to need continuous reinforcing, particularly among facilitators working with children.
• Capacity building among adults (particularly within government structures) on listening, hearing, and acting upon what children say appeared to be needed as children began to gain confidence by "speaking up."
• Including children in management of organisations working on children's participation is a way to build capacity and progress beyond the superficial "correct" responses and unrealistic goals without actual participation; in contrast, types of international programmatic support - especially "toolkits" that featured only rhetoric - were not found to be useful.
• Rooting "participation" in human rights rather than needs was deemed strategically important, as was shared adult-child participation rather than creating children's activities for child participation.

8.Say No to Child Marriage - India
This campaign by The Concerned for Working Children (CWC) aims to raise awareness among parents, communities, and the government about child marriage, and to advocate for government action to ensure that girls stay in school and delay marriage. It is also encouraging the development of infrastructure and services, such as safe and free transportation, that are considered crucial for girls to complete their education. The campaign draws on appeals to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the media, children's organisations, and the general public to support the initiative. CWC's strategy includes incorporating children's participation into the campaign at all stages; they also encourage other organisations and government to consider children's participation. One example of this approach is a children's consultation in which children and accompanying adults were invited to discuss the campaign. CWC promoted the idea that the children who attended this consultation be given the opportunity to hold preparatory discussions with their peers, and to bring to the consultation a compiled set of suggestions and thoughts of their group about the campaign.
Contact cwc@pobox.com

9.Anne Templeton Zimmerman Awards - United States
Free the Slaves is accepting nominations for their 2008 Freedom Awards, which will be awarded to 2 young adults in the United States who have demonstrated consistent determination, creativity, and results in the anti-slavery movement, and who are committed to developing their career to help rid the world of slavery. The awardees may have shown their commitment against slavery in a variety of ways; for example, by raising awareness in communities, advocating for improved policies, helping set up programmes with people in slavery or former slaves, or making films about slavery. The deadline for application is December 31 2007.

10.Easier to Say Than to Do: Children's Participation in Events with Adults
by Patricia del Pilar Horna Castro
Written within the Latin American context of cultural and historial discourse on children's rights, "[this book] is addressed to adults who have understood that they cannot speak about what children feel or think without considering and incorporating their very voices. And, of course, it will also be useful for children to keep watch so conditions in these events meet the conditions for a 'real and effective' participation....This material wants to contribute precisely to what many adults frequently hear, read, and say: children have a right to express themselves freely in every aspect which affects them - in other words, they have a right to participate." The book is organised in 3 chapters, which can be viewed as steps towards increased involvement of children as social actors.

11.Giving Children a Voice in the Media
by Kavita Ratna
The development of a media code of conduct in India is an effort led by The Concerned for Working Children (CWC) in response to concern about the sensationalist and exploitative presentation of children and the lack of representation and validation of children's opinions in the media. According to author Kavita Ratna, existing guidelines and codes of conduct for the media fail to highlight such issues as the right of children to be 'producers' of media in society. In response, CWC began holding discussions with members of Bhima Sangha - a union of, by, and for working children in Karnataka, facilitated by CWC, with a membership of over 13,000 - and other children, on their exclusion in media and how they would like the media to be. The children's views were then discussed with media practitioners and adult organisations and finally put in the form of the Media Code to Realise Children's Rights. Ratna suggests that, though this code evolved through participation of children, the media, and children's rights organisations in an Indian context, its scope may be relevant and applicable globally.

12.Early Childhood in Focus
This is a series of publications produced by the Child and Youth Studies Group at The Open University, United Kingdom, with the support of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Netherlands. The objective is to provide accessible reviews of recent research, information, and analysis on the Bernard van Leer Foundation's key policy issues: strengthening the care environment, successful transitions, and social inclusion and respect for diversity of children. According to the Open University, consulting contributors are leaders of international research, policy, advocacy, and children's rights.

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See also the NEW Early Child Development Theme Site - all CI information related to early child development in one place!

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EMPOWERING WOMEN

13.Piyar ka Passport (Passport to Love) - Pakistan
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service Trust (BBC WST) engaged in a pilot project exploring the use of radio drama as a vehicle for raising awareness and stimulating dialogue around a range of human rights and social and gender issues related to marriage and family life in Pakistan. Twelve 15-minute episodes of the Urdu language drama "Piyar ka Passport" ("Passport to Love") were broadcast daily over a 2-week period in March 2006 on the BBC's Urdu service and FM stations in Pakistan. Live phone-in programmes, a live video debate, and 2 websites (one in Urdu; one in English) were designed to complement the radio dramas by sparking dialogue about the issues raised in the broadcasts. The production process itself was participatory, an approach reflective of organisers' commitment to ensuring that the drama was grounded in real-life experiences. As part of this investigation, the BBC WST research team examined case studies of rights-related problems such as child abduction, drug smuggling, and forced marriage.
Click here to access an online email form.

14.The State of the World's Children 2007: Women and Children
This publication examines the discrimination and disempowerment women face throughout their lives - and outlines what must be done to eliminate gender discrimination and to empower women and girls. It looks at the status of women today, discusses how gender equality will move all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) forward, and shows how investment in women's rights has the potential to produce a double dividend: advancing the rights of both women and children.

15.Photo Essay: How TV Helps Give Voice to Palestinian Youth
by Birgitte Jallov
This photo essay assesses the strategy of using communication for social change (CFSC) to raise awareness about challenges facing young Palestinian women, such as early marriages, honour killings, and cultural traditions that block their access to education and careers. Hosted on the Communication for Social Change Consortium (CFSC Consortium) website, the photos and narratives included emerge from the conviction that public and private dialogue is critical to peace in the Middle East. As Birgitte Jallov illustrates, one means of fostering this CFSC process is the offering of education and/or training in the use of ICT and the media for change. Having undertaken this type of training, members of the non-profit organisation Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership and Rights Activation (PYALARA) began creating television productions, such as the weekly 2-hour "Allie Sowtak" ("Speak Up"), which more than 300,000 Palestinian children and youth watch. In workshops, young men and women associated with PYALARA engage in face-to-face debates, deciding together how the nature, history, and implications of the problems can best be presented in TV programming for their peers. In addition to educating viewers, this method of media creation can - in Jallov's estimation - encourage young Palestinian women to pursue journalism as a career.

16.Supporting Community-led Initiatives to Promote Women's Engagement in Peace-Building and Prevention of Sexual Violence in Timor Leste
As part of the International 16 Days of Activism Campaign to End Violence Against Women, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) developed a multimedia campaign to capitalise on the commitment of Timor-Leste's leaders to end violence against women (EVAW). Launched in November 2007, this campaign features male leaders giving voice to EVAW through a series of printed posters, and radio and television public service announcements (PSAs), which are designed to reach all 13 districts in the country. In-person events are being held to raise community awareness as a strategy to prevent violence against women. Advocacy is being conducted through fact sheets and other materials that include policy recommendations; the goal is to influence political parties to include SGBV in their political platforms.
Contact Vicenta Maria-Correia Vicenta.maria-correia@unifem.org

17.MTV EXIT - Global
This campaign draws on the strategy of "edutainment" to inform and motivate people around the issue of human trafficking. As part of an effort to tap into a young, activist-oriented audience, the campaign has invited well-known models, actors, musicians, and the like to donate their time to present short films and documentaries, which have been screened on television and made available for viewing on the MTV EXIT website. Premiered across MTV Europe in May 2005, the films provide specific awareness and prevention information about trafficking. Several documentaries have also been produced, such as "Traffic", which is presented by various celebrities in multiple languages and told through the stories of real people in Asia-Pacific who have experienced human trafficking in different ways. The MTV EXIT website provides information, help, and resources related to human trafficking - as well as access to the films and documentaries that have been created as part of the project; it is available in 8 languages.
Contact mtvexit@mtv-asia.com OR human.trafficking@mtvne.com

18.Why Women Count - Global
Launched in 2007, this initiative centres around a series of 41 short films focusing on women's empowerment - and what it means in the lives of ordinary women and men around the world. The series is an effort to increase awareness of, and stimulate debate about, the key role that women's rights and gender equality play in the social, economic, and political development of their countries, communities, and families. A key strategy is the sharing of personal stories to make a potentially abstract issue concrete. Screenings at in-person events - many of which feature panel-style debates and dialogue - are designed to carry discussion about the films and the issues they raise beyond the screen. In addition to educating and inspiring audiences, this initiative aims to empower the producers and broadcasters who are taking part through a collaborative exchange model - hopefully thereby stimulating additional communication about human rights through the television medium.
Contact Sophie Williamson sophie.williamson@tve.org.uk OR tve@tve.org.uk

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This issue was written by Kier Olsen DeVries.

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The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.

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