Getting girls’ voices heard on the global stage: progress since the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action
Author: Nicola Jones Much progress has been made since Beijing in 1995, when ‘The Girl Child’ was singled out as one of 12 priorities for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment. Improvements in girls’ access to education and empowerment have accompanied reductions in child marriage. But there is still a long way to go to ensure that all adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can exercise voice and agency in their families and communities. My recent fieldwork trips to Azraq camp in Jordan (home to Syrian refugees) and Ethiopia’s pastoralist Afar region really underscored this. It is not just that girls need opportunities to exercise voice and agency within their families and communities; there is also the urgent and daunting collective task of ensuring that governments and development partners translate these voices into adequate support and resourcing. Click here to read the full article ...
Swachh Bharat shows how to nudge the right way
Author: Bibek Debroy Recently, Cass Sunstein, who pioneered ‘Nudge Theory’ along with Nobel Prize winning economist, Richard Thaler, was effusive in his praise for India’s efforts into incorporating behavioural insights in public policy. A new paradigm has been in the making in India, to create impactful yet sustainable policy outcomes by applying behavioural tools in missions like ‘Swachh Bharat’. Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has used ‘Prospect Theory’ in Behavioural Economics extensively for driving behavioural change. Prospect Theory predicts that the way choices are framed has a material impact on people’s preferences. It shows that people are loss averse, i.e. people will go greater lengths to avoid a perceived loss than obtaining a perceived benefit, even if the loss and benefit are of equal value. By highlighting the ill effects of poor sanitation and number of deaths it causes through a well-coordinated communication strategy, Swachh Bharat Mission was able to impact behaviours of millions, especially in rural areas. Click here to read the full article ...
The Science of Communicating Science
Are you wishing you knew all you need to know about how to better communicate science, without having to read several hundred academic papers and blogs and books? Luckily Dr Craig Cormick has done this for you! This highly readable and entertaining book captures the breadth of research into best practice science communications and has distilled it into accessible chapters that take you through both the how and the why of science communication, supported with case studies and examples. Dr Craig Cormick has been a science communicator for over 25 years, working with organisations such as CSIRO, Questacon and the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. He has been widely published on science communication issues in key journals and the popular media, including ABC Radio National's The Science Show, the Conversation, and has twice appeared in Best Australian Science Writing. He is a popular speaker on science communication issues at conferences in Australia and overseas. In 2013 he was awarded the Unsung Hero of Science Communication by the Australian Science Communicators (ASC) and is currently the President of the ASC. Click here to learn more ...
The Communication Manifesto
In this passionately argued manifesto, Silvio Waisbord examines public scholarship in communication studies and its potential for contributing to the common good. He discusses the various ways scholars seek to serve the public as practitioners, experts, advocates, activists and critics, and underscores their significant contribution which has not, to date, been properly supported or recognized. Only by tackling academic institutional politics, he argues, will it be possible to strengthen public scholarship as central to the mission of communication studies. The Communication Manifesto is a roadmap to action and will inspire communication scholars and students to be public citizens, thereby connecting their work and expertise to the causes of solidarity, humanity and social justice. Silvio Waisbord is Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University Click here to read more ...
Proposal/Abstracts for the 2020 International Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Summit
Proposals/abstracts are now being accepted for the 2020 International Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Summit. SBCC professionals are encouraged to submit proposals/abstracts that relate to the conference theme: Strength in Diversity. To help guide prospective applicants through the proposal/abstract submission process, webinars in English, Arabic, Spanish and French will be held on: Thursday, October 3, 9 a.m. EDT Presentation and Q&A in English Monday, October 7, 8 a.m. EDT Presentation and Q&A in Arabic Wednesday, October 9, 1 p.m. EDT Presentation and Q&A in Spanish Thursday, October 10, 9 a.m. EDT Presentation and Q&A in French ...
Movie Making as Critical Pedagogy: Conscientization through Visual Storytelling
Can the stories people tell influence the way they see the world? This book seeks to address that question through a study of the viability of movie making as a critical pedagogy activity. Positioned at the intersection of education and communication for social change, it explores the relationship between the generation of subjective knowledge through storytelling and analysis, and systemic change. Central to the book is a case study from Nepal. By using video as the action element and analytical material of coursework, youth participants generated a new critical awareness, engendered by themes arising from group discussion. Through the analysis of these themes participants initiated an emergence known as conscientization. Led by two critical educators, participants used the production, screening, and analysis of their own movies to propel the course, or praxis, forward. This book seeks to inform the practice of critical pedagogy both practically and theoretically, and also offers a contribution to the fields of participatory action-research and communication for social change. Author: Grady Walker is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Walker Institute, University of Reading, UK, and a member of IAMCR. Click here to learn more ...
Desk review and SBCC roadmap on maternal, infant, and young child nutrition (MIYCN) and nutrition-sensitive practices in Indonesia (Alive & Thrive, 2019)
Alive & Thrive (A&T) researchers conducted an extensive desk review on maternal, infant, and young child nutrition (MIYCN) and nutrition-sensitive practices in Indonesia. The effort was aimed at supporting a national social and behavior change communication (SBCC) strategy as part of the Government of Indonesia’s National Stunting Reduction Movement. A&T and key stakeholders—including UNICEF Indonesia, IMA World Health, Millennium Challenge Account Indonesia and The World Bank—continued to support the National Stunting Reduction Movement by using evidence from the desk review and other sources to develop a roadmap toward an SBCC strategy. Click here for full details and access to both the desk review and the roadmap ...
Malaria SBCC Evidence Database (Health Communication Capacity)
For decades, social and behavior change communication (SBCC) has been used in malaria programs to positively influence behaviors around case management, malaria in pregnancy, insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying. However, the evidence base for the impact of SBCC on malaria-related behavioral outcomes is still growing, especially with the recent introduction and scale-up of several malaria interventions and commodities. To document and assess the evidence for malaria SBCC, HC3 conducted a critical review of the literature using a multiphase search and review process, involving abstract and full-article reviews of approximately 3,600 peer-reviewed articles and 1,700 grey literature documents. Each article was then scored on two indicators: the strength of the evidence presented in the article and the extent to which the SBCC activity used best practices during the design and implementation of the program. The result is the Malaria SBCC Evidence Package, which includes a searchable online database, factsheets and infographics that compile and highlight key SBCC successes on malaria outcomes. The database below presents a collection of 80 articles describing interventions or studies that address malaria challenges through SBCC approaches. Some studies address the same intervention across multiple articles, while other studies evaluate multiple interventions in the same article ...
Social and behavior change considerations for areas transitioning from high and moderate to low, very low and zero malaria transmission (Health Communication Capacity Collaborative, 2017)
In areas with high, moderate, low, and very low transmission alike, use and uptake of malaria interventions rely heavily on community awareness, demand, and acceptance of essential commodities and services. While the WHO has recently developed a malaria elimination framework and has a number of established policies, manuals, and recommendations, detailed guidance does not yet exist for social and behavior change (SBC) in different transmission settings. While the Roll Back Malaria Strategic Framework for Malaria Social and Behavior Change Communication provides standard approaches, best practices, and indicators, it does not do so in malaria elimination contexts. This document describes the landscape of current SBC programming in such contexts and provides a number of considerations for future inquiry and research. This document describes ways in which program planners and implementers might tailor their efforts to specific malaria transmission strata and suggests a number of operational research questions. Three case studies exemplify considerations raised and describe the role of SBC in strengthening the fight against malaria: • The first case study from Zambia describes a successful interpersonal communication (IPC) approach paired with community-owned surveillance. • The second case study from the Greater Mekong sub-Region describes multi-channel, cross-border initiatives. • The third case ...
Youth-led communication for social change: empowerment, citizen media, and cultures of governance in Northern Ghana (Development in Practice 28(3):400-413, April 2018)
This article critically assesses the possibilities and limitations of strategic communication initiatives to enhance cultures of governance among youth in Northern Ghana. The analysis is embedded within contemporary debates about communication and social change, with particular focus upon dynamics between citizen media development, youth-centred citizen journalism, and processes of community mobilisation and development. Findings suggest that the project has opened up to dynamic, youth-led social change processes, evidenced by the creative, proactive enactment of citizen engagement. Youth changed not only their self-perception around agency and ability to act, but also influenced community development in a variety of ways. Click here for full article ...
Measuring social and behaviour change communication capacity in Malawi (Strengthening Health Systems, 2, 69-73, 2018)
Background. In the context of the burden of disease and the need to promote health among the Malawian population, Health Communication for Life in 2016 embarked on a 5-year social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) project to support the Malawian government’s effort to expand access to sustainable health services. As part of this support, a capacity assessment was conducted in the Ministry of Health. Objectives. To obtain a baseline measurement of current SBCC competencies, and to inform skills building for SBCC. Methods. Two standardised participatory tools were developed to capture SBCC competencies at the national and zonal/district levels, based on a collective competency framework. The national assessment was conducted with 8 health promotion officers based in the Health Education Section of the Ministry of Health. At district level, 30 district health promotion officers from 28 districts participated in the assessment. Results. The capacity assessment showed that health promotion officers had on average low capacity to plan, implement and evaluate SBCC interventions. However, there was variation within different domains, where the institutional capacity to lead and co-ordinate at both national and district levels was fairly strong, yet organisational capacity to evaluate, scale and sustain SBCC interventions was relatively weak. Participants also ...
What do participatory approaches have to offer the measurement of empowerment of women and girls? (KIT Working Paper, 2019)
This paper provides insights and guidance on the value of participatory approaches for understanding and measuring empowerment of women and girls and grounding measurement in the lives and perspectives of women and girls. The paper aims to inspire practitioners, M&E specialists and policy makers working on the measurement of empowerment of women and girls in development programmes. It provides practical guidance on when, where and how in the measurement process to apply participatory approaches for empowerment of women and girls. Click here for full paper ...