Coalitions for Change: Collective action, better media ecosystems
This learning brief outlines what coalitions are, how they work, success factors and challenges, key ingredients for coalition building and the role of international media development agencies.
Collective action, freer media
“It’s not about forming an institution – but a platform upon which the collective good is advanced.” Tabani Moyo, Director of MISA Zimbabwe and former chair of the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe.
In most walks of life, people work together to protect or push for something they all value. The media is no exception, particularly in fragile and repressive environments where the odds are usually stacked against those looking to advance and defend the public’s right to know what’s going on.
Over the years, IMS has gained considerable experience of coalitions of local, regional and international organisations with shared interests who work together to effect positive change in media environments around the world. Which is why IMS was selected to lead the coalition building efforts of the Protecting Independent Media for Effective Development (PRIMED) programme – itself a joint initiative of six prominent media development organisations that aims to strengthen the resilience of public interest media in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.
The pooled knowledge and experience of these agencies and their partners is the basis for recently published learning materials about coalition building that IMS has produced on behalf of the PRIMED programme.
The main learning brief outlines what coalitions are, how they work, success factors and challenges, key ingredients for coalition building and the role of international media development agencies. It also includes a generic theory of change, six case studies of coalitions in different parts of the world, and a list of related reports and other information.
There are also five short interviews with experts involved in a variety of media freedom coalitions, including video with representatives from PRIMED, IMS and the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe, as well as a blog post by the author of the learning brief, Michael Randall, in which he reflects on the role of international organisations like IMS in coalition building.
