Media Development

BBC Media Action has been supporting 15 local radio stations across Zambia to cover local governance issues and improve accountability in the delivery of critical services including education, sanitation and access to water through two projects: Radio Waves (since 2014) and Zambia Speaks! (since 2016). This case study shows how the programmes helped to improve engagement between citizens and local authorities, resulting in examples of governance issues being addressed, as verified by listeners, station staff and local stakeholders. Click here for more detail and full case study ...

Effective campaigns require careful planning and execution. And drawing on the experiences and knowledge of others can help overcome some common stumbling blocks and improve the chances of success. To this end, this booklet profiles eight public awareness campaigns conducted in African countries. It gives an overview of how the campaigns were designed and implemented, and outlines the lessons learned. The idea for the publication came from DW Akademie’s ongoing cooperation with national chapters of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), which advocates for freedom of expression and access to information in the SADC region. To strengthen its support of MISA’s advocacy work, DW Akademie turned to others campaigning on similar topics in Africa to learn from their experiences. DWA looked for campaigns with strong links to Africa – that is, either run by organizations or individuals in Africa, or targeting African countries. They also specifically sought insight from people working on campaigns that were diverse in the way they were created, organized and funded – from large organizations with considerable resources and formal structures to volunteer-led coalitions with limited funding. Click here for full publication ...

The three case studies presented in the publication "Audience Research in Media Development" are directly related to ongoing DW Akademie media development projects. The first case study addresses the measurement of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) of young media users aged 12 to 16 years in the Palestinian Territories (West Bank). The second focuses on the impact of radio broadcasts on women and land rights (station: Nam Lolwe) in Kenya. It was designed as a quasi-experiment, comparing listeners of the radio stations to potential listeners and non-listeners. The third study examines the social media strategies of two community radio stations (Granada Stereo and Contacto 10) in Colombia. It uses focus groups, a survey, and digital analytics methods. Results and lessons learned of all three case studies are presented in the publication. Click here for full report and case studies ...