Participatory Approaches Towards Community...

MEDIeA Project Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 1st December 2009

Participatory Approaches

Towards Community

Empowerment: A South African

HIV

Eliza Govender (née Moodley)

Centre for Communication, Media and Society

University of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa)


Outline of Presentation

Part One: • Introduction to participation for grassroots

communities

• Two projects

Part Two: • Communication for Social Change: Research and

Practice with young learners and students


(1) Basic Needs vs Sustainable Development• There are two themes connected to the idea of community

development:

• basic needs development and sustainable developmentboth introduced in the 1970s

• The basic needs perspective argues “for prioritizing the survival needs of the world’s poor‟” (Melkote & Steeves, 2001:35).

• Sustainable development focuses on empoweringcommunities to manage their own environment, usingappropriate technology and meeting people‟s basic needs.

• Instead of the top-down approach usually employed whereeconomic development is the primary aim, communitydevelopment advocates community participation and equitypaying particular attention to those vulnerable in society.


• Participation is a process through which people influence and share

control over planning and the decision making.

• Peoples right to communicate their stories should be at the heart of

the participatory strategies leading to empowerment (Melkote &

Steeves 2001:355)

• Ownership becomes a tool to create a sense of pride in a community

through regular involvement in problem recognition, problem solving

etc (Cohen 1996:226)

(2) What is „participation‟…?


• Its our right!Expressing our views, freedom of thought and having the opportunity

to participate in the cultural, artistic and recreational life of our

communities is also more than just a good practice it is our right.

Why is „Participation‟ important?

• Identify our Strengths and WeaknessesAllowing others to identify their own strengths and weaknesses

and offering them guidance and support is important for building

their self-esteem and capacity.

• Our opinion and decisions count!When considering and providing opportunities for

participation it is important to acknowledge them as active and

competent.


(3) Grassroot community approach to

participatory communication

• Dialogical pedagogy of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire outlined in his Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1972, 1990),

• Participation :

a) high levels of public involvement

b) two way flow of communication

c) Engaging

d) empowering

e) democratic communication

f ) indigenous/traditional communication

g) culturally sensitive

h) group integration

i) social grouping and networks


• Arnestein (1969) also described

participation in terms of the

degree to which

people are involved in the

projects and programmes that

affect their lives.

• Arnestein advocated for

empowerment of the less

privileged citizen. It is the

redistribution of power that

enables the poor marginalized

citizens who

have been excluded from the

planning and development

processes, to be

consciously included in mapping

out the future.

(4) Steps to Participation


A scale of participatory Approaches

from Extractive to Empowering

•Rapid, expert

Analysis

• Questionnaires

•Key Informants

•Opinions are shared but

power is not

•Empowering methods used

for extractive purposes

•In-depth, joint

analysis, learning

and action

•Visual diagrams

•Group

Discussions

EXTRACTIVE EMPOWERING


(5) Three Strategic approaches to participation

•Analyzing problems

together

•Finding solutions

•Shaping common

plans

•Developing a

professional

team of volunteers,

partners and staff

•Involving stakeholders

at all levels in shaping

programmes and

placements

LEARNING PARTNERSHIP

EMPOWERMENT


• HI Virus (funded by Carnegie Corporation and Voluntary

Service Organization)

• Bouncing Back to Life (funded by Stephen Lewis

Foundation)

Children’s Resource Book Series


Vision

To empower children in the development of skills

through artistic expression and storytelling, providing

tools for communication and self advocacy.

Through participatory workshops the children will

create a series of books, depicting children„s personal

reflections and experiences.

These stories will provide a resource for disclosure

dealing with the social and medical implications of living with HIV/AIDS.


A principle of participatory learning

Techniques should reflect local cultures and enable

people to express themselves freely

Participatory Techniques

Focus Groups

StorytellingReflexive Journaling

Role Playing Art


How the virus works in the body …

Prepare for

trouble and

make it double. I am the

virus!

Wow I came to party in your

blood, how are you?

We are fine thank you, how are you – what are

you doing here?

I have multiplied more, come on children do my

work…

Ha ha, what a joke, I am strong enough to fight this virus…

Meanwhile the virus enters the immune cell and changes itself to hide from the immune system soshas.

The virus enters the body and attacks the immune system, destroying the sosha cells

The immune cells fight against the virus. HIV starts to destroy them. It may take many years for the body to get sick because the immune system cells keep fighting.


Singazenzela -‘We can do things for ourselves‟


Digital Doorways


Knowledge Clusters


Khanya and Lucky Bean


Comics


Story Book


Evolutionary Prototype


Part Two: Communication for Social

Change: Research and Practice

• An assessment of students perceptions of the ABC

prevention strategy: Towards Students participation in

HIV/AIDS message design at the University of KwaZulu-

Natal

• Entertainment Education in HIV prevention through

FBO‟s in South Africa : Towards new approaches to

promoting abstinence


• Understanding responses to the ABC Strategy in Higher Education towards influencing policy and practice for prevention of HIV infection among KZN university Students

• My study focused on participation of students in the design of HIV/AIDS Messages: the role of dialogue in preventive interventions and programmes

• Review of development communication theories and debates surrounding them

• Explored how Communication for Social Change can be used following the 10 steps of community dialogue


INDIVIDUAL

SOCIAL

NETWORKS COMMUNITY SOCIETALBehavior and intention;

knowledge & skills; beliefs &

Values; emotion; perceived

risk; self-efficacy; self-

image; subjective

norms

Partner and family

relationships

(communication, trust,

understanding, agree-

ment, & power), peer

influence, gender

equity, bounded

normative influence

Leadership;

level of participation;

information equity;

access to resources;

shared ownership;

collective efficacy;

social capital; value

for continual

improvement

National leadership;

per capita income;

income inequality;

health policy and

infrastructure;

mass media;

religious and

cultural values;

gender norms

Physical Environment and InfrastructureBurden of disease; climate and seasonality; transportation and communication networks,

access to health care facilities, access to water, sanitation, and household technologies; etc.

Types of Communication

DIRECTIVE

Dissemination

Persuasion

Compliance

NONDIRECTIVE

Dialogue Social Influence

Counseling Communication

Entertainment- for participatory

Education development

PUBLIC

Advocacy

Regulation

INSTRUCTION

with practice and

reinforcement

SOCIAL ECOLOGY MODEL OF COMMUNICATION AND BEHAVIOR


Findings from MA study

The role of government in HIV/AIDS

Pregnancy indicates failure of the condom

Condom use in long term relationships

Early marriage as a solution

Change of sexual behaviour

University a contributing factor to HIV??

Religion, a positive role in HIV prevention

Open heart to communication


• Civil Society in SA is defined as registered charities, non-governmental organisations, community groups, women organisations faith-based organisations, social movements, trade unions and advocacy groups.

• FBOs, are defined by USAID as groups of individuals who have come together voluntarily around a stated spiritual or belief system that informs and guides their work together.

• Faith-based organizations are a vital part of civil society," since they provide a substantial portion of care in developing countries, often reaching vulnerable populations living under adverse conditions (De Cock, WHO).

• The Christian denomination was selected as a study conducted by UNAIDS shows that the Christian faith is the largest in Southern Africa (2007)

• When government services fail, FBO are increasingly being asked to back up and support previously functioning systems

• How can FBO‟s be used as a tool to bring about convergence with other government, civil society and community approaches and strategies for HIV/AIDS prevention.


Theoretical framework

• Three paradigms of Entertainment Education (Tufte 2005; 2008)

• Convergence theory of communication (Kincaid 2007, 2009)

• Convergence deals with maintaining a community with mutual understanding through the process of dialogue it does not account for conflict, emotions and group motivation.

• Communication for Social Change/Participatory Development - used to address these missing elements (Kincais et.al 2002; 2007; 2009: Tufte and Gumucio-Dragion 2006)

• Bounded normative influence is the tendency of social norms to influence behaviour within relatively bounded, local subgroups of a social systemrather than the system as a whole. (Kincaid 2004:38).

• Kincaid highlights that active minorities play a large role in social change and emphasizes that how the minority can become the majority to the point that they are the majority in their minority, resulting in everyone reconsidering their normative position(2004:40).


Civil Society, Participation and

Empowerment in SAMEDIeA to consider:

• Participatory processes more important than the product

• Interpersonal and ICT (Balance of top-down and bottom-up)

• Participation towards empowerment

• Role of civil society which extends to faith based

• Central to empowering Civil Society for collective action is the

processes of dialogue and CFSC

• Review the Communication for Participatory Development model

(Kincaid et.al 2007, 2009)

• Importance of state, private and civil society partnerships

• Youth advisory board

• Participatory monitoring and evaluation processes which incorporate

participants


Eliza Govender (née Moodley)

[email protected]

Tel: +2731 260 1044

Thank you and questions…

mailto:[email protected]

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