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Media Sensitization Workshop

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 Media Sensitization Workshop on the AMANI AFRICA II Exercise, 6 – 8 July 2015, Pretoria, South Africa

Building Capacities for the African Standby Force
The Role of Strategic Communications and the Media
“Sometimes troublemakers, sometimes peacemakers… The media have a double-edged sword, especially in societies destabilized by conflict or in the processes of political changes. Entrenched behind their microphones or pens, journalists have the potential to incite hatred, provoke violent unrests, or deliberately manipulate information to serve a  war strategy. They can also deepen – in an unconsious, deliberate or perverse way – deep rifts within societies. On the other hand, media can contribute to building democracies, restoration of peace, political dialogue, turning former belligerents into key stakeholders in reconciliation processes.”
Source: Media et conflits – Marie-Soleil Frère

1 INTRODUCTION
The media serve as agenda setters, frame how people see an issue and influence how a conflict is perceived nationally and internationally and help to create lasting images of the causes and consequences of violent conflict and of the performance of regional and international actors in those conflicts.
Harnessing the power of media reports about regional or international conflicts should therefore be a high priority in any regional and international peacekeeping or peace enforcement intervention. They can help to promote an informed understanding of such missions and gain support for the regional or international actors. 
2 BACKGROUND
The African Union Commission is planning to conduct a field training exercise in October/November 2015 at the climax of an ongoing training cycle known as AMANI AFRICA II (meaning “peace in Africa,” in Kiswahili). The AMANI AFRICA II cycle aims to develop the African Standby Force (ASF) and ensure it reaches its full operational capability by 2015.
When the ASF is finally operational, it will consist of standby arrangements within Africa’s five sub-regions, composed of multidimensional capabilities (military, police and civilian), on standby in their countries of origin and ready for rapid deployment. This field training exercise will play a significant role in evaluating the readiness of the African Standby Force to respond swiftly to ensuing conflicts unhampered by any heavy political and instrumental burdens. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is scheduled to host the exercise.
The Exercise which had originally been scheduled for November 2014 in Lesotho was postponed due to the political and security situation during this period. South Africa under the auspices of Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), offered to host the Exercise paving the way for the implementation of the remaining activities that comprise the Exercise cycle.
The African Union (AU) Commission, as part of its commitment to keep the peoples of Africa abreast with ongoing efforts to address conflicts, has continued to strengthen its partnership with the African media through regular briefings and consultations.  In this regard, the Commission plans to conduct a media sensitization workshop in Pretoria, South Africa, from 6 - 8 July 2015 to engage journalists on various aspects of the exercise and more broadly, on the ASF. The media sensitization workshop is part of a series of preparatory activities designed to lay the groundwork for the successful conduct of the main AMANI AFRICA II Field Training Exercise.

3 THEMATIC FOCUS OF THE MEDIA WORKSHOP

3.1 Building Capacities for the African Standby Force: The Role of the Media
In October 2015, the African Union (AU) Commission plans to conduct the final activity in the AMANI AFRICA II Exercise Cycle. The Exercise code named ‘Amani Africa’ or ‘peace in Africa’ in Kiswahili, is designed to evaluate the operational readiness of the ASF and build requisite capacities to ensure its effectiveness beyond 2015.
The exercise represents a significant milestone in the development of the ASF and its Rapid Deployment Capability. One of the key components of the exercise planning involves the implementation of a media and advocacy strategy, which was developed in consultation with various stakeholders with a goal towards raising awareness about the exercise and generating goodwill and resources from stakeholders in support of its mandate.
This media sensitization workshop aims to equip African as well as international journalists covering conflicts and peace processes on the Continent with first-hand knowledge of the ongoing AMANI AFRICA II Exercise Cycle and its implications for the operationalization of the African Standby Force (ASF) by the end of 2015, in order that they may report on it comprehensively from an informed standpoint. 
3.2 Rationale
Peace operations do not generally succeed through the threat or actual use of military force alone. AU peace operations strive to combine ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ power to create peace and stability. This workshop aims to assess some of the challenges in implementing a modern strategic communications approach within the context of the upcoming Field Training Exercise, AMANI AFRICA II and within the context of the African Standby Force. It will also examine the tools and approaches required to ensure that a modern communications approach is embraced in future AU Peace Operations keeping in mind the range of new challenges and threats including asymmetric, technologically leveraged approaches used by non-state actors such as the Al-Shabaab.
In addition, the use of innovation and new media platforms as well as other technologically driven tools is critical. With the technological progress and social media culture that has developed, there is today the possibility of achieving a lot more with less when it comes to strategic communication - digital media, crowdsourcing and conflict mapping are all new features playing an increasingly important role for the success of peace operations. This requires knowledge but also a certain frame of mind best described as innovative and proactive rather than reactive. What tools can the AU draw upon to effectively communicate both internally and externally? What are the platforms that AU peacekeeping should target and what tools does it need to do so? 
The media workshop will explore innovative ways to communicate about the Exercise Cycle in the coming months and during the Field Training Exercise in October and November. It will also examine how to apply these tools when the ASF is finally operational and in future AU Peace Support Operations.
4 OBJECTIVES OF THE MEDIA WORKSHOP
4.1 Overall Goal
The overall goal of this workshop is to build on, and sustain the dialogue initiated between the AU Commission and the media on the APSA, AU’s blueprint for the structural prevention and resolution of conflicts. The workshop will focus on one of its central pillars, the ASF, and narrow in on the planned field training exercise, AMANI AFRICA II, which has been designed to evaluate its operational readiness.
4.2 Specific objectives
    • Increase public awareness and develop a better understanding of the AMANI AFRICA II cycle as well as other pertinent AU tools and approaches for addressing conflicts, through actively engaging the media sector;
    • Strengthen media relations by bridging the gaps between media practitioners and AU experts in the area of peace and security;
    • Contribute to changing the existing narratives on the AU by empowering African media with the requisite knowledge of its tools and approaches in order to enable them effectively present the African realities and perspectives on conflicts in their reporting;
    • Contribute to enhancing the media coverage on the ASF, in terms of;
      • Increase in content;
      • Depth of analysis; and
      • Accuracy of reporting.
    • Expand the collaborative approach of engaging the media in order to confront shared challenges to peace and security on the continent.
    • Explore optimal use of innovative approaches and available new media tools to communicate about the Exercise and the ASF.
5 EXPECTED OUTCOMES
    • A better understanding of the AU’s mechanisms for promoting peace, security and stability in the African continent particularly the AMANI AFRICA II Exercise Cycle within the context of the ASF and the APSA; 
    • A marked increase in the frequency and the accuracy of media coverage of these mechanisms beyond the conclusion of the workshop leading up to the FTX in October/November 2015;
6 METHODOLOGY

6.1 Workshop Format
The AMANI AFRICA II media sensitization workshop will employ the Livingstone Formula, an existing framework for collaboration between the AU and non-state actors, to allow media professionals and AU experts revisit different aspects of their collaboration.
The workshop will, first, take stock of where the main challenges lie in strategic communications and the African Standby Force (ASF) today; and second, explore best practices from the world of strategic communications both outside and inside the AU.
In an effort to generate positive and meaningful discourse on Africa’s capacity to address conflicts effectively through the ASF, the workshop will be structured so as to allow for technical briefings by the relevant AU experts as well sufficient time for a discussion and deliberation on among others, the upcoming AMANI AFRICA II Exercise.
The opening session of the workshop will be live-streamed by the AU peace and security department. The link to access the webcast will be distributed in due course. Participants are encouraged to share information about the workshop through their respective networks. 
The hashtag for the event is #AMANIAFRICA, @ AU_PSD,
The AU peace and security department Facebook and Twitter will be active throughout the workshop. The Peace and Security website (www.peaceau.org) will be updated with information including photos after the workshop.
6.2 Participation and Funding
The workshop will be attended by 30 journalists selected according to their areas of specialization cutting across the main functions of media including broadcast, print press and online media. Participants will also include members of the press accredited to the AU Commission and representatives of the Press Attaché’s of AU Member States based in Addis Ababa.
Diversity will be the watchword during the planned media workshop and a conscious effort has been made to include media representation from the five regions of the continent and the Diaspora.
Facilitators will include representation from the ASF and the AMANI AFRICA II Core Planning Team as well as communications officers from the Commission and key actors from the host region (SADC), the host country (South Africa), the UN and the EU as well as other international partners who are supporting the exercise cycle.
The sessions are structured in a manner that promotes maximum participation, allowing participants enough time to interact with one another and share ideas. It includes formal presentations, informal discussions and plenary discussions (refer to for the full programme below). 
The AU alongside SADC and the Host Nation will organize this workshop in partnership with the partners involved.

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