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KICTANet Planning Meeting Minutes
by Judy kimiti 15 Sep '06

15 Sep '06

Dear All, Please find attached the minutes for the KICTANet Planning Meeting that took place on 7th September 2006. Thank you Yours Sincerly Judy Kimiti KICTANet Secretariate --------------------------------- All New Yahoo! Mail Tired of Vi@gr@! come-ons? Let our SpamGuard protect you.

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RE: [Kictanet] African BPO & Call Centre Conference Tuesday 26th September 2006 Panari Hotel, Nairobi
by cliff＠acwsp.com 15 Sep '06

15 Sep '06

Alice, I hope you are doing fine. I would like to ask whether there are any opportunities for some kind of sponsorship to participate in the conference. Thanks and kind regards, Wycliff > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: [Kictanet] African BPO & Call Centre Conference Tuesday 26th > September 2006 Panari Hotel, Nairobi > From: alice(a)apc.org > Date: Thu, September 14, 2006 9:43 am > To: Wycliff Ochieng <cliff(a)acwsp.com> > > The first African BPO & Call Centre Conference will be held in Nairobi. > Organized by AITEC Africa, it will provide a forum for international > investors and outsourcing companies to meet local operators and potential > business partners. Please visit http://www.ictpark.com/main/BPO.htm for a > program of events. > > This will be a two-day conference whose main theme is "Business Process > Outsourcing - Employment Creation for the New Millennium". Leading > international experts will be speaking at the conference, as well as > conducting workshops, a master class and an executive breakfast briefing. > The event will include a specialized exhibition on products and services > for the BPO & call centre industry. > > > Date: Start: Tuesday 26th September 2006 > Ends: Wednesday 27th September 2006 > > Time: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (both days) > > Venue: Panari Hotel, Nairobi > > Cost: KShs. 21,460/- per person (special rate) > > > ICTPark.com invites you to attend the conference at a special rate of > KShs. 21,460/- per person, which is a 50% discounted rate for all those > who will join through ICTPark.com. Kindly email or call the undersigned > on 444 9277 or 444 7655 to make reservations for this conference. > > With Regards, > > Louise Mungai > Program Officer > _____________________________ > > ICTPark.com - Idea Factory Limited, > The Office Park, > Riverside Drive, > PO Box 12 - 00606 Sarit Centre, > Nairobi, Kenya. > Tel: 444 9277 / 7655 > Fax: 444 9210 > > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/cliff%40acwsp.com

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SFD Meeting at C&P
by Bill Kagai 15 Sep '06

15 Sep '06

Dear all, Circuits & Packets is organising a get-together of FOSS enthusiasts in Kenya to brainstorm our future and issues that have been raised in various mailing lists. This will be held on Software Freedom Day at C&P BoardRoom - 2.00pm-4.00pm. Kindly confirm your attendance by email to me for logistical purposes. billkagai(a)gmail.com -- -- With Kind Regards, Bildad Kagai MD - Circuits & Packets Communications Ltd Content & Training Partner - JKUAT E-Government Academy Suite B2, Tetu Apartments, State House Avenue P. O. Box 20311 - 00200 Nairobi, Kenya Tel. 254 20 2728332 Fax. 254 20 2726965 Cell. 254 724 226600 URL. www.circuitspackets.co.ke URL. www.JKUATEgovAcademy.ac.ke

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African BPO & Call Centre Conference Tuesday 26th September 2006 Panari Hotel, Nairobi
by alice＠apc.org 14 Sep '06

14 Sep '06

The first African BPO & Call Centre Conference will be held in Nairobi. Organized by AITEC Africa, it will provide a forum for international investors and outsourcing companies to meet local operators and potential business partners. Please visit http://www.ictpark.com/main/BPO.htm for a program of events. This will be a two-day conference whose main theme is "Business Process Outsourcing - Employment Creation for the New Millennium". Leading international experts will be speaking at the conference, as well as conducting workshops, a master class and an executive breakfast briefing. The event will include a specialized exhibition on products and services for the BPO & call centre industry. Date: Start: Tuesday 26th September 2006 Ends: Wednesday 27th September 2006 Time: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (both days) Venue: Panari Hotel, Nairobi Cost: KShs. 21,460/- per person (special rate) ICTPark.com invites you to attend the conference at a special rate of KShs. 21,460/- per person, which is a 50% discounted rate for all those who will join through ICTPark.com. Kindly email or call the undersigned on 444 9277 or 444 7655 to make reservations for this conference. With Regards, Louise Mungai Program Officer _____________________________ ICTPark.com - Idea Factory Limited, The Office Park, Riverside Drive, PO Box 12 - 00606 Sarit Centre, Nairobi, Kenya. Tel: 444 9277 / 7655 Fax: 444 9210

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An EASSy debt for Africa
by Eric Osiakwan 13 Sep '06

13 Sep '06

An EASSy debt for Africa By Eric M.K Osiakwan Visiting Fellow and Scholar, DV Program, Stanford University On the 29th of August 2006, seven (7) Southern and Eastern African countries signed the Inter-Governmental Protocol of the Inter-Government Authority (IGA) of the East and Southern African Submarine System (EASSy) which is the governmental framework through the New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD) within which the cable is going to be owned, built and operated. The protocol, which is the outcome of an African led consultative process, mandates that the EASSy cable has an African majority ownership. The current proposal for the cable is a combination of debt and equity financing of 70% against 30% for the total cost of three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000). The question must be asked why do we want to saddle Africa with another debt if the business proposition of the cable is viable? The NEPAD E-Africa Commission, which is facilitating this process with the governments mandate to have an African majority ownership of the cable based on an Open Access structure, must consider my proposal not to accrue debt for this project because much of the money can be raised through equity and stocks on the continent. The EASSy Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) must be owned in a public private partnership with the participation of governments, private sector, educational institutions, network operators, civil society and the consumer. The EASSy SPV should be listed on the various country stock exchanges so that it works within the stock exchange discipline, which allows it stocks to be traded without burdening the company to make huge profits to pay it shareholders. This approach meets the current regulated return on investment clause in the protocol in that the company would not be bent on paying its investors huge profits so would price capacity at cost however the investors can trade their stocks in the company on the stock exchanges to make profit based on the performance of the company. Governments and public institutions must be able to invest public funds, pension funds etc into the EASSy SPV. The stock market would serve as a platform to trade these shares later or an exist strategy to recoup the investment. For the indigenous private enterprises the proposal is to lower the financial uptake for equity from the current one ($1,000,000) to two ($2,000,000) million dollars to between hundreds of thousand of dollars and one million dollars ($1000,000). This must include not only Eastern and Southern Africa private enterprise. Educational institutions who consume a lot bandwidth must also be allowed to invest like the UbuntuNet Alliance which has about three million dollars ($3,000,000) for the purposes of participation in the EASSy SPV. Civil Society and Consumers must be allow to purchase shares or bonds of the EASSy cable on the stock market hence my proposal is for the various governments to guarantee the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the EASSy SPV in the various country stock exchanges. The trading of stocks of the EASSy SPV on the exchanges would seek to rapidly expand the participation of the African people and create the African ownership, which is the flagship of NEPAD. The process would also generate long-term activities on the exchanges and create a trading post for a critical regional infrastructure company, which would ensure effective and efficient management of the enterprise. This would also have an impact on the stock markets in that trading of an unusual entity would create innovation, ensure that our financial sector is able to re-engineer to scale with development interest and ensure that private interest is at par with development goals to create a win-win situation. The stock market serves as the platform for trading the stocks of the EASSy SPV so that should the company be doing well then the investors can make money by trading their shares; otherwise the stock market is a good exit strategy for those who want to dispose off their shares if the company does do well in their opinion. Why should we saddle Africa with an EASSy debt when the viability of the project can guarantee raising equity for it implementation ensuring that an African led process, is African financed? -- Eric M.K Osiakwan Executive Secretary AfrISPA (www.afrispa.org) Tel: + 233.21.258800 Fax: + 233.21.258811 Cell: + 233.244.386792 Handle: eosiakwan Snail Mail: Pmb 208, Accra-North Office: BusyInternet - 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North Blog: http://afrispa.skybuilders.com/users/Eric/blog.html Slang: "Tomorrow Now" --

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Fw: [IIEP] Software Freedom Day 2006
by Florence Etta 13 Sep '06

13 Sep '06

FYI sorry for cross posting! FE ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Wayne Mackintosh <wmackintosh(a)COL.ORG> To: ELEARN-OPENSOURCE(a)LST.IIEP-UNESCO.ORG Sent: Saturday, 9 September, 2006 4:44:36 AM Subject: [IIEP] Software Freedom Day 2006 Hi all, No doubt many folk on the list are making preparations for Software Freedom Day on 16 September 2006. I'm working on a small "celebration" of SFD 2006 in relation to FLOSS for education around the Commonwealth. Nothing major - but if anyone in the community would like to add a personal narrative on Wikieducator (http://www.wikieducator.org) - this would be appreciated. As an open community, we also welcome participation from folk outside the Commonwealth. Many projects of the Commonwealth of Learning would simply not be possible without FLOSS technologies and free content. In tribute, and celebration of SFD 2006 around the Commonwealth, I'm collecting a few personal narratives from people like you and me on what free and open source software has meant for your work in education and learning. I looking for personal reflections and anecdotes emphasising that real warm blooded folk are involved in this movement <smile>. I would really appreciate two or three personal paragraphs and possibly an informal photograph on WikiEducator - hope that you can find a gap in your schedule before before 16 September. If you can find the time please create a page linked from http://www.wikieducator.org/SFD_around_the_Commonwealth on WikiEducator - and spread the word among friends to do the same. Much appreciated & chat to you soon. Wayne ____________________________ Wayne Mackintosh Education Specialist, eLearning and ICT Policy Commonwealth of Learning 1055 West Hastings Street, Suite 1200 Vancouver, BC V6E 2E9 Canada www.col.org www.wikieducator.org Tel: +1 604 775 8261 Mobile: +1 604 715 7027 Fax: +1 604 775 8210 email: wmackintosh(a)col.org

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JKUAT e-Gov Academy 2006-7 Calender
by Bill Kagai 12 Sep '06

12 Sep '06

2006-2007 TRAINING CALENDER The JKUAT e-Government Academy is a joint initiative of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Enterprises Company and Circuits & Packets Communications Limited in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), with a mission to offer high quality e-Government Training, Consultancy and Software Development. Located in the Juja Campus, the Academy primary objective is first to inculcate and transfer the technology of using logic and algorithm in service delivery through capacity building and e-Learning. The second objective is to commercialise the innovations developed in the Academy for use in both the public and private sector. This is currently being done through JKUAT Enterprises Limited, a company wholly owned by the University. We are glad to inform you that the training calendar for the 2006/2007 financial year is now ready and you can register for the courses online. Go to www.jkuategovacademy.ac.ke Course being offered this financial year include; Linux/Unix Fundamentals IT Security System Administration Desktop Application Programming Content Management Systems Graphics/Multimedia Technology CCNA/CCNP Hardware Maintenance Web Development Network Administration Contacts; Training Manager Joel Kimilu JKUAT e-Government Academy P. O. Box 62000-00200, Nairobi Tel: 254 67 52420 Fax. 254 67 52438 Email: info(a)jkuates.jkuat.ac.ke Technical Manager Ngahu Kanyingi Circuits&Packets Communications Ltd P. O. Box 20311-00200, Nairobi Tel: 254 20 2728332 Fax: 254 20 2726965 Email: info(a)circuitspackets.co.ke

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Kictanet Planning Meeting 7th September
by Judy kimiti 12 Sep '06

12 Sep '06

Dear Members, Please note that the KICTANet Planning meeting will be at the Jacaranda Hotel on 7th September at the Jacaranda Room at 3:45pm We would appreciate if you'd confirm your attendance to the undersigned for logistics purposes. Thank you and best regards Judy Kimiti KICTANet --------------------------------- Try the all-new Yahoo! Mail . "The New Version is radically easier to use" The Wall Street Journal

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Software Freedom Day Celebrations
by Dorcas Muthoni 08 Sep '06

08 Sep '06

RE: *** Invitation To The Career Workshop for High School Girls to encourage them to pursue careers in Computing, 16th September 2006, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Missio Hall, Karen.*** LinuxChix Africa - Kenya Chapter in collaboration with Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) welcomes you to attend a one day Computing Career Workshop to be held on the 16th September 2006 at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Missio Hall, Karen. LinuxChix Africa (www.africalinuxchix.org ) was founded in December 2004 as an online discussion group to work on increasing the expertise of the African woman with regards to FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) and ICTâs as a way of empowering women. Today, LinuxChix Africa is a Pan-African organization helping toward building a critical mass of computing skills among African women. We have 16 country chapters and over 300 members from all over Africa. We believe that computing as a whole and Free and Open Source Software(FOSS) in particular, can play a significant role in empowering women. The copyleft nature of FOSS helps programmers learn from programs or modify them so that they build on the innovations of others rather than re-invent the wheel. As we learned from the famous scientist Isaac Newton: Great achievements can only be made by standing on the shoulders of a giant. The overall objective of the Computing Career Workshop is to is to provide students and teachers with information on computing and also answer their questions on Computer Science/ Information Technology as a career. IT innovations and the opportunities are ineffectual if people are un-aware of them. The lack of awareness goes a long way in explaining the notable dearth of women in the IT industry in Kenya. A situation, that exists inspite of the fact that they achieve as well as the boys in pre-university examinations. Background Every year, a non-profit Software Freedom International organizes Software Freedom Day (SFD). This is a worldwide celebration of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). The goal in this celebration is to raise public awareness of the benefits of using high quality FOSS in education, in government, at home, and in business -- in short, everywhere! Software Freedom International provides guidance in organizing SFD, but volunteer teams around the world organize their own SFD events to impact their own communities. This year, the date set for the celebrations is 16th September 2006. The Kenya chapter of LinuxChix Africa will once again hold the annual Career Workshop for High School Girls to encourage them to go for careers in Computer Science/Information Technology to celebrate SFD. Participants We expect up to 500 students to attend. Speakers Speakers will comprise luminaries from various IT disciplines. The honorable, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr. Bitange Ndemo is expected to give the keynote address. Speakers will make motivational speeches aimed at demonstrating success in the IT industry is not impeded by one's gender. It is hoped that the speakers will inspire and serve as role models to the girls. Activities Please see the attached program. I hope that you will able to join us and look forward to welcoming you there. Thanks and regards, Dorcas Muthoni Irene Misoi Co-founder, Kenya, Country Representative LINUXCHIX AFRICA LINUXCHIX AFRICA

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"AN EAR TO THE GROUND and A CRY FROM THE HEART"
by alice＠apc.org 07 Sep '06

07 Sep '06

Dear KICTANet members, For those significantly engaged in communication and media for development work, the communication initiative would very much welcome your feedback and suggestions related to a draft Communication and Media for Development MANIFESTO - tentatively titled "An Ear to the Ground and a Cry from the Heart" - that they issued this past weekend through The Drum Beat Magazine. This manifesto is derived from knowledge and analysis shared by the network through The CI processes. It attempts to meet a need so often expressed by people and organisations engaged in communication and media for development work - the requirement for a short, succinct paper that makes the case for why this work is crucial for the effectiveness, efficiency and core principles of overall Development action. The draft Manifesto is also included below in this note. It can also be seen, as an issue of The Drum Beat magazine, at http://www.comminit.com/drum_beat_363.html There are two substantive ways in which the further development and strengthening of this Manifesto would greatly benefit from the contribution of your skills, knowledge, analysis and insights: 1. Please complete the brief survey form at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=662892502330 2. Join the online discussion for the month of September during which we will try to debate and refine [or maybe substantially re-write!] this Manifesto. To join click here: http://forums.comminit.com/profile.php?mode=register&style=2 and choose the "Drumbeat Chat' check box Thank you very much - we all greatly appreciate your contribution in helping to build this case for our work - a case that people can use in a variety of ways including within their own organisations, with local communities and national and international decision makers to demonstrate the considerable added value and potential of communication for media development in addressing the very significant development challenges in all communities, countries and regions. The Draft manifesto follows. Warren Feek Executive Director The Communication Initiative *** "AN EAR TO THE GROUND and A CRY FROM THE HEART" Effective Anti-Poverty Action through Increased Communication and Media for Development Action The Communication and Media for Development Manifesto DRAFT This manifesto proposes a set of steps for local, national and international development decision makers and funders to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the overall work of their organisations in addressing poverty and related issues. The proposals are based on an analysis of the significant challenges facing local, national, and international development and the extensive impact opportunities provided by communication and media for development action. 1. DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES An Analysis of the Requirements for More Effective Development Action The struggle against poverty, including the race to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to implement effective poverty reduction strategy (PRS) programmes, requires mobilising and harnessing all possible global capacities and resources. In particular, there is a pressing and compelling need for capacities and strategies that can best address the vital human and social dimensions of poverty, governance, health, education, conflict, HIV/AIDS, children, and other priority development issues at the scale required. All development issues, including the central issue of poverty itself, have questions of social norms, cultural dynamics, policy considerations, individual behaviours and attitudes, historical factors, knowledge, information, and creativity as both central elements of those development problems and strategic opportunities for effective action. International development, if it is to be more effective and efficient relative to the MDGs and PRS programmes, needs to have a much closer collective "ear to the ground". It is the situations and experiences of people and communities directly experiencing poverty and related issues that will ensure relevant and effective strategies and initiatives. Local, national and international decision makers can also improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their work by increasing the extent to which they listen to the "cries from the heart" of people in their communities. Those cries will include valuable ideas and suggestions for effective programmes. This is not just a matter of improved and more effective use of limited resources. It is also a fundamental human right that people drive and decide the changes in their lives, families, and communities. It is their lives in which we have the honour of engaging. Communication and Media for Development is an extensive and dynamic community of practitioners and organisations that seek to advance this desperately needed approach to development. The context and analysis above drive the nature of our work. The qualities, scope, and demonstrated impact of communication and media for development are what keep us advocating for increased support and growth. 2. COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA FOR DEVELOPMENT Strategic and Programmatic Action for Effective International Development Action Considering the arguments and analysis above, the following local, national, and international development qualities and strategies, which are the core elements of communication and media for development, are required in greater depth and scale: VOICE: Increased space for and attention to the voice, perspective, and central contribution of those most affected by poverty and other development issues. KNOWLEDGE: Widened and expanded knowledge and information sharing including, for improved relevance and other reasons, a higher priority on knowledge and information generated within the communities and countries that are bearing the heaviest burden of poverty and related issues. CULTURE: Improved ways to engage the rich cultural diversity across the globe and the important and diverse ways in which those varied cultures understand, address, and harness the vitally important factors of leadership, community, behaviour, and inclusion in order to improve their families, communities and countries. DEBATE: Significantly expanded public and private debate and dialogue on the issues that are of priority importance in each international, national, and local context. POLICY: More open, participative, and inclusive processes of policy development that increase the substantive integration of the views and perspectives of those most affected by poverty and other development issues. LEGISLATION: More effective legislation, including on media, supporting a pluralistic communication environment with space for a full range of organisations and voices. BEHAVIOUR and ATTITUDES: Expanded focus on addressing the relevant behaviours of both people affected and decision makers in order to accelerate action on the development issues of concern. DATA: Improved collection, sharing, and utilising of data related to the human and social dimensions of development. 3. DEMONSTRATED CHANGE The Demonstrated Effectiveness of Communication and Media for Development Action 3.1 Historical Change There are compelling and credible historical processes that had effective communication and media strategies as essential parts of their overall strategy. The Civil Rights, anti-Apartheid, anti-Tobacco, Representative Democracy, Child Rights and Women's Movements, as well as other past and ongoing global, regional, national and local social movements, have all included communication strategies as a main (often the central) part of their change effort. In many cases, all that these movements used were communication and media strategies. There is no vaccine, for example, for civil rights. 3.2 Research Data There is an increasing body of research and evaluation knowledge on the direct impact of communication and media for development action on poverty and its related and contributing factors - data that includes, relative to major development priorities: Poverty: * Local Language Media - India: States with higher levels of media development are more active in protecting vulnerable citizens....A 1% increase in newspaper circulation is associated with a 2.4% increase in public food distribution and a 5.5% increase in calamity relief expenditures. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/eval2005/evaluations-45.html * Voices of Women - AWSO - Middle East: In a programme to support Arab women's achievement of economic security, nearly 69% of participants contrasted with only 40% of non-participants, reported that they knew where to obtain information about business or personal loans. Participants were also significantly more likely than were non-participants to find out about training that could benefit them professionally (94% versus 68%). http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/id2002/sld-2431.html Governance: * Democratising Knowledge - Uganda: Increased public access to information...reduce[s]...corruption of public funds....[Corrupt] capture of public funds was reduced from 80 percent in 1995 to less than 20 percent in 2001. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/eval2005/evaluations-75.html * Information Flows - Global: Empirical analysis shows that countries which have better information flows as measured by both freedom of information and transparency have better quality governance. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/eval2005/evaluations-137.html * New Technologies - Gyandoot - India: Citizens in the community perceive a shift in corruption levels, especially in terms of access to information and lesser harassment by the government officials. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/steval/sld-2152.html Gender: * Public Debate and Declaration - Tostan - Burkina Faso: 23 communities made a public declaration for the abandonment of the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) in front of 5,000 villagers, religious, traditional and political leaders, the media and programme managers from government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international organisations. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/eval2006/evaluations-218.html * Inter-personal Discussion - MAP - South Africa: 71% of the male participants believed that women should have the same rights as men, whereas only 25% of men in the control group felt this way. 82% of the participants thought that it was not normal for men to sometimes beat their wives, whereas only 38% of the control group felt that way. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/idkdv2003/sld-2350.html Children: * Campaign - The Philippines: The proportion of fully vaccinated children of ages 12-23 months increased from 54% to 65%. The average number of vaccinations that a child under 2 years received increased from 4.32 to 5.10. Coverage increased between 1989 and 1990 by 0.77. The amount of this increase that was attributed to the media and communication was 0.54. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/idmay15/sld-2278.html * Promotion - Mexico: Conclusion - mass media promotion and popular communication campaigns are an effective strategy for informing and motivating mothers to seek immunisation services for their children. Overall, 83% were aware of the campaign and 63% were impacted by its messages. The net increase in immunisation between the "aware" and "unaware" groups was 14.8%, though it must be recognised that a relatively large proportion of the "unaware" mothers also took their children for vaccinations, a feature the authors attribute to long-term momentum gained by successive vaccination campaigns. http://www.comminit.com/strategicthinking/st2004/thinking-589.html Maternal Mortality: * Participation - Suami/Suagi - Indonesia: When husbands were exposed to multi-media campaign messages about maternal mortality prevention and birth preparedness, men's knowledge increased and men's action toward becoming an alert husband increased; furthermore, the odds of knowledge acquisition and taking action were even higher for men who engaged in interpersonal communication about the campaign messages. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/eval2006/evaluations-288.html * Education-Entertainment - Smiling Sun - Bangladesh: Twice as many respondents (14%) who had watched the drama had received services than those who had not seen (7%) the drama. 9% of viewers had actually visited a clinic after being inspired by the drama. 70% of viewers had received antenatal care (ANC) services during their last pregnancy, as compared to 48% of non-viewers. 58% of non-viewers, versus 41% of viewers, said they had taken "no preparations" in advance of their last pregnancy. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/idkdv2003/sld-2343.html Health and HIV/AIDS: * Mass Media Trends and Access - Africa: There is a persistent and frequently strong association between exposure to the mass media and reproductive behaviour in Africa in the expected direction; greater knowledge and use of contraception, intention to use contraception in the future, preferences for fewer children and intention to stop child bearing. In Zambia, 15% of married women with no education regularly exposed to radio and TV are currently using contraception compared with 9% exposed to one of those media and 7% exposed to no media. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/idmay15/sld-2291.html * Integrated Multi-Communication - Soul City - South Africa: Exposure to Soul City multi-media over 6 series is significantly associated with reports of consistent condom use in relation to a regular sexual partner in the preceding 12 months (p=0.009). Compared to respondents with no exposure, respondents with exposure to Soul City multi-media over 6 series were 4 times as likely to report always using a condom with a regular sexual partner - with a consistent dose response. (See table 8: OR low exposure = 2.6; OR medium exposure = 3.8; OR high exposure = 4.) Conversely, exposure to Soul City multi-media over 6 series is associated with reducing the likelihood of reporting "never" using a condom with a regular sexual partner in the preceding 12 months (p=0.000). [from Sue Goldstein and Esca Scheepers. "Using Edutainment for Social Change - Evidence from Soul City Over 6 Series" - to be uplaoded shortly - contact Sue Goldstein suegold(a)soulcity.org.za Environment: * Drama - Arcandina - Ecuador: Knowledge that water consumption is dependent on population needs and that this is a key problem to maintaining a healthy environment increased from 50% to 75%; knowledge that erosion is due to uncontrolled forestry by human populations increased from 39.1% to 74.5%; and knowledge that the destruction of the environment is due to human behaviours increased from 33% to 75%. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/idkdv2002/sld-2359.html * Engagement of Local Views and Contributions - Gwira Banso - Ghana: 50% of all farms planted trees supporting local reforestation. http://www.comminit.com/evaluations/eval2006/evaluations-259.html There are many other examples and a range of additional data. 4. PROPOSED ACTIONS FOR LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY MAKERS AND FUNDERS As a community of over 100,000 people in over 5,000 different organisations across all countries and regions of the globe seeking improved international development action, we ask local, national, and international participants and decision makers across the spectrum - from children, mayors and national government officials to global technical experts, funders, and senior United Nations, bilateral, and foundation staff - to take the following actions. These actions provide the building blocks for growing and strengthening the important strategic and programming steps highlighted above. They derive from the proof of principle - both social movements and research/evaluation data - also cited above. The key steps that we request are: 4.1 An expanded and more direct involvement within your decision making, policy making and funding processes of people and organisations whose experience is rooted, on a daily basis, in the development issues that are the priority for your organisation. 4.2 An increased emphasis, as part of your organisation's strategy in local, national, and international contexts, on promoting debate and dialogue on priority issues - thus balancing the present tendency to promote particular answers, positions or organisational brands. 4.3 A higher priority in your data collection and analysis on communication and media knowledge and impact related to local, national, and international development action. 4.4 The employment of more staff across your organisation with skills, interests, and experience in communication and media for development. 4.5 A budget line for communication and media within all of your programmes and projects with formal guidance to programme managers to expend between 5 and 10% of budgets on communication and media action directly related to the priority development issues they are addressing. 4.6 An increase in funding support by your organisation for specific communication and media development strategies, programmes and other initiatives. These proposals are justified by the history, scope, and demonstrated impact of communication and media for development. They are presented in the context of recent funding trends towards a strong emphasis on aid effectiveness, budgetary support and decentralised decision making to country office locations. Through the analysis and actions highlighted above the overall effectiveness and impact of the work of your organisations will be strengthened. Together - locally, nationally, and globally - we will all make more substantive progress to address poverty and other priority local, national, and international development issues. *** 1. Please complete the brief survey form at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=662892502330 2. Join the online discussion for the month of September during which we will try to debate and refine [or maybe substantially re-write!] this Manifesto. To join click here: http://forums.comminit.com/profile.php?mode=register&style=2 and choose the "Drumbeat Chat' check box You can also complete the Pulse Poll - Do you agree or disagree? - "The Communication and Media for Development Manifesto helps to make arguments that will strengthen my work." See http://www.comminit.com/pulse.html Many thanks for engaging your thoughts and ideas as we jointly build the strongest possible case for communication and media for development work - very much appreciated. Warren Warren Feek Executive Director The Communication Initiative wfeek(a)comminit.com http://www.comminit.com 1-250-658-6372 [ph] 1-250-658-1728 [fx] 1-250-480-9770 [mobile]

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