Electric Trainer

Media coverage of sustainable development

It's a big year for sustainable development, with some important international summits - at the UN next week and in Paris in December. This means development issues will be finding their way into the mass media where they usually don't get much of a look-in.

This presents a challenge for writers and journalists who may not normally cover these areas. It's also a great opportunity for charities and non-governmental organisations, who work tirelessly on improving the lots of people all around the world but whose work often goes unnoticed.

The big effort this year is on agreeing international "sustainable development goals" (SDGs), which will focus the efforts in every country to make the world a fairer, more equal and better  place.

David Thomas Media has been working with Stakeholder Forum and Civicus (based in South Africa) to produce guides that help journalists on the one hand and charities on the other. Greater understanding on both parts will help more accurate and more engaging reporting. And who could argue with that.

If you're a journalist and are scratching your head about all this, I would recommend these resources:

• A Journalist's Toolkit (PDF, from Civicus)
• Sustainable development goals: all you need to know (excellent summary from the Guardian)

If you're in a development charity or NGO, we've created a guide, site and audio podcasts to help you engage with the media:

• Engaging with the Media - online guide and podcasts

It's also worth reading this great advice from Will Tucker, also for the Guardian:

• How to communicate sustainable development goals

 Now let's hope that these issues get much wider and more accurate coverage.

 

Hi-tech and lo-tech innovations in Africa

I spent Saturday at one of the most inspiring conferences I've been to. It was called Africa Gathering, and it was the first event under that banner to focus on mobile and other technologies being used in Africa. (My small role was to lead a discussion on distance learning for African trainees, something we've been doing for 4 years.)

I couldn't attend all the presentations, but the few that I sat in on were a revelation. Ken Banks talked about a nifty piece of software he's developed called frontlineSMS, which allows people to send alerts and information, not via the internet, but by hooking up a laptop to a mobile phone network. Mobiles are ubiquitous, but the internet is not. So SMS is a great way to disseminate info. (Check out kiwanja.net for more.)

Simon Berry spoke about his project colalife, which is based on the premise that if Coca Cola can reach every corner of Africa then why not use the same delivery network to distribute medicine, mosquito nets or anythings else. Simon's use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc) and old media (the BBC's PM programme) is an object lesson.

What made these speakers (and many others) stand out was their extraordinary tenacity in the face of big business sluggishness, and a seemingly limitless amount of energy to help people find their own solutions to local problems.

And here's a video from an Austrian agency which gives a flavour of how mobile phones are changing the lives of ordinary Africans – Tanzanians in this case.

Long may the dialogue continue. See you at the next Africa Gathering in Brussels?