C4D Network

Global community of professionals working in Communication for Development

Media & Communication: The State of the Art Conference (Leicester, UK)

The central aim of this conference is to explore the extent to which existing theories of media and communication are adequate for the analysis of our contemporary media landscape.

The conference is underpinned by a concern with what we see in the classroom; changes in technology and society; and the role of theory. Centrally, we ask do new technologies require new theories? And if so, where are new theoretical interventions required? We are keen to reflect on the problematization of an increasingly automated environment, where algorithms collect data about us, and make choices about what we consume. What does this automation mean for notions of autonomy and agency; or for the structuring of identity? Do these technologies challenge or embed existing power structures, particularly in areas around gender, race and class? A further aim of this conference is also to reflect on where media studies is, and where it is going: how does media studies remain ‘relevant’ and ‘state of the art’ in light of a rapidly changing media landscape?

The driving questions of this conference are:

1. Do we need new theories of media to address social and technological change?

2. What are the key pedagogical issues in teaching contemporary students of media and communications?

Conference fee: £50. The conference fee is only charged to cover the cost of lunch, teas and coffees, conference dinner and to provide taxis home for any woman who would like one after the evening event.

Postgraduate Students: Free

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Joyful Militancy – Transforming group culture in our movements (London, UK)

Why is it that groups that seek to bring about social change can, at times, be draining and lead to burnout of those involved? What needs to change? What are some of the causes?

Join this daylong workshop exploring how to transform culture within social change groups. Inspired in part by the ideas from Joyful Militancy the organisers will look at the ways in which groups can feel both rigid, rule-bound or restrictive and also how they can feel joyful, spaces of transformation, growth and possibility.

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Le Sommet Francophone pour le Changement Social et de Comportement – santé reproductive, maternelle, néonatal, infantile et de nutrition (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire)

Le pouvoir collectif a la capacité de transformer les structures sociales et est au cœur du développement. Le changement social et de comportement (CSC) engage et soutient les personnes dans le but de former un collectif afin de surmonter les défis du développement tels que la pauvreté, l’accès et l’utilisation des soins de santé de qualité. Les programmes de CSC contribuent à générer la demande de services de la santé reproductive, maternelle, néonatal, infantile et de nutrition (SRMNI + N), à soutenir les pratiques de comportements positifs, et à amplifier la portée des voix pour relever les défis auxquels l’Afrique francophone est confrontée aujourd’hui.

Le Sommet Francophone pour le Changement Social et de Comportement (Le Sommet CSC) est un évènement spécialement conçu pour donner à la communauté CSC francophone l’occasion de faire progresser la discipline de CSC pour la SRMNI + N. Spécifiquement, le Sommet visera à renforcer la capacité du CSC dans la région francophone de l’Afrique Sub-Saharienne pour augmenter l’utilisation des services de santé, reconnaitra le rôle essentiel des activités de promotion de la santé dans les réalisations en santé communautaire, mettra en évidence des pratiques fondées sur des preuves, et présentera des nouvelles approches innovantes.

Le Sommet CSC aura lieu en Afrique de l’Ouest (dates et l’endroit à confirmer). Inscrivez-vous avec le bouton ci-dessous pour recevoir les mises à jour par courriel, et rendez-vous ici pour trouver les dernières informations sur le Sommet.

‘Stand Up, Speak Out’ Youth Activism Training Resources (Girls Not Brides, 2018)

Co-created with young activists and member organisations from around the world, these one-of-a-kind training resources will help strengthen and amplify the role that young people can, and do, play as powerful activists in ending child marriage.

STAND UP, SPEAK OUT!

The new training resources offer a carefully planned series of workshops, all designed to empower young people; both by building knowledge around child marriage and by strengthening the skills they need to become powerful change makers. All sessions are planned to help empower young people with knowledge around child marriage, and how they can become powerful advocates and change makers. Throughout the training, there are dynamic, fun methods and strategies included for empowering young people to champion change in their communities.

The training package is made up of two resources.

  • A Trainer Manual: offering step-by-step guidance on how to run a series of training workshops with young people interested in developing their child marriage activism skills. Made up of 5 modules, covering specific topics, the training will lead participants on a journey of discovery.
  • A Participant Guide: which is a textbook on how to advocate for change, designed to accompany the training.

Download the resources at: https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/youth-activism-training-programme/

New UNICEF ‘Faith for Social and Behaviour Change’ Initiative 

The Communication for Development Section of Programme and Civil Society Partnerships section of UNICEF’s Division of Communication have agreed to collaborate on a Faith for Social and Behaviour Change initiative around a set of strategic activities over the two year period 2018-2019, towards strengthening UNICEF’s partnership with Faith Based Organizations in support of results for children globally.

The purpose of the initiative is to support more focused, systematic and at-scale engagement with Faith-Based communities and actors to influence positive social and behaviour change towards improving lives of children, youth, women and families, particularly the most marginalized.

Background: In 2017, along with the Child Protection Section, C4DHQ collaborated with the African Union in producing an “Introductory Guide for Faith Based Organizations on Addressing Harmful Social Norms” which was used as part of training workshop material for a continent-wide FBO workshop for religious leaders across Africa in combatting Child Marriage. This initiative was a preliminary response to the identified need that greater technical guidance needs to be provided to FBOs if they are to facilitate dialogue in support of social and behaviour change related to the priority areas of UNICEF’s work.

To date, the depth of the potential for working with FBOs has for the most part not been fully tapped as strategies of engagement have generally not taken a systems approach to working with FBOs. Partnerships have largely been developed by single sectors around specific activities in project mode versus a more overarching programming framework tied to country programme priorities. UNICEF’s C4D Section has acknowledged that as the leading development organization on children, addressing a full range of multi-sectoral issues across both development and humanitarian agendas, a more comprehensive national and community engagement framework with FBOs is required to advance this work.

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