Welcome to CENFACS’ online diary!

25 October 2017

This week is full of user-centred engaging and poverty relief driven contents at CENFACS.  The week started with the continuation of A la Une campaign with AIR POLLUTION resurfacing as our fortnightly focal area of this Autumn environmental campaign. 

The week is also about reporting or briefing you about the findings or KEY OUTCOMES made about the two programmes we reviewed together before Summer holidays, which are: The Twenty-tens Poverty Reduction programme and Communications for Better Change programme. 

Finally, it is in two days time that we will hold our October HISTORY project – Making Memorable Difference; project that concretises October month as the HISTORY one at CENFACS.   

I. A la Une: REDUCING AIR POLLUTION (Week beginning 23 October 2017)

HALVING THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY AND VULNERABLE TO AIR POLLUTION

In Spring 2017, we advocated and appealed, under Halving Poverty campaign, for HALVING the NUMBERS of CHILDREN VULNERABLE to AIR POLLUTION.  AIR POLLUTION is still an environmental issue of major concern.  It is the world’s deadliest environmental problems. 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), “the cost of a polluted environment is 1.7 MILLION CHILD DEATHS A YEAR”.  (www.who.int/6 March 2017).  The WHO also argued that “More than 1 IN 4 DEATHS of CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE are attributable to unhealthy environment”.  In one of the two Spring 2017 published reports by the same WHO, report entitled “Don’t pollute my future.  The Impact of the environment on children’s heath”, AIR POLLUTION is amongst the TOP 5 CAUSES OF DEATH in CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS linked to the environment.  The report states that “EVERY YEAR 570,000 CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS DIE from respiratory infections such as pneumonia, attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution, and second-hand smoke”.  African children also make these numbers.  

The above shows that there is a need to tackle the adverse effects of air pollution on children.  Some cities across the world are taking action against AIR POLLUTION, like London that has recently introduced a TOXICITY CHARGE of £10 against toxic cars to combat AIR POLLUTION.  Campaigners against AIR POLLUTION can hope that other polluting cities across the world will follow suit.  

You can help together with CENFACS HALVE THE NUMBERS OF CHILDREN living in poverty and vulnerable to AIR POLLUTION.

YOU CAN DONATE £5 TO HALVE POVERTY WITH CENFACS AND CREATE A TREBLE IMPACT: IMPACTS ON A CHILD, ON A FAMILY AND ON THE ENVIRONMENT.

To donate and or for further details about HALVING POVERTY CAMPAIGN, contact CENFACS

II.1 CENFACS AND THE NEW MEDIA AND DIGITAL PROGRAMMES – Key Outcomes

The New Media and Digital Programmes (NMDPs) take over our Communication for Better Change Programme (CBCP).  After ten years of experience of the CBCP, it is now time for us to move on and look at in different angles the way in which we communicate our poverty relief messages.  The findings or KEY OUTCOMES of the reviews on CBCP have shown that the logical step in the CENFACS’ process of communicating with all stakeholders is to embrace the digital world and integrates the new forms of media (the social media platforms) in our communication, connection and networking strategies and channels.  It is the integration of both online and offline marketing communications of CENFACS.   

Having said that what are the NMDPs?

NMDPs are a three-year series of planned communication projects and activities involving the use of digital technologies and social media platforms helping to enhance CENFACS’ online and offline messages and campaigns with the aim of reducing poverty and improving the quality of life.   It is the digitalisation and social mediatisation of CENFACS’ processes and overall way of doing development work.  The programmes, which complement the offline side of our print communication, use a multi-channel approach to achieve their end; approach which includes: social media networks, email technologies, mobile internet and sites, online and print media, website, online and offline advertising etc.

Like any project or activity, the NMDPs require support of various forms which could include: funding, trading, training, volunteering, knowledge sharing, legacies (in the form of IT, media and digital technologies) as well as the development of means for interacting with our supporters and for serving our users.  This development of means include app, mobile site, hub and kiosk for poverty relief etc.  

To support the NMDPs, please contact CENFACS 

II.2 THE 2010s PROGRAMME: Revised Version (2017 to 2019) – Key Points

The findings and consensus reached after the Twenty-tens Minus 2 (2010s-2) Evaluation, Review and Survey were as follows. 

In order to continue to meet the current and emerging needs of users, we need

• To integrate some of the elements of Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 30 into the Revised Version of the Twenty-tens without forgetting Africa’s Agenda 2063
• To integrate digital and social media dimensions into the Revised Version
• To adapt the Revised Version with the demands or requirements of the Post-Regional Economic Integration and Development era

The above are the KEY POINTS from the reviews; points which will be implemented progressively as per the implementation plan we have organised.    

Again like any project or activity, the Twenty-tens Programme Revised Version needs support.

To support the Revised Version of the 2010s Programme, please contact CENFACS. 

Supporting information about CENFACS 2010s Poverty Reduction, The Twenty-tens Minus 2 Evaluation and Reviews, The Twenty Minus 2 Survey

For those who do not know anything about the 2010s Programme, we have provided some basic information about it as follows.

a. CENFACS 2010s Poverty Reduction Programme

The 2010s Poverty Reduction Programme is a rolling 10 year work plan that began on 1 January 2010 and will end on 31 December 2019 and aiming at improving the quality of life for those people living in poverty.  It is indeed a 10-year advocacy programme of work and a strategically review, renewed commitment and engagement with stakeholders, and innovative and visionary approach to dealing with those old problems, new and emerging challenges brought by poverty in Africa

b. The Twenty-tens Minus 2 (2010s – 2) Evaluation and Reviews

The 2010s-2 Evaluation is an examination about the worth, quality, significance, amount, degree and conditions of this programme since its inception in 2010. 

The 2010s-2 Review is a record tracking and reappraisal of the same programme by considering the objectives set up in relation to the progress made and areas of improvement and completion.

c. The Twenty-tens Minus 2 Survey

This brief survey, which is part of CENFACS’ Poverty Reduction in the 2010s programme, was designed to capture and communicate the impacts of the 2010s programme or at least to collect users/stakeholders’ views and experience regarding the selected projects and activities that made this programme so far.

To get additional details about the above, please contact CENFACS.

III. MAKING MEMORABLE DIFFERENCE: The Communicators of the African History

October is the History month in CENFACS development calendar.  We normally remember the African history through Making Memorable Difference (MMD) project.  At the beginning of this month, we provided MMD timeline since its inception in 2009.  

What is MMD? 

MMD is

• a two-day event of Awareness, Thought and Recognition set up by CENFACS in 2009 to celebrate the Black History Month in our own way and feeling while preserving the tradition linked to this remembrance and standing on the shoulders of similar celebrations

• a historic project of collective memory about works carried out, heritage and legacies left by Africans

• all about collectively telling, acknowledging, studying and learning that every day Africans wherever they are (in Africa) or elsewhere (in the UK-Croydon and the world) are striving to improve the quality of their lives and of others. Through their historically valuable works, they are MAKING MEMORABLE DIFFERENCE and the world a better place for everybody, including the generations to come

• a celebration of African Abilities, Talents, Skills and Gifts to Africa and the world

As we are in the Year of Communications at CENFACS, this year’s dedicated two days (of 27 and 28 October 2017) are the days of historical study, analysis and skill recognition and celebration of the legacies left by Africans in the history of communications in Africa.  We will search on the Communicators of the African History.  So, ways of communicating in the history of Africa, of transmitting the history of Africa from generations to generations as well as the legacies of the Communicators of History in helping to reduce poverty; all these are our sharing and engaging contents this October.  We shall investigate on their contribution to Africa’s transformative development since the colonial era.

27 October 2017: IDENTIFICATION & IMPLICATIONS DAY

We shall IDENTIFY the means of communications (e.g. oral tradition, papyrus) and their respective roles in Africa’s history before the telephone and telegram technologies were introduced and their IMPLICATIONS for the new generations in understanding Africa’s history today. 

28 October 2017: LEGACIES & GIFTS DAY

We shall find out how communications and communicators of the time contributed to poverty reduction in Africa of pre-IT, pre-digital and pre-internet technological eras.  Likewise, we will celebrate the empowering capacity of communications in lifting people out of poverty as well as the LEGACIES and GIFTS of the African Communicators of history. 

To engage with this year’s MMD theme and or support this project, please contact CENFACS on this site. 

Thank you for supporting us and reading this post.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits to CENFACS website and continuing support.

With many thanks!