Pensions funds represent the collective savings of millions of people and the decisions and actions they take can be greatly beneficial or detrimental to the global economy, society, and the lives of people around the world. The aim of this project is to investigate the possibilities of citizen participation in relation to responsible investment in UK occupational pension funds, and what the barriers and opportunities are for citizens, in this context pension holders, to participate in financial decisions made on their behalf. The research questions focus on the arguments for and against such participation, in general and in relation to using an online voting platform. Qualitative interviews with Responsible Investment Advocates are used to scope ideas around participation, and the study is grounded in a social constructionist theory of meaning. This project sits at the intersection of two fields: Responsible Investment and Participatory Communication for Social Change. The main findings of this project are that RI Advocates disagree over the necessity for such citizen participation, as a process for change and as a goal. The perceived benefits of citizen participation ranged from empowerment, accountability, power redistribution and structural change. Barriers to participation exist based upon the current investment system, with the main barrier perceived as a lack of demand from the investment industry, wider civil society, and significantly citizens. It was stated in interviews that citizen participation is a relatively ignored area within Responsible Investment, and therefore much can be learned from existing C4D research and practice.

The aim of this essay is to investigate how development projects, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, include communication in the project cycle and if it affects their results. The research will take place in Guatemala and will be based on a comparative study in which the program evaluations conducted by the Swedish Embassy, responsible for distributing the funding, will be used to choose two projects: one regarded as successful and the other unsuccessful. By interviewing and conducting surveys with staff members from the embassy, NGO personnel that worked with the project as well as community members affected by the projects, the aim is to get a full picture of the projects themselves as well as the different personal experiences of the projects to allow for a discussion concerning communication for development, participation and governmentally funded development work. The conclusion is that there does not seem to be a defined way in which Sida-funded projects include participatory communication in the project cycle even though it is mentioned and discussed in connection to a project. The comparison of the two local initiatives indicate that defining a method and tools which allows the Embassies to better control and structure in terms of participatory communication are likely to increase the sustainability of the projects.

This study aims at researching how a sustainable culture of peace can be built through civic engagement in the Abkhaz-Georgian post-conflict context. It does so by learning from locally based NGOs, working for a culture of peace in areas affected by the Abkhaz-Georgian armed conflict which occurred 1993 to 1994. The studied NGOs work for different components within a Culture of Peace such as; women’s rights, peace building, social and economic development, democratic participation and human rights. In order to answer the research question following sub questions are answered: •What can we learn from the experiences of the studied organizations’ participatory communication for social change? •How has the culture of communication in the Abkhaz-Georgian post conflict context been affecting the participatory communication for social change for the different organizations?The method to collect data to the research has been through a field study in Abkhazia and outside its border on the Georgian side, in the city Zugdidi which is the closest city to the Abkhazian border. Participatory observations and interviews with representatives from the different organizations working for a culture of peace were conducted during two and a half months. The theoretical framework used for the study consists of three theories. The first is the theory of “Culture of Peace”, used to analyze how the studied NGOs are working for a culture of peace. The second is the theory “participatory communication for social change” which is used to analyze the work of the studied organizations in order to know how they work for sustainable civic engagement. Lastly, the theory used to look at how the Abkhaz-Georgian post-conflict context is affecting the communication, is the theory “culture of communication”. The findings of the research present solutions of how to practice participatory communication to build a culture of peace in a post-conflict context. However, the research also discovers how certain public values and views in a post-conflict context can hinder effective work through participatory communication as well as ways of overcoming these challenges.

The Roma community has long been subjected to negative stereotypes and misrepresentations in the public sphere, leading to discrimination and prejudice. Roma youth in Glasgow, Scotland, supported by the Roma-led organisation Romano Lav, have taken an active role in challenging these negative portrayals through a participatory film project. One of the aims of this research is to explore how young Roma filmmakers are utilising cinematic storytelling to challenge harmful stereotyping of their community. The other one is to investigate the impact of participatory video projects on the film creators and their community. The study fits within the field of Communication for Development by addressing the transformative and empowering aspect of a film project. It aims to fill a gap in knowledge regarding self-representations of Roma and the role of participatory video in their community accounting for cultural specificity. It also adds an insight into the Romani youth’s attitudes and values, contributing this way to a broader knowledge of Scottish Roma while suggesting solutions for social change. By employing qualitative research methodologies, critical visual analysis and interviews, the study seeks to understand the experiences, perspectives, and motivations of the teenagers involved in the project. It is grounded in Paolo Freire’s theories linking participation and empowerment and Stuart Hall’s constructivist approach to representation. The analysis finds that the Roma youth use personal narratives, cultural traditions, and everyday experiences to construct new representations that challenge stereotypes. Moreover, it highlights the transformative impact of participatory video on the empowerment of the participants, its influence on strengthening communal identity and social bonds, and the film’s educational role in building a more equitable society. This study found that participatory video harnesses great potential for Roma self-representation and empowerment.

This is a brief research investigating issues such as world heritage and sustainable development in their existing links with youth and local communities, tourism and identity. Some heritage related narratives created by youngsters worldwide are considered.Connections among education, participation and heritage preservation, in the framework of a communication for development perspective, are investigated. Specifically, winning storyboards of a UNESCO Patrimonito competition are analyzed. The analysis on the collected media texts was conducted using a qualitative approach, including semiotics and visual methods.The findings emerged from the study made clearer the researched topic and allowed to formulate some final recommendations for further studies on the subject.

This study investigates how the non-governmental women’s rights organization Kvinna till Kvinna structures their external communication to raise public awareness in Sweden of issues important for social change; and in what way strategic communication is used in this process in order to cope with contemporary challenges. A qualitative research approach is applied to create an in-depth understanding of this. Two methods, qualitative content analysis of online gathered material and semi-structured interview, are used to grasp the organization’s work with the external communication. The strategic participatory approach to communication for development and social change functions as the theoretical framework. The results identify the organization’s approach to social change, strategic thinking in the set of goals, communication tactics, communication strategies and use of strategic junctures. Kvinna till Kvinna communicates on the basis of a structured and strategic plan which decides what, when and how to communicate. By repeatedly sharing great amounts of information about women’s rights, development work and development challenges, the communication is characterized by persuasion as well as educational connections. The persuasive character is strengthened through the use of storytelling and celebrities that convey the information. Kvinna till Kvinna to some extent work according to the strategic participatory approach which indicates that the awareness of the public could be increased. It is however primarily strategic rather than participatory elements, that permeate the organization’s communication, which also function as a way to handle contemporary challenges. A strategic communication which takes the external environment into account is concluded to be a tool for counteracting threats by political developments. The study highlights that strategic elements are central for a non-governmental organization in its strive for promoting and achieving social change, but participatory elements can also be understood as valuable in this process. The case of KtK enabled a discussion about the applicability of the theoretical framework and through this, possible developments and additions to the framework were highlighted.

La presente investigación titulada Estrategia de comunicación para promover una cultura ambiental en el pueblo joven Fuentes Linares, Ferreñafe, planteó como objetivos: realizar un diagnóstico de la situación actual sobre cultura ambiental en Fuentes Linares, establecer los pasos de la estrategia de comunicación e identificar las herramientas de comunicación para construir relaciones con el público objetivo. El enfoque que se empleó fue cualitativo y el diseño, fenomenológico. Asimismo, el escenario elegido fue el pueblo joven Fuentes Linares. Se trabajó la técnica de la entrevista estructurada, cuyo instrumento fue el cuestionario de entrevista que estuvo dirigido a cinco expertos en Comunicación para el Desarrollo, tres representantes de instituciones públicas y diez moradores del pueblo joven mencionado. Se obtuvieron como resultados que los habitantes tienen poco interés y compromiso por participar en temas de cultura ambiental y las instituciones públicas no promueven actividades de comunicación que permitan involucrarlos para concienciarlos sobre las consecuencias del impacto ambiental. Además, se demostró la importancia de diseñar estrategias de Comunicación para el Desarrollo, porque promueven el diálogo, el cambio de actitud frente a una problemática social y la búsqueda de soluciones. Por ello, en esta propuesta se determinaron seis pasos imprescindibles como: identificación del problema y el público objetivo; formulación de los objetivos y los mensajes; selección de las herramientas con las que se compartirán los mensajes; diseño de la estrategia; monitoreo y evaluación. Finalmente, los talleres, la radio y las redes sociales fueron las herramientas apropiadas para generar la participación en la población. / The present investigation entitled Communication strategy to promote an environmental culture in the young town of Fuentes Linares, Ferreñafe, raised as objectives: to carry out a diagnosis of the current situation on environmental culture in Fuentes Linares, to establish the steps of the communication strategy and to identify the communication tools to build relationships with the target audience. The approach used was qualitative and the design was phenomenological. Likewise, the chosen setting was the young town of Fuentes Linares. The technique of the structured interview was worked, whose instrument was the interview questionnaire that was addressed to five experts in Communication for Development, three representatives of public institutions and ten residents of the mentioned young town. It was obtained as results that the inhabitants have little interest and commitment to participate in issues of environmental culture and public institutions do not promote communication activities that allow them to be involved to raise awareness about the consequences of environmental impact. In addition, the importance of designing Communication for Development strategies was demonstrated, because they promote dialogue, the change of attitude towards a social problem and the search for solutions. For this reason, six essential steps were determined in this proposal, such as: identification of the problem and the target audience; formulation of objectives and messages; selection of the tools with which the messages will be shared; strategy design; monitoring and evaluation. Finally, the workshops, radio and social networks were the appropriate tools to generate participation in the population.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T20:20:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Clara Maria Pugnaloni.pdf: 5876751 bytes, checksum: e3e631ba701ce20b18d0cf486b3eb515 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-09 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The study here presented follows the qualitative social research patterns in order to know the adoption of Communication for Development in two distinct moments for the realization of Humanitarian Help projects. In their initial phase, the Emergency one, when the first actions for the reorganization of the country are held by the International Organizations. And, in the Development phase, when the political and socioeconomic order and the fundamental rights become a priority. The objective was to get to know the actions for communication adopted by the International Organization (IO) and by selected the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), in the Humanitarian Help projects which they develop. The aim of the thesis was to point the main actions for communications that might facilitate the implementation of the projects and the obtaining of the desired results. And, in this way, to collaborate with the rights holders, so that they are transformed in social actors, the way it is taught by the praxis of Paulo Freire pedagogy. As a final contribution, I developed a theoretical-operational reference in Communication for Development, possible to be adopted in future projects / O estudo ora apresentado adota os padrões da pesquisa social qualitativa para conhecer a adoção da Comunicação para o Desenvolvimento em dois momentos distintos na realização de projetos de Ajuda Humanitária. Na fase inicial, a da Emergência, quando as primeiras ações para reorganização do país são empreendidas pelas Organizações Internacionais. E, na fase de Desenvolvimento, quando instaurar a ordem política e socioeconômica e os direitos fundamentais passa a ser o prioritário. O objetivo foi dar a conhecer as ações de comunicação adotadas pela Organização Internacional (OI) e pelas Organizações não Governamentais (ONGs) selecionadas, nos projetos de Ajuda Humanitária que desenvolvem. O foco da tese foi o de elencar as principais ações de comunicação que possam facilitar a implantação dos projetos e a obtenção dos resultados pretendidos. E, dessa forma, colaborar para que os beneficiários se transformem em atores sociais, como prega à práxis da pedagogia de Paulo Freire. Como contribuição final, elaborei um referencial teórico-operacional em Comunicação para o Desenvolvimento possível de adoção em futuros projetos

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:53:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Clara Maria Pugnaloni.pdf: 5876751 bytes, checksum: e3e631ba701ce20b18d0cf486b3eb515 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-09 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The study here presented follows the qualitative social research patterns in order to know the adoption of Communication for Development in two distinct moments for the realization of Humanitarian Help projects. In their initial phase, the Emergency one, when the first actions for the reorganization of the country are held by the International Organizations. And, in the Development phase, when the political and socioeconomic order and the fundamental rights become a priority. The objective was to get to know the actions for communication adopted by the International Organization (IO) and by selected the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), in the Humanitarian Help projects which they develop. The aim of the thesis was to point the main actions for communications that might facilitate the implementation of the projects and the obtaining of the desired results. And, in this way, to collaborate with the rights holders, so that they are transformed in social actors, the way it is taught by the praxis of Paulo Freire pedagogy. As a final contribution, I developed a theoretical-operational reference in Communication for Development, possible to be adopted in future projects / O estudo ora apresentado adota os padrões da pesquisa social qualitativa para conhecer a adoção da Comunicação para o Desenvolvimento em dois momentos distintos na realização de projetos de Ajuda Humanitária. Na fase inicial, a da Emergência, quando as primeiras ações para reorganização do país são empreendidas pelas Organizações Internacionais. E, na fase de Desenvolvimento, quando instaurar a ordem política e socioeconômica e os direitos fundamentais passa a ser o prioritário. O objetivo foi dar a conhecer as ações de comunicação adotadas pela Organização Internacional (OI) e pelas Organizações não Governamentais (ONGs) selecionadas, nos projetos de Ajuda Humanitária que desenvolvem. O foco da tese foi o de elencar as principais ações de comunicação que possam facilitar a implantação dos projetos e a obtenção dos resultados pretendidos. E, dessa forma, colaborar para que os beneficiários se transformem em atores sociais, como prega à práxis da pedagogia de Paulo Freire. Como contribuição final, elaborei um referencial teórico-operacional em Comunicação para o Desenvolvimento possível de adoção em futuros projetos

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:31:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Tomas_Jane_final_1_.pdf: 2090486 bytes, checksum: fb9ef4729841fedf92aaaf77930d37a1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-04-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The work “Communication for development: the roll of the community radios and televisions in the education for development of the communities of Mozambique” is meant to observe, analyze and describe the importance and the contribution of community radios and televisions in the consciencialization of the Mozambican populations for the accomplishment of actions towards local development. The studied period comprehend the last 15 years (1991 - 2005) of existence of the first media law, approved by the parliament. The research was centered in the actions taken both by the government and by civil society in general, and the meaning that the community radios and televisions have for the local population, based on theoretical and practical knowledge acquired during the present study. Community radio and television are education instruments and understanding of the community's people. They have an important part in the citizens' life, mobilizing them to involve on taken actions in the combat process of the absolute poverty that the population lives in their community. They are community goods contributing to the sustainable development of the own communities. / Trata-se de um estudo sobre as rádios e televisões comunitárias em Moçambique. São investigadas as ações implementadas tanto pelo governo como pela sociedade civil, bem como o significado que essas emissoras têm para as populações locais. O objetivo é analisar a importância e a contribuição das rádios e televisões comunitárias para a conscientização das populações moçambicanas e para a realização com vistas ao desenvolvimento local. A metodologia privilegiou a pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, além de entrevistas semi-estruturadas junto a coordenadores das emissoras, entre outros. Foram estudadas 8 emissoras sediadas nas províncias de Zambézia, Sofala, Inhambane, Maputo e Maputo Cidade, de 2004 a 2005, além de ter sido feito um breve resgate do percurso histórico da comunicação em Moçambique nos últimos 15 anos, desde a promulgação da primeira Lei de Imprensa aprovada pela Assembléia da República. Conclui-se que as rádios e a televisões comunitárias são instrumentos de educação e conscientização das pessoas das comunidades investigadas. Elas desempenham um papel importante na vida dos cidadãos, mobilizando-os a se envolverem nas ações de combate à pobreza absoluta que se vive no seu país. São bens comunitários contribuindo para o desenvolvimento sustentável das próprias comunidades