Communication Strategy

UN System-wide Special Initiative on Africa
Communications Strategy
Revised June 2, 1997

I. Background and Rationale

The United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa (UNSIA) is a set of concrete and coordinated actions to maximize support for development in Africa. Designed to build on and stimulate the significant improvements underway in the political and economic arena of many African countries, the Initiative provides practical modalities for achieving the Africa-focused goals of recent United Nations international conferences. The Initiatives's priorities are consistent with those of Africa's leaders and with the vision of the Cairo Plan of Action adopted by all African Heads of State.

Given the focus on agency cooperation and coordination in the design of the Initiative and the multiplicity of actors involved, an effective communications and outreach strategy is imperative to bind together the key actors and stakeholders behind the Initiative and to harmonize the Africa-focused communications efforts of UN agencies for a unified purpose. With participation of partners both within and outside of the UN system, a communications strategy can provide the vehicle for dramatically reinforcing and galvanizing additional support for Africa and for guaranteeing the awareness and future success of the Special Initiative. In the broader context, the Initiative can restore Africa as the centerpiece of the international community's agenda and ensure the meaningful participation of Africans in the changing global economy.

Indeed, by providing a more realistic and balanced picture of the continent in a systematic and coordinated manner, a communications strategy can provide a real value added to enhancing Africa's image in the international community. Practical results, achievements, and best practices of UN system-wide development projects featured in news and information outputs can also convey the urgency and importance of the Initiative for Africa. SIA news and information will also enhance the UN's public image, showing that the UN system is a vital development actor in Africa and elsewhere.

This paper proposes a communications and outreach strategy to keep the range of actors and stakeholders under the Special Initiative informed of the activities under the SIA with a consistent focus on furthering the Initiative's objectives and achieving results at the country level; and through a sustained campaign for development efforts in Africa, to contribute to the new momentum for Africa's development. The paper has five parts. Part one discusses the background and rationale of the strategy. Part two discusses the objectives. Part three discusses the key stakeholder groups and the modalities for reaching each group. Part four discusses the roles of the key SIA partners. Part five discusses the core communications and outreach activities of the UNSIA Secretariat. This is followed by proposed implementation steps in Part six, a listing of suggested communications activities for SIA partners in Annex I, and the 1997 work programme of the UNSIA Secretariat in Annex II.

II. Objectives of the Strategy

During its September 1996 meeting, the Panel of High Level Personalities on African Development emphasized that the Special Initiative should not be sen as an exclusive effort, but as part of an effort to strengthen UN support for African development. To this end, the proposed strategy promotes the Special Initiative as the information reference point for African development priorities, and at the same time, uses the Initiative as a vehicle for addressing Africa-wide issues in the following ways.

First, the proposed communications strategy will include activities to keep SIA partners informed about the Initiative, sustain the commitment of the United Nations system to the Special Imitative, ensure inter-agency coordination, and stimulate African ownership for the Initiative.

Second, the strategy places great emphasis on enhancing the image of Africa and deconstructing stereotypes within the international community. By providing a more balanced and steady flow of information about the continent, the strategy contributes to a campaign to change Africa's image and creates and seeks out opportunities for positive image-making. Accurate and objective informatin about the many significant contributions made under the Special Initiative to support Africa's developments can be used to counter the widely held stereotypical views about Africa.

Third, the planned outreach activities under the strategy, which will increase public awareness of the Initiative, offer the unique advantage of fostering complementarities among existing information and communications offices within the UN system including the UN Department of Public Information (UN-DPI), country level United Nations Information Centres (UNICs), and agency specific information offices. Additionally, relevant key partners at the country level -- government policy-makers, development practitioners and researchers, local non-governmental organizations, and civil society organizations -- and at the global level -- agencies within the UN system, the Bretton Woods Institutions, bilateral donors, as well as non-governmental organizations -- will be invited to participate and contribute to the communications and outreach effort envisaged under this strategy.

Fourth, the strategy is aimed at mobilizing and effective "friends of Africa" consistency, which includes parliamentarians in major donor capitals, professionals at renewed research centres and think-tanks, leading journalists representing influential media, major NGOs, religious leaders, academics, and influential personalities such as Nobel Laureates, actors, and philanthropists, to name a few.

Finally, through active dissemination of what works and does not work in the area of policies and programmes in support of Africa's development, the communications strategy is aimed at supporting synergic outcomes of development efforts in Africa, fostering shared accountability and recognition for results, and deepening the knowledge base on best-practice interventions in meeting Africa's challenges in the changing global setting.

III. Stakeholders and Modalities

The communications strategy has six broad target groups: African government policy makers: industrial country opinion makers: civil society organizations and non-governmental organization: "friends of Africa"; the donor community at large; and domestic and international media. Outreach activities designed specifically to reach each group have been planned:

Stakeholders: African government policy-makers

Key message: The Initiative not only reflects fully the development priorities of African countries, but also promises real value-added at the country level through the unprecedented harmonization and coordination of UN agency programming instruments and implementation arrangements under the SIA framework and the focus on achieving on-the-ground synergic development outcomes. But in the final analysis, the commitment and ownership of each African government to implementing policies and programmes under the Initiative is key to benefitting from the value added and the synergic outcomes of the SIA. African governments will need to organize themselves to take maximum advantage of the development opportunities offered under the Initiative.

Medium: Each year, at least five strategic regional, sub-regional, and/or country meetings will be identified where SIA-related policy briefings could be organized for African policy-makers. To the extent possible, heads of agency, Co-Chairs of the ACC Steering Committee, senior officials of the UN system and the Bretton Woods Institutions, as well as senior Africa officials will be the main speakers at these functions.

A "Special Initiative Road Show" will be organized to sensitize African policy makers of the potential value added that can be achieved under the Initiative and to disseminate practical examples of where such value added has been achieved. The UNSIA Secretariat will develop the "SIA Road Show" presentations and handle logistical arrangements in collaboration with UN Country Coordinators and United Nations Information Centres. While the "SIA Road Show" message will focus on achieving value added under the Initiative, it will be delivered in the context of the broader development challenge facing Africa. To this end, the "SIA Road Show" will also articulate the key challenges facing Africa, the role of the UN agencies in meeting these challenges, and demonstrate through concrete country examples how the SIA policies and programmes help address these challenges. "SIA Road Show" speakers will include SIA Co-Chairs, other senior officials of SIA partners agencies, and government officials from other African countries where tangible progress has been achieved under the Initiative.

Outreach activities will be designed to encourage Africans to articulate and claim "ownership" of the Initiative by inviting key African public figures to speak about the SIA at international and regional gatherings. This will help legitimize the Initiative as being Africa's response to its own development needs and ensure sustained national political support to the Initiative.

To this end, UN partner agencies and the UNSIA Secretariat are also encouraged to submit SIA-related articles for publication in major publications/newspapers that are widely read by Africans and to arrange for periodic reporting about the Initiative on international and local radio stations.

Stakeholder: Industrial country opinion makers

Message: Development assistance to Africa is contributing to concrete positive outcomes in Africa's economic and political transition, and the Special Initiative offers a framework for strengthening partnership of various consistencies in the industrial country with the UN family in pursuit of these outcomes. To reinforce this message, the communications strategy will make available a steady and reliable flow of information on development outcomes in Africa by: (a) providing a balanced picture of Africa to key public and private sector opinion makers in donor capitals, and (b) influencing debates in these capitals on development assistance to Africa.

Medium: SIA partner agencies are invited to sponsor press tours by key African public figures to donor capitals to articulate the success stories and remaining challenges in Africa. SIA partner agencies should also seek opportunities for co-sponsoring with leading universities and research centres in the US, Japan, and Europe high level seminars on African development issues. To the extent possible, senior UN and World Bank officials should include the SIA in their press releases and major addresses in donor capitals. the strategy also encourages regular reporting about the Initiative on international radio stations and in the international press.

Stakehoders: civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations

Message: Civil society organizations have an important role to play in achieving the objectives of the Initiative. They are encouraged to make active intellectual and operational contributions to SIA-related activities at the country level, and to foster constructive interaction between government and non-governmental organizations. In the broader sense, the Initiative seeks the involvement of civil society organization to foster good governance and to maximize their contribution to Africa's development.

Medium: All partner agencies are encouraged to incorporate active roles for civil society organization during the planning and implementation of their respective responsibilities for the Initiative. To this end, the UNSIA Secretariat, working in collaboration with country level UNICs, will be available to assist partner agencies to organize SIA-focused seminars for NGOs, local journalists, and member of civil society at large.

All lead agencies of programmes under the Initiative, UN-DpI, UNICs, as well as the UNSIA Secretariat should systematically plan to provide accurate and current information on SIA-related activities through international radio stations broadcasting to Africa.

Stakeholders:"friends of Africa"

Message: There is growing awareness within the UN family of the potential contributions of "friends of Africa" groups in addressing Africa's development challenge. Activities will be planned to galvanize a strong constituency of supporters of Africa who can systematically operate as communications multipliers for the Initiative and information activists for Africa.

Medium: The communications strategy will seek the assistance of influential African and non-African personalities, parliamentarians, and philanthropists to increase public awareness for the Initiative and to mobilize and sustain the political support for Africa in international capitals and within Africa. There will be a special effort to engage this group to help implement complementary media projects for the Initiative.

Stakeholders: the donor community at large

Message: The communications strategy attaches importance to ascertaining "buy-ins" from the donor community at large to the policy and programme framework under the Initiative. These "buy-ins" will help bring discipline to the fragmented actions that have characterized past donor assistance in Africa and improve aid effectiveness. Activities will be designed to galvanize bilateral donor programmes under the framework of the Special Initiative.

Medium: Planned activities include maintaining increased personal contact between SIA agency heads and OECD/DAC officials; speeches/presentations in donor capitals by Senior officials of SIA agencies about the Initiative; and involving bilateral representatives in UN Country Team Retreats.

Stakeholders: domestic and international media

Message: The domestic and international media can be powerful allies in providing favourable public relations service for the Special Initiative and in creating opportunities for positive image-making on Africa

Medium: Each partners agency should work with the media and the press to ensure ongoing reporting of success stories and achievements. Activities might include feature articles in the popular press (magazines and newspapers); "image of Africa" articles: journalist photo advocacy project: regular reports about the Initiative on international radio stations broadcasting to Africa: and preparation of audio and video products in conjunctions with the SIA Secretariat for wide distribution.

IV. Roles of Key Partners

ACC Heads of Agency. As the highest level policy-makers for the Special Initiative, the ACC Heads of Agency can play a pivotal public information role through their personal endorsement of the policies and programmes advocated by the Special Initiative at their annual addresses to their governing boards, as well as in their major addresses in international fora. In planning for the travel of ACC Heads in Africa, agencies should keep the UN Resident Coordinator in the country fully informed and also seek opportunities to collaborate with the relevant UNIC office in utilizing the major media networks in capitals to publicize their respective SIA cluster programmes and achievements. Publication of op-eds in lading international newspapers featuring the views of ACC Heads of Agency would be particularly effective in reaching key opinion makers and policy makers.

ACC Steering Committee. After each meeting of the ACC Steering committee, the UNSIA Secretariat should make the necessary arrangement for the Co-Chairs to convene a press conference. The UNSIA Secretariat and the UN-DPI can also make arrangements for immediate fax distributions of the main findings and recommendations of the Steering Committee Meeting.

SIA Partner Agencies. The active participation of all partner agencies is crucial in the concerted effort to disseminate information on the Initiative and in the day-to-day implementation of a range of outreach activities.

UNDP Resident Coordinators. The UN Resident Coordinators are the key implementors of the country-focused outreach activities under this strategy. SIA Country Team Retreats organized by UNDP are effective mechanisms for introducing the Initiative to host-country Governments, the UN country team, and the donor community and galvanizing commitment to the Initiative.

The UN Resident Coordinators working with country level UN Information Centres are also will placed to sustain local commitment and support for the Initiative maintaining liaison with parliamentarians, NGOs, local media representative, trade unions, and academic institutions. Ensuring NGO representation at UN country team retreats could also help motivate the interest and commitment of the NGO community to the Initiative. Through targeted outreach activities, the UNDP and UNIC can build relationships with local advocacy groups, partners at the community level, and civil society in general for SIA. The UN Resident Coordinator can also utilize local news media for SIA reporting.

Each UNDP country office can act as an information conduit on the Initiative. In their periodic reporting to the UNDP, Resident Coordinators should included submission on country level SIA activities, featuring one or more concrete innovations and achievements. These might include lessons learned, challenges met, commendable actions, important and/or unprecedented contributions, problems resolved, actions taken, innovative adaption of a processes and programmes, and examples of UN leadership in the development efforts of the country. Working in tandem with the SIA-Secretariat, the UNDP Country Offices can serve as distribution hubs for region-wide SIA materials from the Secretariat.

V. Core Communications Activities of the SIA Secretariat

The SIA Secretariat will undertake a set of core communications and outreach activities including information coordinating and reporting, establishing an SIA World Wide Web Home Page and coordinating information input, periodic publication of SIA newsletters and SIA insert in Africa Recovery, and co-sponsoring national and regional seminars and workshops with UN Country Teams, regional, and sub-regional organizations. The target audience for the seminars would include African government officials, local representatives of UN and donor agencies, NGO groups, as well as members of civil society organizations.

The Secretariat's core communications activities will be designed to assist implementations of the Initiative at the country level, sustain public awareness of the Initiative throughout Africa, and ensure the flow of reliable information on the SIA among partners agencies and African countries. In carrying out these activities, the Secretariat will rely heavily on, and collaborate closely with, existing communications networks such as the UN Resident Coordinators, country-level United Nations Information Centres, the UN Department of Public Information.

Information Coordinating and Reporting. The Secretariat is will place to coordinate and distil up-to-date information on the Special Initiative. However, each of the partner agencies has the responsibility to ensure that the information reported is accurate and current. To jump start the communications activities, the UNSIA Secretariat will prepare an inventory of the activities under the Special Initiative based on inputs from partners agencies. While a standard reporting format may knot be necessary, each agency submission should at the minimum be desegregated by country and sector.k The first submission form each SIA agency should include key implementation benchmarks planned for the next six months.

With this information, the Secretariat can initiate periodic synthesis reporting featuring, for instance, SIA activities by sector, by sub-regional, or by country. Demonstrating concrete results under the SIA is essential for the credibility of the communications and advocacy effort. Hence, these reports will also be used to identify benchmarks that can support systematic monitoring and evaluation of programme under the Initiative. This strategy recognizes that evaluation of programme impact can only be done ex post, the planned monitoring and evaluation of the Initiative will therefore be based on implementation benchmarks.

In addition to agency reports, the UNSIA Secretariat will reply on inputs from local actors, mission reports by SIA Staff, and topic-specific interviews and mini-surveys related to implementation of Initiative. The Secretariat will solicit the input of agencies, governments, and grassroots partners to help identify what they, as the ultimate beneficiaries of the Initiative, perceive to be best practices. On the basis of this, the Secretariat will compile and disseminate "best practices" through the SIA Newsletter, Africa Recovery, SIA web site, and local media outlets. Beneficiary participation in identification of "best-practices" will in turn stimulate partnership of civil society organizations in SIA-related advocacy and dissemination. The Secretariat plans to disseminate these reports through a wide variety of communications channels.

Given the small size of the Joint ECA/UNDP SIA Secretariat staff, it will be necessary to identify potential field reporting partners who can assist in undertaking the country level research on SIA-related activities. The Secretariat will seek the assistance of ECA's Sub-Regional Development Centres, UNDP Country Offices, and UNICs in this regard. Special effort will be made to capture media attention through SIA activities jointly sponsored by the SIA Secretariat and key local partners, i.e., universities, research centers, and government offices.

Designing a Home Page and Coordinating SIA Data on the World-Wide Web. The UNSIA Secretariat will employ both electronic and traditional method of information exchange that are capable of reaching all relevant actors and stakeholdrs. The World-Wide-Web will be one of the key dissemination modalities. The UNSIA Secretariat, in collaboration with UN-DPI, will coordinate the information dissemination through a common United Nations SIA home page. This will offer all agencies and effective communications channel and ease of access to reliable information. Appropriate linkages will be developed with web sites of partners agencies in order to make the SIA information on the web as consistent and comprehensive as possible.

Periodic SIA Newsletter and Quarterly Africa Recovery SIA Insert. As part of its SIA information dissemination, the UNSIA will periodically issue an SIA Newsletter (ECA) and an SIA insert in the quarterly Africa Recovery (UNDP).

Preparation of Brochures. The Secretariat, in collaboration with SIA partner agencies, will prepare SIA brochures for dissemination at "SIA Road Show", seminars, another events.

Co-sponsoring Seminars and other Activities with UN Country Teams and Regional/Sub-Regional Agencies. The Secretariat will undertake a range of outreach activities, including sponsoring of in-country workshops on the Initiative; organizing regional and sub-regional SIA events; and publishing feature article on the SIA in major international publications. Major planned seminars in 1997 include Governance Forum, NGO Consultation Seminar, Image of Africa Workshop, and Journalists Workshop. A key output will be the SIA Reporting on Africa Journalist Handbook.

In all outreach activities, the Secretariat will attempt to establish firm and substantial relationships between UNSIA and goals of major UN Conferences and articulate the link between the SIA and UN-NADAF. This will enhance clarity of relationships between the SIA and other UN-sponsored initiatives for Africa and help improve understanding and implementation of the SIA.

VI. Steps Towards Implementation

After consideration of the draft Communications Strategy by the ACC Steering Committee, it is proposed that each agency undertake internal consultations with their respective information and communications offices on the framework of the strategy and the scope of the activities proposed. The outcome of these consultations would be an important input into the formulation of a common framework for a workable communications and outreach programme that has the ownership and support of all SIA partners. Once agreement is reached on this framework, the Secretariat will convene, preferably by June/July 1997, a small working meting of SIA agencies' information and communication officers to identify a set of key outreach activities.

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