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Social Media for Election Communication and Monitoring in Nigeria (Demos/DFID Paper 2015)

Nigeria has witnessed an exponential growth in internet and social media use. From a modest 200,000 users in 2000, by 2015 around 30 per cent of the population is online, increasingly on smart phones. The use of social media in elections initially became noticeable in the preparations for the 2011 Nigerian elections, and now receives widespread media attention for its role in informing, engaging and empowering citizens in Nigeria and across Africa.

Social media activity presents a novel way to research and understand attitudes, trends and media consumption. There is a growing number of academic and commercial efforts to make sense of social media data sets for research or (more typically) advertising and marketing purposes.

This project examines the potential of social media for monitoring and communication purposes, using the 2015 Nigerian elections as a case study. The purpose of the research is to develop an understanding of the effectiveness of social media use for communication and monitoring during the 2015 Nigerian election, and draw out lessons and possibilities for the use of social media data in other elections and beyond.

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Make Me a Change Agent: A Multisectoral SBC Resource for Community Workers and Field Staff (The FSN Network and CORE Group 2015)

This publication aims to to build the skills of community-level workers, such as community development agents, community health workers, and agriculture extension agents, so that they can be more effective behavior change promoters in their communities. The lessons are generic rather than sector specific and cover skills such as communication and storytelling with the aim of  helping development workers become more effective as an agent of behavior change.

Instaurer la confiance en la vaccination : Créer un partenariat avec les autorités et associations religieuses (UNICEF 2004)

Les autorités religieuses, très influentes au niveau des communautés, ont un rôle capital à jouer dans la couverture vaccinale, en particulier parce qu’elles peuvent apporter leur appui aux programmes de vaccination. Conçu à l’intention des chargés de communication, des responsables des programmes et de leurs partenaires dans le secteur de la vaccination, cet ouvrage présente les grands principes directeurs de la création d’alliances avec les chefs et groupes religieux sur les questions de vaccination. Il donne également des conseils sur les mesures à prendre lorsque les programmes de vaccination se heurtent à une certaine résistance et il présente des succès enregistrés dans trois pays (Sierra Leone, Angola et Inde)

Building Trust in Immunization: Partnering with Religious Leaders and Groups (UNICEF 2004)

The guidelines presented in this workbook were created for communication and programme officers and their immunization partners seeking to develop and maintain strong working relationships with religious leaders and groups. They also suggest what actions might be taken when a religious leader or group organizes resistance to immunization. While the guidelines provide an overall framework, they do not offer specific health messages based on religious texts.

 

 

The guidelines also suggest ways to reinforce a group’s own organizational structure so that leaders and their followers stay actively engaged in supporting immunization and other health programmes. Three case studies illustrate how alliances were built in Sierra Leone, Angola and India to overcome resistance against routine immunization and polio eradication. The studies are intended to illustrate processes that have worked, rather than models to follow when working with religious groups.

Lessons Learned: Social Media Monitoring during Humanitarian Crises [Nepal earthquake] (ACAPS 2015)

Carried out in English and Nepali, and operating from 1 June to 27 August, social media monitoring was part of ACAPS support to the Nepal Earthquake Assessment Unit. Insights gained through social media (mainly Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and blogs) and national media monitoring were intended to feed into the “Communication with Communities” (CwC) project. Issues of main interest were:  needs, concerns, developing trends and emerging risks among the effected population; and  conversations related to the quality and accessibility of aid.

This document summarises the experiences of the pilot social media monitoring project set up to following the 25 April earthquake in Nepal, and draws out key lessons learned and recommendations. It was informed by a lessons learned workshop in Nepal as well as interviews and email exchanges with members of the project and external recipients of project’s reports. Written by Timo Lüge, the lead consultant responsible for the project, this is not an independent evaluation of the project.

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