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Next Generation Deshodaya: COVID Recovery Micro Projects
Communication campaigns to raise awareness, counter hate speech and spread constructive narratives through social media channels as well as traditional media.
The AHA project has a strong focus on the use of media to advance social cohesion and prevent hate speech and discrimination by developing an effective communication material package and overall strategic communication campaign for dissemination and amplification of messages. A total of twenty-two audio, video communication productions were made during the period up to March 2021.
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The Next Generation Deshodaya project was initiated to facilitate the development of a network of youth leaders who could participate in the political, economic, and social sectors to strengthen democracy in their respective communities. The project has been operating before the pandemic and the second phase was planned during the time of the second wave. A key component of the deliverables had been to motivate the Fellows to implement a 'Participatory Action Research' (PAR) project, and the project had to re-design the initiative to fit the changing context. Having re-aligned the original proposals the project team conducted a community needs assessment to understand the needs of the community they intended to serve. In so doing, the 'COVID Recovery Micro Projects' (CRMPs) were introduced and implemented in the selected Next Generation Fellowship program areas which represented a broad cross-section of Sri Lankan society. The Northern cluster included Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Mannar districts. The Central cluster included, Kandy, Nuwaraeliya and Matale districts. The Southern Cluster included Galle, Matara and Hambantota districts. The project is implemented in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
Social Media Awareness Programme
A peer-to-peer initiative where, fellows guided by fellows was initiated to run a social media campaign. In this activity, project team and coordinators at the district level continued their support to design and post messages to raise public awareness on COVID-19, sourcing information from approved government channels. Parallel to this process an advocacy campaign was introduced district and national wise.
COVID-19 related stickers and banners were designed and distributed in respective districts to promote awareness efforts in their communities. Fellows took the initiative in promoting posters and stickers in public spaces. These were also affixed in public transport, rickshaws, and other publicly utilized vehicles. To conduct these activities, the fellows had to partner with their local authorities such as public health officials and their local police.
Community Needs Assessment
Fellows had the opportunity to conduct a community needs assessment with the guidance provided by resource personnel. The programme included three training sessions, i.e., data collection, data analysis and presentation skills. Successful completion paved way for them to earn a certificate in recognition of their learning. Digital data collection platforms such as KOBO connect had been utilised as base software for the process. They completed trainings in community needs assessment, digital tools, sampling techniques and frameworks, data analysis and report generation. Resources had been provided to present the results of the assessment. Under the guidance of the
