Advice on mobilising for change from Zoe Titus
By Jamaine Krige
Press freedom does not just mean freedom for the press. Rather, press freedom means that citizens can access information freely, as facilitated by media practitioners. This according to Zoe Titus, who works as strategic coordinator at the Namibia Media Trust, who was in conversation with frayintermedia CEO Paula Fray on the fifth episode of Change Voices, a weekly podcast focusing on leadership through the eyes of diverse women from Africa and beyond.
“The freedom of the press is every individual’s freedom,” she explained. “I mean, I take it from the perspective that every citizen has the right to a free press and an independent, pluralistic and diverse press. It’s a fundamental right for every citizen, not for the media itself.”
Over the past two decades, Titus has dedicated her time and efforts to the advancement of media freedom and media development in Southern Africa. She has spearheaded projects and campaigns to provide practical support for journalists working in danger zones, and has advocated for changes in policy. This, she says, is necessary to ensure an enabling environment and frameworks that support a vibrant and independent media sector the region.
This is important work. “The media is central to our lives and the way in which we receive information is via one or another type of media,” she explains. “We should all be aware of the type of information we receive and how we receive it, and then also support the people who make it possible for us to receive it.”
In order for the media to bring important information to the fore, they need to be supported and protected. “They need a facilitating and enabling environment, which is why press freedom is fundamentally important to the lives of every citizen,” she said.
For this reason, her work does not just target policymakers and legislators and media practitioners, but also members of the public. The Namibian Media Trust does more than advocacy work to ensure a free and fair media — it also runs digital and media literacy campaigns to make sure that people know their rights when it comes to news and information. “We require citizens to be critical about the information they receive and that is why these parallel campaigns are so important,” said Titus.
In order to bring about real change as she battled for press freedom, Titus had to understand the process of mobilising for change — a key tool in the arsenal of any activist.
But what does it mean to mobilise for change?
First, says Titus, you need a long-term vision, which includes knowing what change you are mobilising for. This, according to her, means it is not enough to know what you want to achieve — you must also recognise that driving real social change needs sustained, long-term efforts.
By knowing what needs to be achieved, one can then decide how to go about implementing programmes and projects to drive sentiment towards that change. This knowledge is also important in order to decide on a strategy, whether it be social behaviour change communication, advocacy, mobilisation, litigation, media relations or even awareness-drives.
When mobilising for social change it is important to direct the right type of message at the right audience — it is not wise to assume a one-size-fits-all approach. One way to narrow the audience is to set specific campaign goals, which will help guide the message and the audience choice.
These steps described by Titus are common in most communication campaigns. One first has to understand the problem, then set an objective, identify the audience and define the message. Only then are tactics selected to best engage the audience and the message.
But according to Titus, this is not where the process ends. Mobilising for real, sustained social change entails reviewing the campaign, monitoring the progress and responses and evaluating the effectiveness of the message. Based on the information, the campaign or project can then be adjusted for increased impact. For this reason, says Titus, a long-term view is not enough if we are not dynamic to the campaign’s changing needs.
Mobilisation also has the additional step of building a coalition of partners or network of people and organisations who can help sustain the change in the long run. “From my 22 or 23 years in this industry, you cannot work in isolation. The more partners you have and the more diverse those partners are, the better your campaigns will be because you can get a lot done with very little resources,” she explained. Civil society and other NGO’s or advocacy groups are the obvious choice when partnering, but Titus suggests an even broader network than that.
But, she says, this does not mean that your partners must be aligned or in agreement about every aspect of the work you do. “Be strategic and never undermine the importance of people who do not necessarily agree with you,” she said. “I previously worked in organisations involved in advocacy work and advocacy did not engage with government, but now we know that governments are among the main transgressors of media freedom and freedom of expression.” For this reason, she says, it is necessary to engage and build relationships with governments and policymakers.
She says marginalised people and organisations on the fringes of society are equally important as those who are central to society. “They are increasingly important because ultimately those are the people who need the freedom to express themselves, and they bring diverse views from diverse fields.” According to her, faith-based organisations should also not be overlooked when forming partnerships.
Her advice to other women hoping to mobilise for social change, especially in traditionally male-dominated industries, would be to keep the long-term goal in sight and use the networks available. “When you network, you open yourself up to learning, and I learn something new every day. Everything is interlinked, so go out there and network — it can only enrich your life.”
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