By Sarah Macharia, GMMP global coordinator, WACC

WACC has expressed solidarity with Se Non Ora Quando (SNOQ), (if not now, when?) a feminist movement formed in Italy this year to reclaim dignity and respect for women. Among other goals, SNOQ mobilizes around the issue of  the image and representation of women in the mass media. SNOQ’s success in mobilizing women across Italy has inspired the emergence of similar movements in other countries.

As communities around the globe mark World AIDS Day on 1 December, there is a new emphasis on “Getting to Zero”.

By Sara Speicher, Project Manager for HIV and AIDS, Communication and Stigma (consultant), WACC-UK

As communities around the globe mark World AIDS Day on 1 December, there is a new emphasis on “Getting to Zero”: achieving zero deaths, zero new infections and zero discrimination by 2015. These goals, set by UNAIDS, set the targets for the treatment, prevention, care and support needed to overcome the HIV pandemic.

By Tiziana Conti, Administration and Fundraising Coordinator, WACC-UK

WACC attended the 25th annual general meeting of the UK Consortium on AIDS and International Development held on 21 September in London. As a new member of the Consortium, this was WACC’s fist time to participate in the event.

The Consortium is a group of UK based organisations which work together to understand and develop effective approaches to the HIV pandemic in developing countries. Each agency shares its own experience to help all the members improve their responses to the pandemic through information exchange, networking, advocacy and campaigning. (www.aidsconsortium.org.uk)

Compiled by Maria Teresa Aveggio, Programme Manager, with reporting provided by Indira Ramesh, coordinator, Himalaya Trust.

		One of the main questions communicators hear when organising a radio training session is “what subject can I make a programme on?" But there was no shortage of ideas when 20 trainees participating in a WACC-supported project with the Himalaya Trust in the hill state of Uttarakhand were asked to create radio programmes content. The impact of forest fires on the environment and agriculture, the need for educating the girl child, the issue of addiction to alcohol leading to domestic violence, etc. were all topics of great interest to the villagers. They were being trained to run small community radio stations in the villages in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains.
Participants at the radio training forum.

WACC launches communication project with Aymaras and people with disabilities

By María Teresa Aveggio, Programme Manager

Burundi, one of the world's poorest nations, is still emerging from a long, ethnically motivated civil war. Following independence in 1961, it was riven by tension between the dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority. Ethnic violence in 1994 made Burundi the scene of one of Africa’s most intractable conflicts.

The country is now beginning to reap the dividends of a peace process. But it faces the difficult task of reviving a shattered economy, repairing communities, and forging national unity.

In January 2010, Haiti and its people faced a devastating earthquake. The effects were catastrophic – to its people, its economy, and its communication infrastructure. Under its programme on Communication for Peace, WACC launched an immediate appeal to assist the process of rebuilding community media in the areas most severely affected by the disaster.

With the generous financial contributions of partners, notably the United Church of Canada (UCC), WACC was able to help three groups rebuild. The first was Groupe Médialternatif – a well established community media organisation focusing on participatory communication. The group’s office was completely destroyed.

WACC has observed with dismay recent news reports that some church leaders are opposing the human rights of homosexuals and singling them out as a cause of the burden of HIV and AIDS in Ghana.

In June 2011 WACC and the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) completed a three-year project partnership on reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in Ghana. Its aim was to involve religious and other local community leaders in three districts around Greater Accra in a rights-based campaign to reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS.

The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), partnering with Hope for HIV/AIDS International (HFA) based in Lagos, Nigeria, has been awarded a grant funded by UKaid from the Department for International Development (DFID) for a three and a half year project to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

The project will educate pastors and other grassroots leaders in Lagos, Nigeria, about HIV-related stigma, giving them knowledge and communication tools to increase care and support efforts and to advocate for the rights of people living with or affected by HIV. The project aims to reach 2000 religious and community leaders with strong involvement of women and people living with HIV.

Joint Press Release: IFJ-WACC

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) have launched a project to promote fair gender portrayal within media houses and the journalistic profession.

By Lavinia Mohr Deputy General Secretary and Director of Programmes, WACC

The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) was among some 50 Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) members and partners from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America gathered in Chiang Mai, Thailand 20-22 March 2011 to share and evaluate experiences, assess current developments in the global HIV response, and the role of churches in strengthening that response.

WACC, represented by its Director of Programmes, Lavinia Mohr, presented one of four invited case studies at the consultation. Training church community leaders to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination is a primary objective of WACC’s ongoing HIV/AIDS Communication and Stigma Programme that works with partners throughout Africa and elsewhere in faith based anti-stigma initiatives. The case study highlighted a three-year stigma reduction project partnership with the Christian Council of Ghana supported by UK Aid (Department for International Development). More information about that project can be found here...

WACC Director of Programmes, Lavinia Mohr, presenting a case study at the EAA consultation

Current official communications policy in India encourages the development of community managed radio stations.

Compiled by María Teresa Aveggio, Programme Manager, with information provided by Indira Ramesh of Himalaya Trust

So when the Himalaya Trust saw the real need for a community-driven medium through which people can access information relevant to their lives and acquire new confidence and skills it decided to take advantage of this policy and sought WACC’s support to launch a community radio station in the town of Garur in the state of Uttarakhand. The station would serve as an open and inclusive information, communication and training centre for broadcasting and related media skills for young people, and help develop talents and capabilities which may lead to better participation and learning opportunities.

By Maria Teresa Aveggio, Programme Manager, WACC

Consequences of violence made visible through communication training

		Some 200 community leaders working in the area of Nariño in south western Colombia received communication training thanks to a project implemented by Fundación de Desarrollo y Paz (FUNDEPAZ) with support from WACC’s Communication Rights programme. The training workshops involved communication officers from human rights organisations in Ipiales, Tumaco and Pasto. The project sought to address the effects of armed conflict upon local people: the violation of their human rights, displacement of families and communities, and increased poverty brought about by conflict. Nariño, near the border with Ecuador, is an area of coca production and a place of intense conflict between guerrillas and paramilitaries.
Illustrating the recurring circle of violence