Communication for Empowerment: Developing Media Strategies in Support of Vulnerable Groups

Abstract
"This Practical Guidance Note aims to demonstrate that media can play a crucial role in empowering vulnerable and marginalized groups. This can best be achieved if media support and media capacity development is directed in a way that enables the media to better respond to and reflect the information and communication needs of these groups. This kind of media support can be called Communication for Empowerment. Communication for Empowerment is a critical driver for securing the necessary participation, ownership and accountability for achieving the MDGs. The Guidance Note explains Communication for Empowerment and its importance to poverty reduction. It identifies trends in the media, and highlights key opportunities and challenges, including the impact of liberalization and the ongoing struggle many media face in holding onto hard fought media freedoms. The Note underscores the particular importance of radio in Communication for Empowerment strategies because of its reach, accessibility to the poor and increasingly interactive character. It also outlines a range of ways that UNDP and other development practitioners can best support Communication for Empowerment based on conducting information and communication audits, and choosing the appropriate context specific intervention strategy. It suggests that UNDP’s established roles in-country of convening, facilitating, advising and advocating, as well as its focus on capacity development and its experience in democratic governance equip the organization to play a key role in furthering Communication for Empowerment."

The Note focuses on the role of information and communication in empowering vulnerable groups, and on strategies that can strengthen the media to play this role. It is not intended to prescribe an 'ideal' media landscape. An empowering media and communication environment in one country may look very different in another in terms of media ownership, number of community media outlets and media policy and regulation.

This Note is divided into two parts. Part One explains why information and communication should be an increasing priority in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s governance work. It analyses how media and communication landscapes are changing, and shows how these changes directly impact the ability of people living in poverty to make their voices heard in society. Part Two provides practical guidance for programming. It explains how to make an assessment of the information and communication environment, and provides guidance for incorporating information and communication-based approaches into development work. The Note identifies key entry points for UNDP's engagement in this area, based on its comparative advantage and its mandate to reduce poverty through a human rights based framework.