Changing Roles of Civil Society: From Service Providers to Advocacy Communicators.

By Thomas Tufte, Roskilde University

Presentation given at seminar: ‘Media and Citizen Engagement – experiences from Kenya and Tanzania’ Nairobi, 7-8 May 2014

Today’s presentation

Youth, communication and citizenship: conceptual reflections

Introducing civil society driven media platforms

The case of FeminaPolitical contextStrategy, identity and mode of operationNavigating colonial and post-colonial

discourses of awareness-raising and modernityConclusions

Enacting citizenship Social Movements and Insurgent Politics‘in a world marked by the rise of mass

self-communication, social movements and insurgent politics have a the chance to enter the public space from multiple sources. By using both horizontal communication networks and mainstream media to convey their images and messages, they increase their chances of enacting social and political change – even if they start from a subordinate position in institutional power, financial resources, or symbolic legitimacy’ (Castells 2009. 302)

Disjunctions of Citizenship- the ménage of exclusion

‘the state is today unable, and/or unwilling, to promise its subjects existential security (‘freedom from fear’, as Franklin D. Roosevelt famously phrased it) (Bauman 2010: 65)’. When the state acts in this way, the individual citizen is left to his own, unable to obtain existential security, that is unable to obtain and retain ‘a legitimate and dignified place in human society and avoiding the ménage of exclusion’ (Bauman).

Human Security

Human security as freedom from fear describes a condition of existence in which human dignity is realized, embracing not only physical safety but going beyond that to include meaningful participation in the life of the community, control over one’s life and so forth (…)Thus, while material sufficiency lies at the core of human security, in addition the concept encompasses non-material dimensions to form a qualitative whole. In other words, human security embraces the whole gamut of rights, civil and political, economic and social, and cultural (Thomas 2007: 108-109)

Assumption: Human (In)Securitythis concept helps us understand:

The subjective position from which many marginalized people speak and act

Conditions of existence fundamental for agency and communiction

The social reality citizens live in, and the socio-physic situation this reality produces

Helps produce a parameter for the quality and scope of civil society driven media and communication initiatives

Civil society driven media platforms- the new darling of development communication

- Normative (ideological - peoples’ organizations, prevalent in the 70s and 80s)

- Issue-Driven (fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa in the 90s – now focus is on new issues)

- Networking (Transnational Advocacy Networks – ie the Global Justice Movement in the 00s)

- Crowdsourcing, mobilizing and aggregation initiatives – re-invigorating local/national/global governance and accountability processes

Communication for Social Change and the proliferation of edutainment strategies

Significant experiences growing out of 20-25 years of HIV/AIDS communicationSoul City (1992)ADRA (1991/2003)Straight Talk Foundation (1993)N’weti, Pakachere, Scenarios from Africa…

… and Femina

Key research questions

What civil society sphere does Femina seek to construct in its attempt to provide space and opportunity for civic engagement of Tanzanian youth?

How does Femina navigate between it’s identities as an NGO, a social movement and a conglomerate of media channels?

How does it define and related to its contituency ‘Tanzanian youth’?

How does Femina as a civil society media platform contribute to young Tanzanian’s civic engagement?

Methodology

12 weeks of fieldwork over 6 visits between 2009-2012

Participatory observation in office, seminars, clubs

InterviewsFGDs with youth from secondary schools

Political culture in Tanzania- looking back

REDET Study 1994:72% of the respondents did not discuss political issues80% expressed their fear in scrutinizing government

officials and their actions70% still depended on the government to solve their day-

to-day problems’ (Killian 2008).

Since then: democratic development, media development, civil society development. In this context, Femina evolved from 1999 and onwards.

Citizen Engagement in 2011?

Aisha: When I grow up, I want to be a member of parliament, to be a minister!

Why do you like politics?

Aisha: I like it because most of the politicians are corrupt, so I might eliminate it.

Joyce: We believe them in a very few percent…maybe 20% (Mwanza, March 2011)

Femina today…

Organizing and mobilizing for public sphere engagement: ‘It was early morning…. (p.1)

Femina Media Outlets

FemaTv talk showsRadio drama600+ Femina clubs Interactive websiteFacebook group(s)

Partnership with 6-700 organisations

Distribution through approx. 2500 schools

FEMA

FEMA. A glossy magazine, 64 pages, 150.000 copies published 4 x a year

Targets youth aged 15-24 especially secondary school students in every region of the country

Femina HIP: A youth-oriented communication initiative

‘On entering Femina HIP’s top floor headquarters…’ (p.6)

Popular culture and participation in content productionStreet languageYouth ‘icons’ on the cover (music, sports,

politics)National representation (covering

regions)Community outreach in story

development, foto novels, national events, club input

E-feedback and dialogue (Sms’s, mails, fb, twitter)

Youth advisory boardCultures of entrepreneurship and farming

NGO, media vehicle or social movement?

Following the elections…(p. 8-9)

Who is Femina engaging?

The ‘Femina Family’ReadersListenersViewersClub membersPartners

Who then, can Femina claim to represent when speaking to opinion formers and descision makers, as in the case of the Constitutional Reform process?

Building supportive environments and telling real-life stories

Combination prevention: sexual health and life skills, citizen engagement and economic empowerment = ‘a gender empowerment and rights-based approach’

P. 12…

Conclusion: opportunities

Systematic listening in order to develop themes. Factoring in the contexts youth live in

Build trust and empathy – a key principle. Are reasonably participatory

Establish long-term institutional collabs (schools)Develop ‘discursive spaces’Promote further establishment at local level of such

spacesAchieve high degree of popularity, readership and

viewership. Thus, achieving reach, and political clout.Long-term commitment/beyond campagning

Conclusion: opportunities

Go beyond behaviour change communication….enging in dialogue, participatory practices, a ‘liberating’ pedagogy, advocacy and social action

Process-oriented more that results-focused

Conclusion: challenges

Constructing strategies that:

Enable human security to evolve…Femina works mainly with the immaterial dimensions, although not exclusively

Enhance citizenship using mass communication and ‘mass self-communication’: achieving voice and representation

Push the boundaries of critical debate and citizen engagement

Influencing policies

Media, Empowerment and Social Change – issues for discussionHow do strategic communicators handle issues

of fear, insecurity and negotiation of identity?

How far can civil society organizations move in articulating citizen engagement. Bottom-up >< Top-down processes.

The balance between tools and issues, and between communication, organizing and mobilization for social change.