Media Workshops in Central America

Carlos Mauricio Flores, Editor of El Heraldo, Honduras, at the Catholic University of Honduras in Tegucigalpa talking on NGO media strategies

Three practical workshops on communication in development were recently taken at the Catholic University in Tegucigalpa, the Central American University in San Salvador and The National Autonomous University in Managua. The students are all working in NGO management and the workshops were practical and skill-based.

The course covered participatory video for advocacy and development, internet tools, and strategies for media relations.

Participatory video is a useful tool in the project management cycle for participatory needs assessment, for generating debate in educational use, as a high-impact medium for fundraising and also for project reporting.

Students all became familiar with using the camera and participatory dynamics.The use of video in changing the balance of power, for protection in moments of vulnerability, for recording meetings with officials, and techniques of narrowcasting for advocacy were also covered.

Students at the Universidad Centro Americana José Simeon Cañas setting up e-mail distribution lists.

Setting up online discussion groups and distribution lists, using free Spanish language services, the students gained powerful tools for their organisations.

Local journalists were invited to take part in round table discussions about strategies for media relations. Distinguished journalists who took part in often lively debate included Mayra Navarro of Univision, Yuri Mora of Abriendo Brecha, Carlos Mauricio Flores Editor of El Heraldo, Eric Lemus of Diario de Hoy, Manuel Espinoza Executive Director of Channel 37 and Arlen Hernández of Radio Primerísima. The workshops were directly funded by APSO the Irish Aid Agency for Personel Service Overseas, and run by Sean Hawkey of WACC staff.

Manuel Espinoza, Director of Channel 37 and Arlen Hernández of Radio Primerísima talk to students about how to use the media, at PROCOMIN, UNAN in Managua..