New Tactics in Nigeria - Using Radio

One of the New Tactics / NED grant recipients for 2006 was the League of Democratic Women in Nigeria (LEADS Nigeria). For their grant project, they increased access to New Tactics materials for activists in the seven states of the northwest by putting together a radio project for information dissemination reaching out to illiterate and semi-literate populations in the region, and worked to build a network of human rights practitioners.

Ms. Rebecca Sako-John is the Executive Director of LEADS Nigeria. She also provides pro bono legal services to women and other victims of human rights violations. Her accomplishments include initiating community watchdog and mobilization units for human rights in local communities, initiating a women’s empowerment program for enduring democracy, participating in election monitoring and public hearings on a review of the Constitution, and defending Nigeria’s 4th and 5th CEDAW Implementation report before the UN. As a Humphrey Fellow, Sako-John plans to study regional and international systems for promoting human rights, gender and the law, international organizations and multinational institutions, transitional justice, and how HIV/AIDS presents challenges to global health and justice.

She spoke with New Tactics about her organization’s use of electronic media (radio) to spread their message.

[Read the interview with Rebecca Sako-John]

The League of Democratic Women (LEADS Nigeria) website is at: http://www.leadsnigeria.org/

More information on the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program is available at: http://www.iie.org/Template.cfm?Template=/programs/hhh/default.htm

More information on past and present New Tactics grant recipients can be found at /TraininginPractice/UsingNewTacticsAroundtheWorld

RESOURCES:

New Tactics offers other resources on using the media in your work, for example:

From Weaving New Tactics into Your World:

Working with the Media - Getting your message into the news can be daunting if you and your organization don’t have a lot of experience with the media, or a lot of staff time to put into it. Here are some very basic tips to keep in mind when you are working with the media.

From workshops held at the New Tactics in Human Rights International Symposium in 2004:

Workshop 326 Video as a human rights tool - Video can give a powerful eye-witness account of human rights abuses and be an excellent tool for educating and motivating people to act. NGOs can learn to use video effectively in human rights advocacy.

There are also several cases in our searchable database of tactics including:

"Using accessible media tools to promote social change and the situation of women in a male-dominated society" - from the Women’s Media Centre of Cambodia (WMCC)

"Using the power of the media to send targeted messages to people in a position to end abuses" - from Radio Publique Africaine

IN THE NEWSROOM: Fellowships and Grants

Youth for Human Rights Training Program Begun in the Arab World, Deadline October 25, 2006

Organized jointly by the Arab Institute for Human Rights (AIHR), the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), and Human Rights Educations Associates (HREA), the new Youth for Human Rights Program will provide long-term training and support for young human rights activists in the Arab World. The program, which will accept 75 trainees and 30 auditors, will begin in December 2006 and end in January 2008.

Go to: www.cihrs.org/prog_Activity_details_en.aspx?act_id=81&prog_name=Human%20Rights%20Education

The Council on Foundations Grant - Application Deadline: 31 October 2006, 8 January 2007, 24 May 2007
The Council on Foundations believes that extraordinary efforts deserve widespread recognition. Therefore, the Council is seeking nominations for grant-funded projects that have had a demonstrated impact on the common good. Civil society that can serve as models for others in philanthropy is encouraged to apply. For more information, see www.cof.org/Council/content.cfm?ItemNumber=6418&navItemNumber=1968

The John Smith Memorial Trust

The John Smith Memorial Trust is currently seeking applications from potential candidates in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, or the Ukraine for its 2007 Fellowship Programme, to take place in June/July next year. Applications must be received no later than Tuesday 7th November 2006.

Further information about recruitment criteria, application details and deadlines can be obtained from the Trust’s website:

http://www.johnsmithmemorialtrust.org/Web/Site/Programme/how_to_apply.asp