Verena Thomas

Relational accountability in Indigenizing visual research for participatory communication

This article argues that an indigenous approach to communication research allows us to re-think academic approaches of engaging in and evaluating participatory communication research. It takes as its case study the Komuniti Tok Piksa project undertaken in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The project explores ways in which visual methods when paired with a community action approach embedded within an indigenous framework can be used to facilitate social change through meaningful participation. It involves communities to narrate their experiences in regard to HIV and AIDS and assists them in designing and recording their own messages. Local researchers are trained in using visual tools to facilitate this engagement with the communities.

Media and public health communication at the grassroots: Village cinemas and HIV education in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea has been experiencing a rapid influx of audio-visual media and mobile communication technologies. People living in remote communities are finding their own ways to access these media away from traditional mass media channels. The rapidly changing media landscape presents both challenges and opportunities to health communication initiatives, and creates a need for evidence-informed and adaptable approaches to health communication. This chapter investigates village cinemas (haus piksa or CD haus in Tok Pisin) as sites for HIV/AIDS message distribution in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. While doing so, the chapter adopts a case-study approach in attempting to assess the potential of distributing edutainment material to audiences in the PNG Highlands via CD houses in their local villages. The chapter argues that understanding local behaviors of media consumption is critical for the design and implementation of public health communication initiatives.

A review of the Pacific media landscape: A baseline study

This article draws upon the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) State of Media and Communication Report to examine the implications of a changing media landscape for journalism practice in the Pacific region. The report contributes to an understanding of the diverse media and communications environments in the Pacific Islands (PI) region and captures aspects of the variations both in media, and in context, across and within the 14 Pacific Islands countries. This article highlights the need for synergies in the Pacific Islands to strengthen legislation, capacity-building initiatives and content production in a fast-changing digital environment.