AFRO-NETS> The Drum Beat-114-Communication News, Development News,Base Line

["Warren Feek" <wfeek@comminit.com>]

The Drum Beat - 114 - Communication News, Development News, Base Line
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Join the Email Debate on HIV/AIDS Communication & Evaluation

You are invited to participate in an on-line debate on the future of 
HIV/AIDS Communication, and particularly the challenges of evaluation 
in this field. The debate is designed particularly to help inform the 
agenda and discussions of a forthcoming meeting of the Communication 
for Development Roundtable, being organised by UNFPA in association 
with UNESCO and the Rockefeller Foundation and facilitated by the 
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details and to join the debate.

***

This Drum Beat pulls together compelling stories from The C. I. Home 
Page http://www.comminit.com from Aug 2 to Sept 27 2001. The Home 
Page includes 3 sections - Development News, Communication News and 
Base Line. We find relevant information, usually from sources that 
you won't see in the mainstream media. Links are provided for more 
information. Stories change every Tuesday and Friday. They are ar-
chived at http://www.comminit.com/tempo.html, 
http://www.comminit.com/about-time.html, and 
http://www.comminit.com/base_line.html. Please take a look, let us 
know what you think and send us your stories and information. 
Contact: mailto:cmorry@comminit.com

[NB - 2 of the links below may be 'broken'. You may need to paste the 
2nd half of the link into your browser. Please contact 
mailto:cmorry@comminit.com if you are unable to access]

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COMMUNICATION NEWS
Archived & searchable
http://www.comminit.com/tempo.html

1. Do Environmental Films Help the Environment?
http://www.mediarights.org/news/article.php?art_id=00014
July 27 2001 MediaRights.org. Karen Hirsch writes about how environ-
mentalists are making video and film to stimulate activism for a 
cleaner planet. Using portraits of impassioned activist-producers, 
she demonstrates how independent film and video can galvanize public 
opinion on the environment. Whether made by citizens shooting wobbly 
VHS footage or award-winning filmmakers, Hirsch argues video and film 
are essential tools for the environmental movement.

2. Young Men & HIV: Culture, Poverty & Sexual Risk
http://www.panos.org.uk/
Aug 2 2001 Panos. This new report, jointly published by Panos and 
UNAIDS, argues for the need to target young men in the ongoing battle 
against HIV/AIDS. The Report is now available online at 
http://www.panos.org.uk and can be downloaded as a PDF file. Printed 
copies are available free to the media and to resource-poor NGO's
contact: mailto:kellyh@panoslondon.org.uk to order free copies. 
Copies otherwise available for o5.00 
contact: mailto:colletteb@panoslondon.org.uk 

3. 'Diaries' Sought to Share the Impacts of the Attacks on the US on 
People Around the World
http://www.megastories.com/about/letter.shtml
Sept 17 2001 Out There News. 'Whether you're in NYC trying to come to 
terms with the attack, an Afghan farmer terrified that retaliation 
will wipe you out, a Palestinian worried about what the Israelis will 
do while diplomatic backs are turned, or a Muslim living in a Western 
country fearing a new wave of prejudice' - Out There News would like 
you to keep and share your thoughts in a diary about how the attacks 
have and will effect you. 
E-mail contributions to mailto:diaryroom@outtherenews.com

4. Interview with the American Public 
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/issue_SeptOct_2001/kull.html
Sept 19 2001 Foreign Policy magazine has prepared an 'interview' with 
the American public that looks at how they view foreign policy, the 
UN, global trade, foreign aid and threats to the US.  They found that 
American opinion defies easy categorisation because 'they refuse to 
submit to simplistic choices'. Work is currently underway on a report 
covering the public's attitudes toward terrorism over the last decade 
and its reaction to the current crisis.

5. Talking With Kids About the News
http://www.talkingwithkids.org/index.html
Talking With Kids. As adults 'The News' is a primary source for in-
formation about the world. Regardless of its format - newspaper, TV, 
radio, or Web site, graphic footage and accounts of the world are de-
livered 24 hours a day. This constant barrage can be overwhelming for 
adults, but it can be especially confusing and frightening for young 
children. Talking with Kids About the News - 
http://www.talkingwithkids.org/television/twk-news.html - presents 
ideas on how to discuss difficult news with children and help them to 
understand it in context.

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Development News
Archived & searchable
http://www.comminit.com/about-time.html

6. Chocolate Industry Prepares to Fight 'Slave-free' Labels 
http://www.globalmarch.org/clns/daily-news/july-29-4-aug-2001/august-
1-2001.html

Aug 1 2001 Child Labour News Service. The chocolate industry and its 
allies are mounting an intense lobbying campaign to fight off U.S. 
legislation that would lead to 'slave free' labels for their prod-
ucts. The proposed legislation is a response to a Knight Ridder in-
vestigation that found that some boys as young as 11 are sold or 
tricked into slavery to harvest cocoa beans in Ivory Coast, which 
supplies 43% of U.S. cocoa.

7. China's 'Vast' Blood Donor AIDS Crisis Deepens
http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/08/09/china_aids010809
Aug 9 2001 CBC News. Half the populations of some villages in China's 
central provinces are said to be dead or dying from AIDS. While the 
government has finally admitted the problem exists, critics say the 
move is cosmetic. Up to 500,000 people were infected with HIV in the 
mid-to-late 1990s by selling their plasma to government run blood 
banks which pooled donated blood, removed the plasma, then injected 
the blood back into the donors. See also 
http://www.comminit.com/AboutTimeArchives/sld-1685.html


8. A World of Overlapping Communities of Fate
http://www.opendemocracy.net/forum/document_details.asp?CatID=95&DocI
D=648
Sept 14 2001 Open democracy. David Held, a leading theorist of glob-
alisation looks at the new century's first defining moment. Instead 
of further arbitrary violence, he calls for an International Commis-
sion on global terrorism modelled on the Nuremberg and Tokyo war tri-
bunals and working under the authority of a revitalised UN. Held be-
lieves that we need to 'reframe human activity and entrench it in 
law, rights and responsibilities'. Comments on his views are welcome 
at http://www.opendemocracy.net/forum/strands_home.asp

9. Landmark Victory for Indians in International Human Rights Case 
Against Nicaragua
http://www.indianlaw.org/iachr_decision.htm
Sept 17 2001 Indian Law Resource Centre. The Mayagna Indian community 
of Awas Tingni has won a major legal battle against the Government of 
Nicaragua. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has declared that 
Nicaragua violated the human rights of the Awas Tingni Community and 
ordered the government to recognize and protect the community's legal 
rights to its traditional lands, natural resources, and environment. 
The court's decision has far-reaching implications and could spark 
many similar disputes across the Americas.


10. Sept 11: Global Views from Women
http://www.iwtc.org/
Sept 25 2001 Women's GlobalNet. This newsletter contains quotes from 
women around the world commenting on 'the need for immediate and 
long-term solutions in an unequal world capable of producing such 
violent acts of rage'. They also 'reflect the growing determination 
of women to be part of the decision-making processes that will shape 
our next steps'. Another source of reflective women's voices on Sept 
11 and its aftermath can be found at 
http://www.peacewomen.org/

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BASE LINE
Archived & searchable
http://www.comminit.com/base_line.html


11. Afghanistan
Source: 
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/480fa8736b88bbc3c12564f6004c8ad5/5
070713dc40a8260c1256aca0054b7c5?OpenDocument
Relief Web Deutsche Presse Agentur - U.N's. food agency says 5 mil-
lion Afghanis at risk of starvation

* 5 million Afghanis (about 20% of the population) are at risk of 
starvation this winter and no food aid is now getting into the coun-
try with the pull out of UN World Food Programme personnel.

* There are 1.5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and a further 1.5 
million in Iran.

* About 600,000 Afghanis are displaced within their own country.
* 85% of the population depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
* 70% are regarded as malnourished.
* As many as 20% of children in certain drought-affected districts
   die before they are 5 and the average life expectancy is 40.

12. Small Arms - Key Facts
http://www.iwtc.org/174.html
Source: IWTC Women's GlobalNet #174

* 500 million small arms and light weapons exist in the world. 
* 40% of these are illegal. 
* 500,000 - 700,000 people are killed each year by small arms and
   light weapons - more than the number who died in of the nuclear
   bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 
* There are no global laws to control the flow of weapons to drug 
dealers, terrorists or areas of conflict.

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This issue compiled by 
Chris Morry 
mailto:cmorry@comminit.com

***

The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for de-
velopment activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement 
or support by The Partners. 

Please send material for 
The Drum Beat to the Editor  
Deborah Heimann 
mailto:dheimann@comminit.com


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