The Drum Beat 36 - Communication and Change News and Issues

PROGRAMMES

1. Atelier-Théâtre Burkinabè (ATB) - Burkina Faso - produces plays on childrens conditions and issues (ie: health, working children on gold sites, problem of street children, problem of unemployment). They organise an International Festival of Theatre for Development every 2 years. In 1998, more than 88 groups from 25 countries attended. They are still seeking additional theatre groups and funds (US $20,000) to realise the Festival this Feb. 20-29, 2000 at which they expect 70 groups from more than 30 countries. Contact Prosper Kompaore [email protected]

2. "Tilitonse" - Malawi - this radio soap opera was launched by The Story Workshop Educational Trust on Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, 12 Dec. 1999. The series of 52 episodes will present human rights, responsibilities, rule of law, justice and democracy issues through the story of Mayinga, a driver from the government's vehicle hire office. Mayinga's assignments take him all over the country where he witnesses the transitions that are taking place in Malawi's new democracy. Contact Pamela Brooke [email protected]

3. Association of Pan American Journalists and Communicators in Health - Isle de Margarita - the Health Communication Unit of The Pan American Health Organisation, in collaboration with the Programme for the Prevention & Control of Tobacco formed this new Association to support national and regional initiatives for tobacco prevention and control, to organise journalists and communicators specialised in this topic as well as support their training and continuing education. They are seeking technical and financial support. Contact Dr. Gloria Coe [email protected]

4. CRC Celebrations - Mauritius - The Halley Movement celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 Nov. 1999 with an Open Day in rural Batimarais. Participants and volunteers in its Basic Education to Adolescents Programme took part in the celebrations, which included workshops and public distribution of a booklet on child abuse. Contact Mehendranath Busgopaul [email protected]

5. SADC Regional Centre of Communication for Development - Zimbabwe - offers training in Communication for Development and provides advice and assistance to governmental and NGO programmes. Their methodology, Participatory Rural Communication Appraisal (PRCA), is a process whereby the concerned community is an equal partner with the project team in deciding what and how activities will be implemented, what communication channels will be used, what assistance they expect to receive, and what responsibilities they will assume to sustain the project. Contact Phillipe Van de Stichele [email protected]

6. Social Marketing Institute - Global - is in basic planning stages. Planners hope to: provide onsite team-based strategic guidance to programmes, organizations, businesses and foundations; Carry out and disseminate research on social marketing 'best practices; Train and educate in state-of-the-art techniques; Sponsor academic research, sabbatical affiliations, and conferences; Provide opportunities for corporate marketers to apply their skills to social issues they care about. Contact Alan Andreasen [email protected]

7. World Trade Organisation Internet Debate - Global - The British Council will present views on the future of the WTO in an online debate. NGOs, activists and citizens worldwide are invited to participate. The recent situation in Seattle highlighted lack of communication between citizens and governments and lack of access to the WTO structure and decision-making processes. The question of who benefits and who controls the processes behind globalisation is at the top of the agenda. Website

8. Scholarships for Journalists - Global - to attend XIII 
International AIDS Conference, Durban, South Africa, July 2000. Sponsored by AF-AIDS, the objective is to enhance journalists existing skills so that they may report on HIV/AIDS in their respective regions with a view to breaking the silence on HIV/AIDS. Website. Contact Karen Bennett [email protected]

9. "Betinho" Communications Prize - Global - 1st Association for Progressive Communications Award to recognize socially meaningful use of ICTs. The US $7500 prize is open to non-profit organisations, community-based groups, coalitions, working groups or social movements worldwide that have creatively and successfully used ICTs as an essential ingredient in development work. Winner announced May 2000. Deadline 31 Jan. 2000. Nomination form. 

COMMUNICATION TRENDS

10. Rural E-mail Satellite Communications in Developing Nations - Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA), Wavix, Inc. and Surrey Satellite Technology, Ltd. have signed an agreement that will result in bringing low cost email services to rural and isolated areas of developing countries. This is "part of a 3-part programme which will include NGO's all over the world working closely together to develop an information culture in areas lacking communications." Website. Contact Gary Garriott [email protected] SEE press release

WEB SITES

11. World Health News is an online news digest from the Center for Health Communication at the Harvard School of Public Health. Covers critical public health issues worldwide. Designed to be a resource for international policy makers and journalists as well as public health researchers, practitioners, and advocates. Website. 

GATHERINGS

12. Workshop on Communicating for Health Promotion in Adolescent Health will be part of the Caribbean Medical Association's 5th Congress on Workers' Health in Havana, Cuba, 17-21 Apr. 2000. Contributions and ideas welcome. Materials and their analysis will be published in the Proceedings of the Congress. Contact [email protected] OR [email protected] OR [email protected]

13. Distance Learning Course on Strategic Communication for Development Projects. This 6-week course for World Bank project teams, their Ministry counterparts, and field-based partner agencies, will provide an understanding of "global best practice" and an opportunity to apply principles to existing projects. Courses offered Jan. 26-Mar. 1 & Apr. 19-May 24, 2000. Contact Cecilia C. Verzosa [email protected]

14. Seeking Abstracts - for the 6th Innovations in Social Marketing Conference held 11-13 June 2000 in Washington D.C. Theme is Marketing Social Marketing: Managerial and Strategic Approaches to Establishing a Marketing Orientation in Social Change Organizations. Submissions should focus on developing and testing emerging theories, innovative conceptual frameworks, and approaches to local, national and international social marketing problems. Deadline 4 Feb. 2000. -Website. Contact [email protected] 

15. Apply - to attend the 14th Advances in Health Communication & Advocacy Workshop, 5-30 June 2000 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Explores the theory and practice of effective behavior change communication and advocacy. Participants develop a complete communication programme with SCOPE, an interactive computer tool.
Deadline 1 Mar. 2000. Website.

MATERIALS

16. On-line Training Module for Reproductive Health of Young Adults on Contraception, Pregnancy & Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Produced by Family Health International in collaboration with FOCUS on Young Adults Project, it is designed for use in seminars, workshops and other training events for physicians, nurses and medical students. Includes background info. on reproductive health risks & consequences, clinical info. on contraceptive options, and addresses STD prevention & treatment issues. Website.

17. "Rich Media, Poor Democracy" by Robert McChesney addresses the corporate media explosion and the corresponding implosion of public life that characterizes our times. He argues that the current concentrated corporate control is disastrous for participatory democracy. Combining historical sweep with detail on current events, McChesney chronicles the waves of media mergers and acquisitions in the late 1990s. Contact Robert McChesney [email protected]

PEOPLE

18. Vacancy - Operations Research Communication Specialist for the Quality Assurance Project, a USAID-funded international public health project. Work collaboratively with the Communication Unit. MPH or MA in communications with experience in research and statistical methods. Contact Donna Vincent Roa, Ph.D. [email protected]

19. Vacancy - UNOPS International Expert on Child Counseling in Dhaka to facilitate the empowerment of children living on the street through pilot activities for improving the quality and outreach of selected agencies working in this sector. Provide technical assistance and general advice on issues relating to children's emotional welfare and psychological needs, liase and dialogue with local and international organisations on issues related to government policy, and design and implement courses for child counseling for field workers. Deadline 15 Jan. 2000. Contact Aimee Ansari [email protected]

 

Thanks to all for their involvement and support. Please send items for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann [email protected]