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Although the main purpose of CASP’s work is to develop a comprehensive Master Plan for the reconstruction of Ampara District, our Rebuild Ampara District Communication Sub-Project is of great importance to:
- enhance information sharing,
- publicize the reconstruction activities of the many organisations working in the region,
- and to engage beneficiaries in this process.
Indeed, with the widespread coordination and communications needs in the wake of the tsunami, we feel it is to everyone's benefit to:
- bring together organisations and to provide them with a forum to disseminate information,
- discuss concerns,
- and further enhance the cooperation that can contribute to successful results in the reconstruction of Ampara District.
This is why we are inviting you and your organisation to become involved in what we're trying to accomplish through our Rebuild Ampara Communications Programme!
In moving towards these goals, CASP has developed various communications vehicles to help spread the word about...
- what has been done,
- what is being done now,
- and what still needs to be accomplished in the future
...to recover not only from the devastation of the December 2004 tsunami, but also from the damages that have been wrought by over two decades of conflict in the area. Your contribution to these goals can be as simple as:
- providing your contact information for our contacts database,
- to submitting stories about your activities and/or concerns,
- to participating in our quarterly video documentaries, our weekly radio show, or monthly Tamil newspaper stories, or other offerings.
Before we describe the specific tools we are using in our Communications Programme, we should also note that all of these materials are freely distributable and are licensed solely under a Creative Commons License. This dictates that all materials may be used by anyone as long as they are not profited from (i.e. one cannot sell these materials) or have their meaning changed. Following is an inventory of the major communications vehicles being organized by CASP for the Rebuild Ampara project.
Rebuild Ampara Website
What is it?
The Rebuild Ampara project website (www.rebuildampara.com) has been developed to inform people, including but not limited to NGOs, donors, and beneficiaries, as to what our project is about and what has and will be accomplished in the reconstruction of Ampara District. It contains background information on the situation in Ampara District, as well as links to Partners, relevant News, and other information. It is also the central core from which our blog and video elements extend (see subsequent sections).
How can your organisation become involved?
- We encourage organisations that are active or have an interest in the reconstruction activities in Ampara District to submit their contact information to us so that we can include it in our Links section and/or Contacts Database. Information for these listing would include:
- Organisation Name,
- Address/Location,
- Contact Person,
- and Website/Email.
- As work progresses, there may be organisations with whom we develop as Partners in different areas, and we would like to further highlight these organisations in the Partners section of our website.
- If you have any additional information you feel would enhance our website, such as statistics and other information for inclusion in our Ampara District background section, we would be happy to add this to our website.
Rebuild Ampara Blog
What is it?
The Rebuild Ampara Communications Team is constantly posting news, stories, and photos relating to the work being done in Ampara District on our project blog (rebuildampara.blogspot.com). Here we provide information on a wide variety of subjects and activities, as well as creating a potential forum for discussion through the Comments threads attached to each article. The Rebuild Ampara Blog is where frequently updated and broadly applicable information can be found on the reconstruction activities in Ampara District.
How can your organisation become involved?
- The Rebuild Ampara blog was created as a tool not just for CASP but for all organisations in the District who wish to disseminate information online that can help in understanding the challenges at hand in Ampara District, and perhaps provide a means to provide solutions to the many challenges being faced. Further to this, we encourage article submissions from your organisation, whether these be standalone stories that should be shared with others, or additions to stories that we have already posted.
- If you have a story you feel needs to be told but aren't sure that you have the time or means to tell it, simply contact the Rebuild Ampara Communications Team and we can arrange for coverage, including interviews and photographs (possibly supplemented by audio and video - see below), so that we can tell your story for you.
- We also feel that there is great value in creating a dialogue that can supplement and extend the usefulness of the articles published on the blog. Comments by readers and submitters are therefore heartily encouraged and appreciated.
Rebuild Ampara Videos
What is it?
Each quarter, the Rebuild Ampara Communications Team produces a video whose purpose is to:
- share the experiences of those living and working in Ampara District,
- and to communicate to donors, NGOs, and others the needs that must be addressed, as well as the great work that has been accomplished to date.
Seeing and hearing this information through these videos provides a powerful method to convey information that may not be easily understood through other means. Every three months we take another look at how the situation in Ampara District is progressing through a series of interviews and additional footage that brings the viewer as close to the situation as possible without actually being in Sri Lanka. These videos can also be provided to international media and other communications interests on a complementary basis for inclusion or background in their reconstruction stories on Ampara District.
How can your organisation become involved?
- We are always looking for great stories in any medium, but by capturing your organisation's activities or concerns on video, we can provide the richest coverage possible. We can supplement interviews with on-location shots, website cutaways, and other audio and/or video content that can enhance your story beyond what can be easily accomplished through print or even radio. Because of the crew required to conduct such shoots, we need to plan our video coverage well in advance, but we can also supplement this with print, photo, and audio coverage which can be provided on much shorter notice.
- As with our radio program, if your organisation has already produced video content that you would like our assistance in disseminating through our quarterly video series, then we would be happy to receive and review such materials for inclusion in a subsequent episode of the Rebuild Ampara videos.
Rebuild Ampara Radio Show
What is it?
Whereas the blog provides one aspect of our project's print communications, we also recognize that one of the easiest ways to communicate information to beneficiaries in Ampara District , given issues with transportation and electronic infrastructure, is through the radio. Further to this, we have created the Rebuild Ampara Radio Show which is produced weekly by our Media Team and is broadcast at 1:30 p.m. every Sunday on Pirai-FM in Tamil. This program is widely listened to, and each week we receive 200-300 letters in response to a small listeners’ context we have.
How can your organisation become involved?
- Just as we welcome your stories on our blog, we also welcome them on our radio show. We can conduct interviews in English or Tamil and are happy to have you come to our studio to be interviewed or we can alternately come to you with our portable audio equipment so as to remove any transportation or other barriers you might have. Once again, the important thing is that your story be told and heard by as many people as possible.
- If your organisation has already produced audio content that you would like our assistance in disseminating through our radio show, then we would be happy to receive and review such materials for inclusion in a subsequent episode of our radio show.
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Share Your Stories
There is a variety of ways you can share your stories through our...
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