Community Media/PNG/Bogenvil Meri Tede

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Information about Bogenvil Meri Tede (BMT)

The Bogenvil Meri Tede (Bougainville Women Today) concept was developed at the programme design workshop held at the Kuri Village Resort, Buka Bougainville, PNG, 7-10 September 2010. It was organised by New Dawn FM in association with participation from the Ministry of Community Affairs, Bougainville Hospital, Bougainville Inter-Church Council, CARE International, NBC Bougainville, with sponsorship and training by the Commonwealth of Learning and the Regional Media Centre of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

BMT is a community learning programme focusing on women's health. The programme is under the COL's Healthly Communities. The detailed programme guide can be downloaded below, which features the message and programme matrices. The radio programmes have been produced and are currently being broadcast every Wednesday evening on New Dawn FM.

Download the BMT Programme Guide.

Information about New Dawn FM

The Beginnings of a New Dawn - the story of a community radio station

By Aloysius Laukai

We started talking about establishing a community radio station in Bougainville around 2000 and decided we would call it New Dawn FM to mark our optimism about the future of the Autonomous Province of Bougainville following a terrible civil war that left countless thousands of people dead, injured or internally displaced.

Initially, New Dawn FM broadcasts to the many towns and villages in the Tinputz and Buka Passage area of north Bougainville. The locally owned and managed radio station would not only provide an independent news, information, education and entertainment to listeners, but also be a model for the possible establishment of community radio stations elsewhere.

We believed the project would contribute to establishing a public sphere of community discourse, enabling discussion and giving a voice to a community dispossessed by civil insurrection and seeking to rebuild a democratic society.

The talk continued and reached a lunch table in Sydney, Australia, where our Board member Carolus Ketsimur met his old Papua New Guinea broadcasting buddies Phil Charley OAM and Keith Jackson AM. They sought the assistance of Assoc Prof Martin Hadlow of Queensland University, himself formerly a radio station manager in PNG and a senior UNESCO executive.

Together we developed a concept that saw UNESCO and the German Government provide funds for studio equipment and a transmitter. After a number of false starts, we finally started testing the station in April 2008. Then, at the end of June, our transmitter was destroyed when strong winds damaged the telescopic mast. We paid for another and a standby transmitter and went on back on air in November 2008.

We are now on air with a transmitter power of 300 watts. Since our establishment we have covered the Bougainville Presidential by-election and also the celebrations of the inauguration of the second Autonomous Bougainville Government. This was done in Arawa in Central Bougainville and we covered it live for listeners in the north.

The Government was very impressed and gave us budget support with initial funding of 50,000 kina, which will be increased later this year. We have so far secured more than ten sponsors for our programs who are paying K500 per program per month and still more are coming forward.

We get about 500 test messages a day for requests and other information from our listeners and this is very encouraging as they participate daily in our shows.


New Dawn blog site:

Workshop on Introducing Mobiles into Community Learning, Buka, May 23-25, 2011

This workshop is based on a module from the Toolkit developed by COL's Training division.



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Objectives

In this unit – part of the Integrating Mobile Telephones module – participants

  1. Consider mobile telephones as a distinct form of communication
  2. Hear examples of how mobiles are being used to support learning and development
  3. Review some ICT applications that use mobiles
  4. Brainstorm ways that mobiles can be used in their own context
  5. Decide on 2-3 ways that they will explore in future units and in their work



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Resources

  • Slideshow (pdf)
  • Training module (pdf)
  • Download the FrontlineSMS slideshow and videos from their web pages
  • Download the demonstration videos from the Freedomfone web pages
  • GRINS demonstration video


Workshop Schedule

Time Activity Description Resources
0830 Check in and welcome In a circle. Hand out K5 flex cards for all participants. State mobiles must be turned ON! Greetings – quick introduction/icebeaker – all state name and one like/dislike about one-self.


Flex cards

Announce resource CD will be made available

0900 Collect participant details To get people interested and excited.

Register numbers with Frontline SMS keyword. Auto reply will send all the participants an SMS message introducing the workshop and reminding them of something (as an example of a logistical use of mobiles). Just check all have sent successfully - enter names into contacts during break.


Frontline SMS working,

whiteboard with number and keyword


SUBSCRIBE your full name, organisation, job title

Auto reply requests for email address

If you can do a script, automatically extract names



0930 Objectives and schedule State purpose of workshop- Aim, Objectives, Outputs, Schedule


Slides
0945 Activity 1

Understanding how mobiles are used locally

Group brainstorming (break into small groups if need be for demographics)
  1. How many of you have mobile telephones? What percentage of people in your immediate and extended family have mobiles? What about the wider community? Can you give any sense of what types of people have mobiles, e.g. men vs. women, adults versus youth, urban vs. rural dwellers? Skills and ability to spend on SMS?Definitions (slide)SMS, MMS, 2G/3G, Smart phones, IVR, Open Source, etc
  2. What do people use mobiles for? What are the differences and advantages of mobiles over other communication? How have mobiles changed things? Categorise - Elements of mobile use


Whole group brainstorming


Tabulate on flip charts

  • Participant #, have/not, carrier, text, camera, voice rec, mp3, FM, data, smart (type)
  • Estimate ownership in age groups, consider own families<16, 16-25, 25-40, >40<10% about 25%, 50%, etc
  • Gender
  • Categories / professions
  • Rural / urban
  • BMT target learners

Volunteer from group shares task of marking up flip charts:

  • Examples of mobiles use:
  • Differences/advantages:
  • Mobiles have changed:

Slides on mobile revolution



1030 Break
1045

1200

Activity 2

Understanding how

mobiles have been used to support learning for development in other places


Presentations with group brainstorming – in what ways can mobiles be used to support a learning programme?


Look at specific examples and take notes, referring to the elements


Discussion and analysis of each example

Slides with elements


Slides with examples and videos etc


Slide with questions

Activity 3

Closer look at specific applications

This is what we did in Buka:


Frontline SMS

  • Presentation with discussion (see slideshow)
  • Interactive demo
  • Discuss possibilities and disadvantages/issues

Presentations with videos and examples

  • Freedomfone (play videos from website etc)
  • Rapid SMS (Jokko, Senegal)

Phone-based application – Rapid Android and Quizee

  • Demos , participants try them out
  • CommCare (fact sheet from Dimagi)

Wi-Fi Broadcast system

  • Demo , download podcasts to mobiles with wi-fi

GRINS

  • Slides and video

DAISY

  • Slides and demo of making a short DAISY book
  • Demo player on Android (free) or iPhone (InDaisy, costs) (Symbian Nokia phones also have a player available to buy)

Collaboration tools to support follow up

  • Create Gmail accounts for participants and set up Google group, practice sending/receiving
  • Demonstrate WikiEducator, set up page for the workshop. Explain where to find WikiEducator Tutorials
  • Explain we will create pages for each of the ideas identified for using mobiles with the community learning
  • Demonstrate the lesson plan template from Marovo, Solomon Islands, and explain how teachers are collaborating on content. Suggest that same tool could be used for designing community learning content etc.


Show slides, discussion with reference to elements after each example


  • Set up and detect phone
  • Show current balance (will test expense)
  • Home page / Contacts and groups
  • Keywords - explain
  • Try FMNEWS and MERENEWS
  • MERENET
  • Try sending messages
  • Show set up with BMT keywords
  • Check number of messages sent and balance

Android

  • Write test form on flip chart
  • Participants send in data
  • Start Quizee and open registration
  • Participants send name to number
  • Send quiz question
  • Explain XML

Wi-Fi BS

  • Show slides and connect
  • Show them connecting with phone and downloading radio audio
  • Make a blog posting / comment
  • Connect with small laptop
  • Participants try

DAISY

  • Demo Tsunami DAISY book with AMIS
  • Demo with Android, explain iPhone / later version can display text and images too
  • Quick demo of creating DAISY book using first pages of BMT programme guide
  • Discuss issues, such as voice, etc


1230 Lunch
130pm Activity 3 Complete demonstrations of mobile applications, requests, etc


2pm Activity 4 Identify applications to try out in the local context


Group work, groups report back using market place (with extra time to prepare flip chart paper)


  • This next activity looks at the different ways in which mobiles can be integrated into learning programmes and then brainstorms a set of ideas and related applications to be tried out, including what sort of training and development work will be done in subsequent units of the module.
  • From what has been done so far, hopefully it is reasonably clear to participants that mobiles can be used in different ways to support community learning programmes. Particularly for groups that are already running educational programming of some kind, the aim of this unit and the mobile in general are to introduce supporting and complementary uses of mobile telephony (rather than stand alone or entirely new initiatives).
  • Invite participants to suggest different ways that mobiles might support existing community learning programmes and other educational efforts.

Report back using market place. Each group selects one person to act as the market trader. Prepare flip chart to illustrate.


Regroup and discuss, decide on follow up


Evaluation using FrontlineSMS

Introductory slide


On flip chart paper, write supplementary info (also point to the elements charts)

Try to group ideas emerging from around the following major headings:

  1. Learning material
  • Sharing learning content, e.g. reinforcing key messages
  • Introducing additional content
  1. Learner support
  • Question and answer
  • Facilitating discussion and exchange, among learners and with programme facilitators
  1. Assessment
    • Testing for learning achievement
    • Learner feedback about the programmes
  1. Logistics
    • Registering learners’ participation
    • Reminders


Workshop Outputs

Activity 1 : How people use mobiles locally

Survey of mobile types used by participants


Participant
Have mobile
Digicel or Bmobile
Text
Alerts
Data
Camera
FM
MP3
Memory
Games/Apps
Voice rec.
Smart
1
Y
D
Y
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
2
Y
D
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
3
Y
D
Y
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
4
Y
D/B dual SIM
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Alcatel
5
Y
D
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Blackberry
6
Y
D
Y
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
7
Y
D
Y
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
8
Y
D
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Blackberry
9
Y
D
Y
Y
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
10
Y
D
Y
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
11
Y
D
Y
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
Y
N
N
12
Y
D
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Blackberry
13
Y
D
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Blackberry
Facilitator
Y
both
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Android


Demographics, mobile usage in Bougainville


Group What do people use mobiles for?


What are the differences, advantages and disadvantages of mobiles over other means of communication? How have mobiles changed things?
Maria

Terese

Fredrickah


Communication

Entertainment

Information

Business

Advantages
  • Get information faster
  • Save time and money
  • Save life
  • Disaster warnings
  • Convenient for basic needs

Disadvantages

  • Wasting money
  • Rascolism activities
  • Pornographic pictures


Mobiles make life easier

Easy access

Behaviour changes

Easy to communicate



Aloysius

Jeneries

Edwin

Communicate

Banking

Entertainment

  • Music
  • Videos
  • Pictures


Differences
  • Quick
  • Cheaper
  • Easy to operate
  • Easy to access


Communication easier

Cut costs of time and resources

Make access to information easier

Locally

Globally

Learning easier

Behaviour change



Dunstan

Boas

Stephanie

Communication

Trade

Marketing and promotion

Entertainment

Basic Tools, eg

  • Torch
  • Calculator


Disadvantages
  • Expensive over time
  • Open to misuse (marital rows etc)
  • Distractive
  • Useless where no power or coverage
  • Health issues (hearing damage from mp3 etc)
  • People become lazy

Advantages

  • Mobile
  • Fast and efficient communication
  • Cost effective eg reduce travel expenses
  • Efficient tools
  • Storage of data
  • Access to basic services eg
    • Banking
    • Easy pay
  • Cheap, simple to operate


Information/data accessible

Improved standard of living (cost effective)

Improved access to basic services


Activity 2 : Examples of how mobiles are used in learning for development

The activity is described in the workshop schedule above.

  • Frontline SMS in various case studies from their website, using the PowerPoint slideshow and the videos, including community healthcare and safe motherhood in Philippines
  • Freedomfone, using the videos demonstrating the user interface, setting up polls and voice menus.
  • Rapid SMS in the Jokko initiative, Senegal
  • Please Call Me, from MTC in South Africa
  • CommCare, used in India for large scale trials, fact sheet from Dimagi

Activity 3 : Examples of applications

  • Wireless Broadcast system - a local hotspot server based on Ubuntu, Wordpress and Mediwiki
  • Android applications RapidAndroid and Quizee, from Dimagi
  • DAISY - demo of creating a short digital talking book using the "Save as DAISY" Word plugin and free software Pipeline and Tobi. Demo'd on Android using the Android DAISY Reader application. (note if anyone has an iPhone, the InDaisy application is recommended, as it also supports text and images.

The activity is described in the workshop schedule above.

Activity 4 : identifying ideas for using mobiles to support learning in Bougainville




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Activity

Identify 2-3 ways in which you will introduce mobiles to support your learning programmes. Consider how the mobiles will help, what resources and cost issues there may be, any risks. To assist you, consider the following elements:

  • Reinforcing the message
  • Networking
  • Information sharing
  • Logistics
  • Research
  • Monitoring
  • Learner support
  • Widening participation
  • Improving accessibility




Idea 1: Bougainville Inter Church Women’s Forum BICWF

Programme areas

  • Women and youth literacy
  • Improving efficiency of reporting and supporting literacy teachers and women’s groups
  • Informing women’s groups of times and venues of meetings and trainings
  • Informing women’s groups of local and international activities for women

How

  • Using Frontline SMS
  • Register literacy teachers and women’s group members
  • Send texts prompting and assisting teachers to send in reports
  • Send information to women
  • Collect basic data by SMS, i.e.
    • Collect enrolment data
    • Data of women’s group activities
    • Collect data on literacy teachers and students (age, gender, etc)
    • Data on geographical areas where literacy training given

Monitoring and evaluation

  • Whether schools are functioning and operating
  • Understanding constraints
  • Strengthening network and ownership
  • Maintaining relationships
  • Cost savings are expected from reduced need for teachers to travel to submit reports

Widening community participation

  • Improved flow of information about the programme

What needed

  • Install Frontline SMS
  • Test dongles / phones
  • Android
  • Smart phone
  • Flex cards
  • Laptop
  • Projector (optional)
  • Training on how to operate and monitor system (New Dawn could do that)

Idea 2: Autonomous Bougainville Government / Parliament

  • Frontline SMS and Wi-Fi Broadcast Sytsem to be installed at ABG
  • Parliament to cater for the Members’ needs. Support civic education, awareness of government etc.

Register members on Frontline SMS

Send news clips to members by SMS

  • Speakers column
  • BEC needs
  • Parliamentary sectoral committees reports (summaries)
  • Constituency focus
  • Parliamentary network, inform and alert Members
  • Fact sheets (short)

41 Members of BHOR

Weekly updates

Linkages and partners

  • Synchronise with radio and media i.e. NBC and New Dawn, Post Courier, National

Feedback from Members, will improve “Members Update”

Monitoring – Hansard

Civic Education

  • Collaborate with Division of Education
  • TIRs

Create local Wi-Fi hotspot for ABG with all the information needed by Members, so they can access by laptop and mobiles, can include podcasts, audio as well as HTML and PDF format information

Issues

  • News updates and information sent by SMS are very short, need to make concise summaries
  • Cost of sending messages should be budgeted
  • Data protection and laws need to be researched (i.e. collecting databases of personal information)
  • Cost of dongles, equipment

Idea 3: CARE International, Bougainville

Maureen from the CARE office worked on this idea for using mobiles in learning.

Description:

  • Core work with over 13 communities in Buka and Tinputz with over 409 peer educators.
  • Peer educators have a peer-to-peer approach on issues how to reduce HIC, AIDs and STIs etc. The Frontline SMS will greatly assist us to monitor the effect the p2p approach has on youths in these communities.
  • The nature of HIV/AIDS awareness and information continues to be taboo to many in this context; however the accessibility of mobiles is popular to youths, and SMS would be a good way to provide information directly, which is of great interest to the learners.

Approach:

  • Mobiles and text messaging can be integrated into reinforcing Peer Educators work, monitoring, information sharing and improving accessibility of health information and health messages, especially regarding HIV/AIDS reduction amongst youths in ARB
  • Using Frontline SMS to systematically share information can encourage behaviour change in the communities and increase knowledge, attitude and practice in a more responsible way.
  • The aim is also to subscribe youths to the system in the 13 communities, and then be able to send messages and receive feedback directly
  • Possibility of extending the project

Requirements

  • Frontline SMS software will be used to support the programme
  • Other software to make the work easier and faster, connect email
  • Get a Digicel Dongle etc
  • get a laptop, which will mean it can be used when touring to the communities

Budget

  • Messaging costs
  • networking costs
  • Mobile purchasing

Training

  • Will need training to set up and manage the Frontline SMS (the group suggested that New Dawn FM could be the training provider)

Other Inputs

  • Partners such as Health Services can provide inputs

Idea 4 : Bogenvil Meri Tede - reinforcing the messages

Each Wednesday, New Dawn FM broadcasts a learning programme in the BMT series. They will use FrontlineSMS to build a database of interested listeners (learners) and invite people to respond to quizzes.

New dawn plan to gain experience with the technology and managing costs initially, then to start trials supporting the BMT series.

The station also sees it's role as a training hub, to support their partners in their training needs, and assisting them in implementing the ideas listed above.

Activity 5 : Collaboration online

A demonstration of Google Groups and WikiEducator was given to the participants. Most participants had no experience of email. In this session the following was completed:

  • Awareness of email. Participants created Gmail accounts. In PNG the SMS validation system works OK.
  • Participants were joined to a new Google Group http://groups.google.com/group/bogenvil-meri-tede
  • A brief explanation of wikis and open licensing
  • A demonstration of the WikiEducator online tutorials so that interested participants can follow up
  • We updated this page together, as awareness of the common resource and potential to collaborate online on our ideas

Feedback and Information on progress

May 27 2011

New Dawn FM did a test of their FrontlineSMS system to see how well it works technically, and to get an indication of the effectiveness of the mode and how well it can engage with listeners. The test involved sending auto-replies with updates on the elections that were on-going at the time. Over 3 days the election counting is being carried out, People in rural areas are very interested in up to the minute updates. So New Dawn radio announced that listeners could SMS in with keyword UPDATE. The auto reply was updated repeatedly as results came in.

In the first night New Dawn received over 800 requests for updates, and thus they have proved the system really works well and will provide an effective way of reaching and engaging with listeners, and especially people involved in learning programmes.

Cost will be an issue. 800 SMSs sent in peak hours would cost 200 Kina (USD 50). In the case above, most requests were received during the night when the rate is reduced to almost free. The strategy will be to (a) investigate sponsorship for the service (i.e. the election results sponsored by candidates) and also use of premium numbers (i.e. they can earn revenues from the services) and (b) to seek short code free phone number from the providers.

June 6 2011

News bulletin on Pacific Islands Trade and Invest "Turning mobiles into mass media devices" http://www.pacifictradeinvest.com/wp/?p=801

Contacts

  • Aloysius Laukai, Director, New Dawn FM alaukai AT hotmail.com
  • Workshop facilitator David Leeming