The Drum Beat 188 - Middle East/North Africa

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This issue of the Drum Beat explores communication-based initiatives and resources specific to the Middle East/North Africa region. It is organised according to different channels of communication - both within and beyond the region - about key issues.

VIDEO/FILM

1. Impact Data - Arab Women Speak Out (AWSO) - Middle East/North Africa
An advocacy and training programme to empower women, AWSO offers a series of 10 video profiles, training and discussion materials, a tool for monitoring images of women in the media, and a case study publication of 30 women from Jordan, Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia and Palestine. 58% of participants and 30% of non-participants report that they have participated in community meetings. 53% of participants compared with 37% of non-participants report that they have talked with other women about ways to negotiate with their husbands/families. 51% of participants versus 40% of non-participants report that they have participated in community efforts to improve health care. 30% of participants contrasted with 18% of non-participants report that they have started a business venture.
Contact Carol Underwood cunderwood@jhuccp.org

2. Video and Community Dreams Project - Egypt
In the spring of 1997, Communication for Change (C4C) initiated a participatory video training programme for women in Egypt. 17 women from 3 villages in Minya (upper Egypt), Itsa El' Bellit, El Tayeba, Beni Rani and from one slum area in Cairo Tellal Zenhom were trained to use a home video camcorder. This training was intended to strengthen the voices of women at the local level and to extend the reach of New Horizons, an informal educational programme designed to communicate information in the areas of basic life skills and reproductive health. The newly trained teams in each region evaluated local problems and used video to reveal and discuss issues like financial barriers to marriage, female excision, and local environmental problems. One such video was "A Woman of Zenhom," a documentary that encouraged people to let their daughters finish their education before getting married.
Contact Sara Stuart sbs@C4C.org OR Lauren Goodsmith lauren_goodsmith@hotmail.com

3. Global Action Project's Global Voices - Global
In "Peace of Mind: Coexistence Through the Eyes of Palestinian and Israeli Teens" (60 mins. Israel, 1999), 7 young people who attended a "Seeds of Peace Camp" in the USA present varied perspectives on current political events, including their views on refugees, security, and sovereignty. (Other video programmes have been produced in Croatia, Northern Ireland, Ghana, and Guatemala).
Contact Global Action Project media@global-action.org

4. Impact Data - Morocco Family Planning/Maternal and Child Health Phase V Project - Morocco
This project consisted in the production of a documentary (Khlat Eddar), information booth, video (Bent Ettajer), and play (Aide-Toi, le Ciel t’Aidera). 560 people, most of whom were women of reproductive age, who saw the play were interviewed. Most said that they would advise a pregnant woman to "Deliver with skilled attendants" or "Have her pregnancy supervised by a health professional." 379 male and female passengers on 50 of Morocco's long-distance buses, who viewed the play in its video form were interviewed. When asked the cause of the health problems experienced by the pregnant women in the drama, 64% understood the central message of the drama: every pregnant woman is exposed to dangers during pregnancy and childbirth. A series of questions was posed to 2,000 individuals in 25 villages following the viewing of Bent Ettajer. Following screenings of the video in the Agadir region in October, 1999, 150 female audience members were asked how they would advise a pregnant woman. Almost all of them stated that the woman should seek health care services...
Contact JHU/CCP webadmin@jhuccp.org

5. The Season of Planting Girls
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is forbidden by law in Egypt. It is therefore banned in public and private hospitals and clinics. The government has an active policy discouraging it. But, according to official statistics, about 96% of women in Egypt are still circumcised. Together with the Egyptian authorities, organisations such as UNICEF, the Ford Foundation, UNDP and others have produced a video to discourage parents from having their daughters circumcised.

6. On Their Own (Reham's Story)
In this film, Reham recounts the story of her circumcision. She now works in anti-circumcision campaigns and strives to spread awareness of the fact that the practice of female genital mutilation is harmful and unhealthy, and is not a religious decree.

7. Women in the Mirror
A video documentary of 3 Egyptian women recounting stories of how they were beaten by their husbands and how they have responded.

8. Nurses Training Project
A training course for nurses in the Arab world. An instructor's manual, course book, and video (filmed in Egyptian hospitals with Egyptian actors) focus on the basics of practical skills. Each of the 24 lessons starts with a theory and describes, step by step, how certain actions should be carried out. Questions are included to be answered by the nurses, whereafter the instructor may discuss them.

RADIO

9. Ashreat Al Amal (Sails of Hope) - Sudan
In December 2002, the USA-based Population Media Center (PMC) announced a new media project in Sudan to tackle HIV/AIDS and to improve reproductive health. PMC worked with Sudan's National AIDS Control Programme (SNAP), as well as Sudanese writers and radio producers, to develop the radio drama.
Contact info@populationmedia.org OR William N. Ryerson ryerson@populationmedia.org

10. Macallinka Raddiyaha (The Radio Teacher) - Somalia
Launched in 2002 by the BBC World Service Trust and the Africa Educational Trust (AET) to teach rural Somalian men and women to read and write through radio programming and training. Elements include a half-hour weekly radio programme, printed materials, and face-to-face teaching. The radio programme, which will be heard all over Somalia and in neighbouring countries, including Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Yemen, uses material almost entirely from Somalia that looks at human rights issues, ways of sustaining the environment, and strategies people can use to stay healthy. Literacy teaching is based on key words that emerge from the radio programmes. Decisions about how classes are organised and where they take place are left entirely up to the community, and depend on what resources are available.
Contact Karen Merkel Karen.merkel@bbc.co.uk

11. Tuning in to the Middle East
As anti-American sentiments rise in the Middle East, the United States is responding through new radio stations airing restyled programmes for the region's youth. Radio Farda (Tomorrow) addresses Iran; Radio Sawa (Together) addresses Iraq. Broadcasts include regular news bulletins along with Arab or Persian and Western pop music.

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Has the word "AIDS", with the help of communicators, become too associated with stigma and finality? Does the all-encompassing term HIV convey hope and possibility? With fewer people developing the clinical manifestations of AIDS due to the use of ARV drugs, will the word "AIDS" still be adequate for care efforts? Isn't the existence of two words an unnecessary complication? Shouldn't we refocus on preventing the virus transmission? All of which leads to the following question...

Do you agree that communicators should increasingly make reference to HIV instead of AIDS or HIV/AIDS in their work?

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ACTIVISM/ADVOCACY

12. PYALARA - Palestinian Territory
The Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership and Rights Activation (PYALARA) is a youth-oriented and youth-run NGO initiated in 1999 as part of an effort to provide a sense of purpose and hope for young Palestinians. The 300 active members and participants range in age from children to people in their mid-20s. A youth newspaper, seminars and training sessions, and a peer counseling service are designed to help create a "lively Palestinian youth culture" that reflects awareness of and confidence in one's roots and a commitment to developing one's community.
Contact PYALARA pyalara@pyalara.org

13. Human Shields in Iraq
An anti-war group is seeking volunteers from around the world to act as 'human shields' in Iraq, should military action go ahead. Members of the convoy will identify targets for bombing, such as power stations, key bridges and roads, and deploy themselves as human shields visible to the international media. A live interactive BBC forum invites people to put questions directly to the campaign's leader, a former United States marine and Gulf War veteran.

RESEARCH

14. Addressing Unmet Needs for Reproductive Health Service: Decision-Linked Research in the Arab World
This 20-page booklet describes a collaboration between the International Planned Parenthood Federation's Arab World Regional Office and Management Sciences for Health (MSH) in a project to address unmet needs in reproductive health services by closing the gap between research and strategic decision-making.

15. The Arab Human Development Report 2002: Creating Opportunities for Future Generations
Published in 2002, this report highlights the substantial human development achieved by the 22 Arab states over the past 3 decades. Life expectancy in the region has increased by 15 years, according to the report, while mortality rates of children under 5 have fallen by two-thirds and adult literacy has almost doubled. Levels of abject poverty have been reduced. But the report also says that more work is needed to provide people in the region with a political voice, social choices, and economic opportunities. It outlines the challenges faced by the Arab states in strengthening personal and institutional freedoms and boosting broad-based citizen participation in political and economic affairs.

NETWORKING & COLLABORATION

16. Greek-Turkish Dialogue - Greece and Turkey
Implemented by Search for Common Ground (SFCG), this programme aims to resolve deeply-rooted tensions between people of Greek descent and people of Turkish descent by helping media personnel find common ground.
Contact SFCGsearch@sfcg.org

17. Children of the Nile - Egypt
The Bernard Van Leer Foundation (BVLF) has established an early childhood development (ECD) network of NGOs designed to help staff, caregivers, community leaders, and parents communicate with each other and with government officials to promote safe, healthy, playful, and educational environments for young children. Project activities include the community and family - notably, children up to age 6 - in child care and education initiatives through training and advocacy efforts. The project has primarily addressed the development of managerial and technical skills among community leaders, NGO staff, and caregivers.
Contact Ahmed Al-Damrawy aldamrawy@nsce-inter.com

18. Art for Charity - Arts for Global Development Network - Global
Brings arts advocates and stakeholders of development together to promote the use of art as a way to improve communities worldwide (including the poorer regions in Northern Africa and the Middle East). The initiative involves creating a database of all interested parties, matching their areas of focus, and working together with marginalised groups.
Contact Nil S. Navaie (Northern Africa Correspondent) nilsn@art4charity.net OR Elif S. Ertem (Middle East Correspondent) elifse@art4charity.net

19. Coalition of Women for Peace
A group of Jewish and Palestinian women who coordinate and organise joint activities to mobilise Israelis to support the following: a political agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours; the involvement of women in peace negotiations; the elimination of militarism in Israeli society; and equality, inclusion, and justice for all Israeli citizens.

20. The Interfaith Encounter Association (IEA)
Dedicated to promoting respect for the other and peaceful coexistence in the Middle East through cross-cultural study and inter-religious dialogue. IEA includes all faiths and both genders in its decision making and activities, providing outreach to those from all walks of life.

21. The Arab Resource Collective (ARC)
Assists community-based organisations working in the area of early childhood development throughout the Arab world. Produces and disseminates written and audio-visual materials, conducts training on the production and use of resources, and promotes networking.

22. Web Gives Voice to Iranian Women
The web is providing a way for women in Iran to talk freely about taboo subjects.

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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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