This case study provides an analysis on how working women mothers in Brazil articulate themselves in a feminist network born on social media (Maternativa) to generate collective empowerment, raise awareness about oppression and mobilize around work rights. Using qualitative methods such as insider participant observation, interviews and content analysis, it investigates how participatory-related communicative practices and feminism interplay on digital and interpersonal environments fostering dialogue, conscientization and, potentially, a “political turn” in the collective’s agenda. Theoretical underpinnings include Manuel Castells’ network society, participatory communication and Paulo Freire’s theories on oppressed subjects, as well as insights from matricentric and black feminisms. The validity of (feminist) participatory practices for the strengthening of women mothers’ grass-roots movements and its potential applicability to mitigate the limitations of social media are some of the conclusions offered. Despite challenges typical of social movements and a significant “white woman bias”, participation has been able to produce an expanded awareness of the different systems of oppression. As a result, women’s discourse and engagement inside the network has become increasingly political and critical regarding structural power relations in the Brazilian society.

In 2017, the Me Too campaign, founded ten years earlier to help women of color from low-income communities who were survivors of sexual violence, became a viral social media movement following allegations on Twitter by actress Alyssa Milano of sexual harassment and violence against the powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Using the hashtag #MeToo, Milano unwittingly mobilized millions of women to share their stories via social media, and the #Metoo movement subsequently helped to illuminate both the structural and individual aspects of sexual harassment and abuse by men against women within virtually all aspects of society. As the #MeToo movement swept the globe, millions of women shared stories of sexual harassment and abuse through social media platforms, and indictments of the “inappropriate behavior” against women gained center stage. To understand this movement today and how media made it possible, this study analyses the discussion about online media and social movements surrounding the 2019 World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland. In doing so, this research sheds light on the achievement and impact of the movement. Employing a mixed-method approach providing a feminist epistemological perspective on elements drawn from discourse analysis, comparative discourse analysis, content analysis, and critical discourse analysis, this thesis analyses a sample of ten online reports on how online mass media, and particularly social media, shapes movements for social change. It shows that online media is of great significance in constructing movements for social change because it facilitates the construction and dissemination of a social change discourse and influences how we determine which situations and actions constitute “sexual harassment.” This analysis further shows that feminist principles of gender equality, women’s sexual self-determination, and empowerment no longer define the politics of sexual harassment in the digital age.

The Stolpersteine memorial art project commemorates individual Holocaust victims by placing small brass plates outside the last known place they freely lived or worked. To date around 70,000 of these ‘stones’ have been laid across 24 countries, making it the largest decentralised monument in the world. The work grows by virtue of community action from relatives, neighbours and activists. This paper examines how the memorial form functions in a specific context. An ‘unofficial' version has been running in Vienna since 2005, termed Stones of Remembrance. It shares key characteristics with Stolpersteine but the approach in the Austrian capital is distinctly different, with local interpretations. This case study into the Vienna experience investigates public response to these stones drawing on research material that includes interviews with specific stakeholders and the general public who encounter them on a day to day basis. It highlights Austria’s role in the Holocaust, and struggle to belatedly come to terms with its complicity in what happened on local streets. Key questions are whether placing history at a neighbourhood level engages the public more actively than centralised state actions? How do people understand and engage with these pieces and are they effective sites of memory, reflection or imagining? Public response in Vienna suggests that memorial stones might be valuable communication tools not only for remembering the past, but for the present too - as reminders of past abuses that can serve as warnings for the future. As an example of a participatory approach to memory work Stones of Remembrance / Stolpersteine can have relevance as a communication for development and social change tool, with potential application in other post conflict contexts.

The occupation of Western Sahara is a question of a forgotten colonization with a very limited framework of international recognition, media acknowledgment and talks. To break the remaining silence and invisibility, human rights activists have developed different initiatives, shedding light on the current situation of Western Sahara. This study investigates the Sahara Marathon campaign, an international sport event that has been developed in the Western Sahara refugee camps of Smara, El Aaiún and Auserd for twenty consecutive years.  Framing the Sahara Marathon as a case study, this degree project aims at inquiring into the potential impact and long-term implications of the international sport campaign, seeking “if” and “how” it contributes towards a social change and an end to the enforced invisibility of “Africa's last colony”, (Güell, 2015). In particular, this qualitative study examines the participatory approach and community engagement promoted through the campaign as well as the awareness-raising and dialogical processes triggered as a result of the Sahara Marathon sport event. The study is grounded on 23 in-depth interviews that have contributed to the external reliability of the research, underlining the reflections shared by organizers of the Sahara Marathon, drivers, freelancers, runners and most importantly human rights activists from Western Sahara. Findings reveal that the Sahara Marathon campaign raises awareness about the current situation in Western Sahara, contributing to a transnational acknowledgment of the conflict. The study also shows that active listening and convivial experiences are promoted throughout the campaign, dismantling stereotypes among communities coming from abroad and Saharawi people living in the refugee camps. In terms of participation, it has been concluded that the campaign uses a participation by consultation approach, needing a new model to showcase the utility and effectiveness of the event as well as to ensure its sustainability in the future.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest global threats we face today. Human overuse ofantibiotics is a contributing factor and major behaviour change around antibioticconsumption is needed, but several challenges exist in communicating antibiotic resistanceto the public. In 2018 the UK Government relaunched a national television advertisement aspart of the ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’ campaign which aimed to raise awareness of antibioticresistance and reduce public demand for antibiotics. This study evaluates what role theframing of antibiotic resistance in the advertisement played in increasing publicunderstanding of antibiotic resistance and motivating behaviour change. The study isgrounded in behaviour change and health communication theory from the field ofCommunication for Development, and health and social psychology theory, reflecting theneed for multidisciplinary approaches to addressing antibiotic resistance. A textual analysisidentified how the issue was framed in the advertisement and surveys and interviews wereconducted with members of the target audience groups to analyse what effect theadvertisement had on their understanding of, and attitude towards antibiotic resistance.The findings show that the framing of antibiotic resistance in the TV advertisement led to anincrease in misunderstandings of what becomes resistant to antibiotics. The advertisementwas helpful in highlighting the vulnerability of antibiotics and for creating a new social normaround being a responsible antibiotic user, however was interpreted as childish byparticipants. It did not communicate the severity of antibiotic resistance or specific risk ofantibiotic overuse to the audience, or accurately reflect the audience’s existing knowledge ofantibiotic resistance and current behaviours. As the severity of antibiotic resistance was notconveyed, the advertisement did not motivate a change in antibiotic seeking behaviours orattitude amongst the majority of participants. The findings did highlight knowledge gapsamongst study participants including the importance of completing a course of antibiotics asprescribed, and that it is the bacteria itself, not the person, that develops resistance, andhopes this research can inform the development of future campaigns.

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.