A presentation by Rev. Karin Achtelstetter, the General Secretary of the World Association for Christian Communication  (WACC)  during the 5th Commission meeting of the Interfaith Action for Peace (IFAPA)  held in Mombasa, Kenya, 11th-14th March 2011 

Inspired by Christian faith, members and partners of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) promote communication for social change, believing communication to be a basic human right. Where this is denied, human society as a whole is impoverished. At global, regional, and local levels, WACC supports media diversity and equal and affordable access to communication and information resources. We do so by means of advocacy, education, training, and the creation and sharing of knowledge. We know that we are not alone in this quest. Therefore, we work with faith-based and secular partners, giving preference to the needs of the poor, marginalised and dispossessed.

Rev. Karin Achtelstetter (2nd left- standing) with participants of the  5th Commission meeting of IFAPA, In Mombasa, Kenya (Photo by Kristy Bergman )

Sustainable development requires people to be able to participate in the debates and decisions that affect their lives. They need to be able to receive information, but also to make their voices heard. The poor are often excluded from these processes by geography and lack of resources or skills. Other groups are silenced by social structures and cultural traditions. Inclusive political processes, through which citizens can shape political agendas and hold their governments to account, are an essential foundation of successful and sustainable development. Political processes are also communication processes – not only through formal elections, but also the ongoing dialogue between people and their governments and the shaping of public agendas.

The fabric of civil society is woven from continual communication and exchange between people – through interpersonal, informal and cultural processes as well as through formal institutions and official channels. A healthy civil society is characterised, among other things, by the vibrancy and quality of its communication networks and the “social capital” (the trust and respect) they create. Information and communication are fundamental to this process.

Economic development also depends on communication at every level. When governments create an environment marked by open and transparent information and communication flows, they help to establish the conditions for economic growth and fairer markets. The revolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs, such as telephones and the Internet) also offers exciting new opportunities for small- as well as large-scale economic activity.

In all these spheres, the media play a central role. They provide a forum for political debate and accountability.

Communication for Social Change


Promoting communication for social change is based on a bottom-up vision of participatory democracy and economic justice. Key ways of advancing social change include: awareness-building at the policy and decision-making level; direct action through grassroots/community organization and empowerment; advocacy; and public education and information. Achieved through influencing and shaping public policy, social change brings about changes in laws, benefits and entitlements, as well as in societal attitudes and behaviour.


The understanding of communication as a means of advancing social change is essential when we want to address issues related to conflict resolution and peace.


Communication for Peace and Peace Journalism

Communication for peaceful co-existence supports the emergence of tolerant and well-integrated societies at local, national and global levels. Peaceful societies are founded on political, economic, social and gender justice. Faith communities as well as other civil society organisations and groups are uniquely positioned to advance mutual understanding, peace and justice, and the integrity of creation. Without peace, there can be no sustainable economic and social development.

“Peace” is understood as the set of conditions that enable people to manage or resolve conflicts non-violently, or at least with a minimum of violence. Positively, peace is understood as a set of conditions in which authentic human flourishing is possible; such conditions are variously defined to include access to clean drinking water, health care and education, basic human security and protection of human rights, good and accountable governance, sustainable economic development, the right of political self-determination and the like.

Communication for peace is an ongoing process of creating understanding and consensus that help build and strengthen sustainable human relationships – partnerships and collaborative ventures that bridge differences of race, religion, ethnicity, and privilege. One way of contributing to this process, is “peace journalism”. Beyond basic ethical principles of objectivity, fairness, and balance, peace journalism is when editors and reporters make choices – of what stories to report and about how to report them – that create opportunities for society at large to consider and value non-violent responses to conflict:

•    Peace journalism throws light on structural and cultural violence as they bear upon the lives of people in a conflict situation.
•    Peace journalism frames conflicts as consisting of many parties, pursuing many goals.
•    Peace journalism makes peace initiatives and potential solutions more visible, whoever suggests them.
•    Peace journalism equips people to distinguish between stated positions and real goals when judging whether particular forms of intervention are necessary or desirable.

Kenya Pastoralist Journalist Network (KPJN)

In Northern Kenya, WACC has been supporting the Kenya Pastoralist Journalist Network (KPJN) to carry out a peace education and awareness project to address the different factors that fuel conflict and retard development, including cattle rustling, direct marginalization, resource competition (e.g. water, pasture and salt licks), prevalence of small arms and light weapons. The project stressed traditional governance systems and traditional methods of conflict resolution, promoted understanding and exchange between rival communities, trained ex-combatants on alternative livelihoods and re-integration into society. The programme was educative and brought a sense of inter-clan belonging and relationships to various clans living in the vast marginalized province of Kenya. Community outreach was done in 16 hotspots, imparting the skills of peace education and conflict resolution to women pastoralists, pastoralist men, elders, rehabilitated ex-combatants at the village levels and specifically in grazing areas and at watering points in the region. The project also assisted pastoralist communities to pursue other socio-economic activities and to open up the conflict zones to community development, addressing issues like the resettlement of displaced families, rehabilitation and setting up social amenities, and the provision of basic needs. 

Kenya Pastoralist Journalists Network (KPJN) interfaith workshop

Issues of peace and security directly impact the lives of women. Evidence shows that women are poorly represented in formal peace processes, but they do contribute significantly to informal peace processes, and are able to lend a unique perspective on peace and conflict that will strengthen prospects for sustainable peace.

In 2005 UNIFEM undertook a survey of peace processes in the global South. Six factors were identified as necessary to ensure gender equality throughout a peace process:

1.  Women’s involvement in peace negotiations should reflect the diversity of active women and women’s groups.
2. Women are more likely to make an impact in the negotiations when they have developed a common agenda and have identified strategic entry points through which that agenda can be introduced.
3. Facilitators/mediators can play a critical role in peace negotiations by ensuring that issues directly related to the needs and concerns of women and girls are included and that women will be empowered in all stages of the negotiation process.
4. Women and their organizations need continued support and strengthening of their capacity to enhance their effective participation in peace negotiations and build skills that will last beyond the talks.
5. After a peace agreement has been signed, women must be part of monitoring mechanisms and transitional bodies that foster implementation of the peace agreement. The tenets upon which the peace agreement is built must inform constitutional, electoral and legislative reform.
6. Women’s political and economic empowerment in the post-conflict period is vital to successful development and sustainable peace.

Fiji: femLINKpacific

In Fiji WACC has been partnering with femLINKpacific  and its initiative “Women speaking to Women for Peace”  to strengthen its work on media freedom by emphasising the role of community media as well as building solidarity with media professionals. It has promoted dialogue among various civil society networks and government officials on the need for freedom of expression and independent media, and the role of peace journalism in Fiji. In collaboration with the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) Pacific network, femLINKpacific issued statements on media freedom in Fiji and continued to forge ties between peace women and women in the news media.  Through these initiatives the role of community and citizens’ media has been strengthened, including community broadcasting, within the context of peace journalism initiatives in Fiji and the broader Pacific.

Fiji: femLINKpacific’s suitcase radio project

 
Communication Promoting Peace and the Struggle against Poverty

Communicators have a significant role to play in reshaping the world and in helping to empower people and communities. Accessing and distributing relevant information, knowledge and tools will increase people’s capacity to promote peace and thus to achieve development goals, strengthen networking, and enhance the cross-fertilization that comes from multiple sources of information and knowledge. In particular, communicators can contribute in the following ways:

• Providing increased space for and attention to the voices, perspectives, and contributions of those most affected by conflict and poverty;
• Giving higher priority to knowledge and information generated within communities and countries that bear the heaviest burden of conflict and poverty; improve understandings of the world’s cultural diversity and the many ways in which problems are addressed and solved;
• Significantly expanding public debate and dialogue on the issues that are a priority in international, national, and local contexts;
• Advocating more open, participatory, and inclusive processes of policy development that emphasize the views and perspectives of those most affected by conflict, poverty and by the absence of social justice.

Crucially, interfaith dialogue can play a key role in strengthening the right to communicate and in tackling questions of social justice. During the World Council of Chruches’ (WCC) 2005 conference “Critical Moment in Interreligious Relations and Dialogue”, Catholicos Aram I. made the point that,

“More than at any other time there is a great awareness of the need for a credible and relevant interreligious dialogue with a solid substance and a clear orientation. Only such a dialogue will help religions to reach a coherent and holistic approach to crucial issues stirring the life of societies and lead humanity to healing and reconciliation.”

WACC shares that vision of a society in dialogue, which deepens knowledge of diversity while affirming and respecting the integrity and distinctiveness of every religion, society, and culture. WACC’s purpose is to strengthen communication partnerships and alliances that emphasise and promote common values, collaboration, and peaceful co-existence.

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Notes
Aram I, 2005. “Our Common Calling.” In Ucko, Hans (Ed.) (2006). Changing the Present, Dreaming the Future. A Critical Moment in Interreligious Dialogue. Geneva: World Council of Churches.


 

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