Strategic communication for peacebuilding: a training guide

    | July 7, 2014

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    According to research carried out in western and central Africa by the NGO Search for Common Ground through its project, Radio: a platform for Peacebuilding (www.radiopeaceafrica.org), few governments are successfully communicating their policies to their citizens. There is a risk, therefore, that policies will not take hold, essential reforms will not occur, and conflicts will increase.

    Search for Common Ground’s handbook, Strategic communications for peacebuilding, is designed to increase the knowledge and skills of radio broadcasters, particularly youth radio broadcasters. It also aims to identify and address complex and potentially divisive issues; to educate government officials on the importance of open and effective communication with communities; and to increase communication between civil society and policy-makers about government policies and decisions.

    The handbook states that communication should be a two-way process, from government to people and back again, and between one section of society and another. The guide offers an approach to communication which creates an open space for dialogue on different levels and between different groups.

    The guide is available free for download at this address: http://www.sfcg.org/programmes/rfpa/pdf/20100315trainingGuideEngFinal.pdf