Earlier in this book, Ross Howard made the point that the media is a double-edged sword. But the image of a sword that cuts both ways only begins to hint at the potential the media has to do either harm or good. Far more than a weapon, the media is an extremely versatile tool. Like most tools, it can be used for many purposes - to deconstruct and break down and indeed demolish existing structures, or to construct and repair and rebuild. It also can be used to lay foundations, to build frameworks, to reinforce existing structures, to create and solidify infrastructure and connections, and to construct barriers providing safety and security against outside threats. Not to mention all its possibilities when applied to culture and amusement.
Howard provides us with an operational framework for utilising the media in peacebuilding activities. The fundamentals of this framework can be represented on a two dimensional matrix where one dimension represents the stage of conflict: pre-conflict, conflict, or post-conflict; and the other dimension represents a range of objectives which it is hoped will contribute to conflict management and/or the establishment of conditions that foster peace and stability. Howard identifies five 'types', worth repeating here:
Of course the stages of conflict are fluid, so that interventions may take place in situations where conflict appears to be developing, but full-blown war has not broken out (Macedonia might be a case in point), or where large-scale hostilities have ended, but incidents of violence persist (such as present-day Afghanistan). Likewise, most projects are not designed with this framework in mind, and the objectives may involve both training and programming, for instance.
This section examines a wide range (in terms of both context and objectives) of media-based peacebuilding activities in practice. In some cases, (the Cambodian Radio Journalists' Training Project, the Open Asia television project, the Reporting for Peace project in Indonesia, the Radio Netherlands production and distribution project for Africa and the Indian Ocean region), an important objective of the activity is to contribute to the development of a viable independent media. Though such activities may only be indirectly related to conflict management, they contribute significantly to the creation of a civil society where adversaries are able to discuss and resolve their differences peacefully.
As Canadian journalist Robin Hay observes in a paper on media and peacebuilding, "Almost all peacebuilding efforts take place in a highly charged and unstable media environment ... If the media on the ground continues spewing out half-truths, propaganda and poor information, it will negatively counter other attempts at peacebuilding. But if the media itself can be professionalised, its influence on peacebuilding will often be pervasive and positive."1
In several other cases described in this section, the peacebuilding connection is much more clear and direct. That is the case, for example, with soap operas in Afghanistan, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, where a 'moral' of peaceable relations and co-operation between ethnic groups, and nonviolent conflict resolution is embedded in popular storytelling forms. And it is clearly the case with children's programming in Macedonia, where the goal is to teach cultural understanding and promote notions of non-violence and conflict resolution to kids aged 8 to 12.
One case, the Media for Peace Project in Colombia, was launched to help Colombian journalists to cope with the difficulties of working in a conflict environment. Another, the African Woman and Child Gender and Conflict Media Project in Kenya, focuses on the difficulties women encounter in being taken seriously by the media at all levels: aspiring politicians or victims of domestic violence.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a UN mission is playing an important role in restoring a semblance of peace and order to a country devastated by years of misrule and war, the establishment of Radio Okapi, a radio network with a mandate to broadcast reliable, accurate, non-partisan information to all the people of the Congo, is viewed as an important tool for peacebuilding. In Rwanda, following the genocide of 1994, reconciliation can only be achieved if the victims have the sense that justice has been served; there, a media project is focusing on the efforts, at the international tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania, and inside Rwanda, to bring to justice those accused of complicity in the genocide.
The twelve projects described in this section have striking differences, but they all begin with a basic premise: that violent conflict is fuelled by ignorance and misunderstanding, and that knowledge and accurate information are vital building blocks of peace, stability, and reconciliation.
"In time of war the first casualty is truth," observed radio journalist Boake Carter more than half a century ago. And while it is both foolhardy and arrogant to attempt to dictate what the 'truth' may be, one of the vital tasks - and a formidable challenge - of peacebuilding is to create the space where truth can be explored. Each of the twelve projects described in this section is an effort to do just that.
Target audience Description Context Media intervention type Afghanistan Radio soap opera Conflict 4 post-conflict 5 Benin Radio programming Not applicable 2 and professional 4 training 5 Cambodia Radio journalist Post-conflict 1 training 2 Central Asia Television public Conflict 1 affairs programming post-conflict 5 Colombia Support organisation Conflict 3 DR Congo Radio network Conflict 5 post-conflict Indonesia Conflict reporting Conflict 2 training 3 Kenya Empowerment/ Not applicable 3 media access 5 education/advocacy on domestic violence Macedonia Children's radio Pre-conflict 5 programming conflict post-conflict Rwanda Video project Post-conflict 4 5 Senegal Radio soap opera Conflict 4 5 Sierra Leone Radio programming Post-conflict 5Notes
1 Hay, Robin. The Media and Peacebuilding: Discussion Paper and Draft Operational Framework: Global Affairs Research Partners for IMPACS, Executive Summary.
www.humansecurity.gc.ca/canadiens_consultations_fourthannual_reference_media-e.asp
Hay mentions five basic peacebuilding functions that a free media serves: 1) assuring citizens and the international community of progress towards openness; 2) holding politicians and civil servants accountable for their actions; 3) monitoring human rights; 4) providing a mechanism for early warning of conflict; and 5) providing citizens with the essential information.