"The concept of a Regional BCC Network for HIV/AIDS for East, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA) grew out of a common interest and understanding among a number of BCC practitioners dealing with HIV/AIDS in the region that something needed to be done to help address common challenges and needs, impro
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ve strategies, and build capacity in the area of BCC. In October 2001, they formed a BCC Task Force to recommend specific activities for addressing key areas of interest in BCC and for coordinating BCC efforts in the region, including organising a wider regional meeting for initiating a formal regional BCC Network [...] The objectives of the meeting were to: share lessons learned and interventions in BCC in the ECSA region; discuss key current issues and BCC tools for HIV/AIDS; discuss the expansion and operationalisation of the BCC Network for HIV/AIDS; foster linkages among BCC practitioners and those in allied professions in ECSA. The main themes of the meeting agenda highlighted the emerging issues in planning and programming for BCC; developing BCC for care and treatment; addressing stigma; reaching youth; and strengthening research, monitoring, and evaluation of BCC interventions [...] This report is an overview of the proceedings of the meeting and is intended to serve as a resource and learning document for meeting participants as well as for other BCC practitioners in the region. The structure of the report follows that of the meeting agenda and includes a summary of all plenary and concurrent session presentations and all group work discussions." (Executive summary)
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"The lessons taught by Radio Okapi are many: There needs to be a myriad of players and partners involved including IGOs, NGOs, and citizens of the country/ies in question. The UN on its own may not be sufficient particularly in a region where its mission may not be understood; We need to find some w
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ay to involve ordinary citizens and give them a voice; The use of several languages must absolutely be considered if a media intervention is to succeed in a multilingual environment. There is a desire to reach as many people as possible thus the need to broadcast in several languages – a task that can prove daunting, yet not insurmountable; There must be long-term planning. There needs to be a balance between short-term (maintenance of order) and long-term goals (building a viable indigenous media system; There must be follow up. Some view UNTAC radio mission as a failure precisely because of the lack of follow up. Organizations, be they IGO or NGO, cannot simply parachute in. There must be commitment for the media are not simply injectable; there are no simplistic solutions; Given the complexities of such situations, the remedies must be transnational for we live in an interactive, transnational world; Although there are significant challenges, there needs to be some way to measure the effectiveness of such projects for how can one quantify the role that radio, or media in general, plays in peacebuilding. Indeed, what are the measures used to gauge peacebuilding?; Priority needs to be placed on sustaining the impact of such training. Therefore there needs to be some mechanism put in place so that local staff are trained and self-sufficient before foreign staff depart; Local partnerships are crucial thus bringing diverse people together to work on a longterm, peacemaking project." (Pages 47-48)
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