Media and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan

This document is a distillation of a meeting called by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), on February 23 2010, to discuss opportunities and challenges for using media more extensively and effectively to contribute to peacebuilding in Afghanistan. As stated here, the Afghan media sector has experienced dramatic growth in all areas: television, radio, print, internet, and mobile phones. Notably, an estimated 6 million mobile phone users were counted in 2008, with an increase of 300,000 users per month. Thus, the communication sector holds potential for making contributions to peacebuilding in the country.

Challenges that impede the media sector's peacebuilding potential include: resolving the tension between information operations and counterinsurgency and developing a viable, credible media sector. Donor-funded or military operation-funded impact (via purchased air time and proliferating "radio in a box" broadcasts from military outposts)) on both media market economics and media credibility is often negative. "Sustainability is also a significant issue. A glut of media outlets has arisen that are privately licensed yet sustained by international donor-funded and strategic communications money. This has had a deleterious effect on the perception of media, and its effectiveness as a guardian of public interests. The shortcomings of state-owned RTA as a public broadcaster further contribute to this, leading many experts to call for greater investment in long-term training and mentoring as well as regulatory reform to limit government manipulation of the airwaves."

Themes discussed include the following:

• Countering extremist messages - "There was general acknowledgement that extremist propaganda cannot be effectively dealt with through counter-propaganda. Instead, the provision of a robust and credible media environment that encourages an exchange of ideas around needs and solutions is vital in mitigating extremist messages" including: new programme content - particularly in the Pashto language - and airtime buying practices; and expanded use of call-in programming to voice local concerns. However, the following factors inhibit the record of call-in programmes to produce improved government accountability: legal mechanisms that expose stations to government sanctions if callers make unsubstantiated claims that reflect negatively on an official’s honour; poor training for on-air hosts and facilitators; and inadequate follow-up mechanisms off-air. Regarding this last factor, “there was general consensus on the importance of combining programming with community-based outreach in order to effectively support the messages and affect audience behaviour.”
  
• Coordination of effort - The United States (US) government agencies were recognised for consistency of sharing media planning and projects, but coordination across the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and private media groups was seen as less successful, raising credibility and sustainability questions and challenges. Particularly because there is an absence of a viable advertising market, media outlets are dependent on external funding. Training and regulatory reform were recommended for the government-funded RTA as a public broadcaster.
  
• Training and capacity-building. As stated here, more training is needed, with attention to the differential in remuneration of media funded externally and local media wages (threatening a "brain drain" problem for the local media). Integrating media training earlier in the education stream, preferably into secondary school curricula, as well as expanded training opportunities at the university level, was recommended.
  
• New technologies - The integration of new technology and applications into media efforts includes: Google Maps and geospatial information systems used to better plan broadcast station locations and local information needs; radio over internet protocol (ROIP) allowing users to create bidirectional intranets, cutting down on mobile phone costs and providing new, more stable means of communication; and mobile phones allowing SMS (text messaging) text-enabled users real-time engagement with media programmes. However, weak infrastructure, especially inconsistent electrical power, was cited as problematic.
  

Additional challenges include the following:

• "Media training must extend beyond the press and into the area of professional communication, where the next-generation spokesperson will play a pivotal role in determining how effective the Afghan government communicates and interacts with the public.
  
• Provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) and forward operating bases (FOBs) frequently do not have a trained communications specialist on site. Less than the ideal situation, this complicates efforts to present a clear and consistent message to the public.
  
• Moving forward, international media stakeholders must engage as much as possible with both their Afghan counterparts and the larger Afghan public, who are eager for a greater say in the type of media and programming directed at them.
  
• Additional efforts are needed to better understand the nature of Afghan media consumption. Measuring and evaluating these preferences continue to prove difficult in the volatile political and security situations of Afghanistan - yet it is vital. The diversity of Afghanistan requires media development experts, policymakers, and the military to seek local solutions for local problems.

 The document concludes with next steps: bring the ideas from the conference to peer reviewers – "the policymakers, media-makers and citizens of Afghanistan themselves - and then to work in concert for their implementation."