Using interactive radio to catalyse normative change for women, youth, minorities and other excluded groups in Somalia

Summary:

In Somalia, an average of 4000 people per week are taking part in a public discussion on the inclusion of discriminated groups in society by sending their views via SMS on issues raised through interactive radio programmes. Imaqal (Hear me!), a project implemented by Africas Voices with funding from the Somalia Stability Fund, is building a large-scale media-based conversation to challenge norms that sustain gender inequality and the social exclusion of youth, the displaced, and minorities. Africas Voices interactive radio approach, with foundations in interdisciplinary research at the University of Cambridge, combines social science, media expertise, and data and technology, and enables the timely analysis of thousands of messages at scale, so that audiences views are fed back into the content on a weekly basis. This allows for a citizen-driven, inclusive and meaningful conversation on how Somalia can overcome exclusionary attitudes and practices. The radio programming is guided by Africas Voices Theory of Change, which stems from the academic body of literature on normative social change and the deliberative role of media publics. Building a nation-wide conversation of such scale, plurality and richness is immensely valuable in itself, particularly in Somalia where the space for public debate and challenging conventions is limited. After a year of programming and thousands of SMS analysed, Africas Voices is ready to share the value of interactive radio as a replicable paradigm for citizen-driven normative and social change.

Background/Objectives:

Somalia is at a crucial juncture as it prepares for constitutional reform and elections in 2021. Recent milestones, such as democratic elections in 2017 are at risk of being undermined by ongoing conflict and weak institutions. The inclusion of marginalised groups is critical for catalysing participatory governance, reducing community vulnerability to conflict, and increasing stability. However, this requires not only a change in policies and structures but also a change in social norms that sustain discriminatory practices. Imaqal is sparking a norm-shifting media-based dialogue centred on citizen voice to contribute towards increased participatory governance and social cohesion.

Description of Intervention and/or Methods/Design:

Imaqal is a multi-channel media campaign, including radio dramas; radio magazines; social media discussions; and on-the-ground forums. Audiences interact with the radio shows by responding to open-ended questions posed on air via SMS to a free short-code. The subsequent conversational data is analysed weekly by software engineers and Somali-speaking researchers to feed the audiences views back into programme design. A quarterly mixed-methods analysis results in further insights and serves to identify statistical associations that can inform media engagement strategy in line with the Theory of Change. This approach, in addition to providing a conversational space where negative views can be contested by the public itself and where positive attitudes and outcome expectations of change can be made visible, also helps to identify social norms that underpin harmful practices, determining key drivers of social and behaviour change and tracking change in beliefs over time.

Results/Lessons Learned:

By October 2019, over 33,000 people had sent SMS to the questions posed on air. A final evaluation in January 2020 will further assert Imaqals reach and impact, in triangulation with the weekly and quarterly data streams. Whereas the initial weeks of programming focused on conversations that aimed at recognising the issues and motivations for change, the evidence finds that more recent shows have enabled rich conversations on solutions for more inclusionary attitudes. Participants themselves value this form of engagement. The final episode of the first season of Kaaha Nolosha, Imaqals weekly radio magazine, asked audiences: Do you think the Kaaha Nolosha conversations are contributing to a more inclusive society? The responses are indicative of a discursive space that is valued, trusted and seen as enabling change, as this SMS shows: In the worlds of a participant, the discussions...have played an integral part in integration within the community.

Discussion/Implications for the Field:

This interactive radio approach, powered by technology and social science, enables conversations at scale that are contextually-based and citizen-driven. As such, social and behaviour change is aligned to the academic evidence on normative change, where the benefits of new behaviours and the ability to achieve them emerge from a participatory process within the context of a large-scale, plural, and inclusive public discussion. This model can be replicated across SBCC programming to ensure a more contextual and participatory change process where citizen voices are the driving force of the process rather than solely extracted for research and evaluation.

Abstract submitted by: 

Agnes Gakuru

Luke Church