PANOS RESEARCH LIBRARY

With famine in the Horn of Africa and food prices close to a three-year high, hunger is the issue of our time. The Global Hunger Index, which measures and tracks hunger around the world, launched this week with a focus on price spikes and food price volatility.

Meanwhile, The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) chose to focus their authoritative World Disasters Report 2011, published last month, on hunger and malnutrition. The report highlights the fact that the era of cheap food is now over and that many poor people are suffering as a result.

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HUNGRY IN THE CITY: URBAN HUNGER (2012)	646 kB

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The Arab revolutions showed how the reforms of the information sector are a central national issue. At the heart of this challenge, the expression and the voice of the poorest populations, where media space is a key gateway to reveal their situations.

In collaboration with the Mediterranean Observatory of Communications (Observatori Mediterrani de la Communicació).

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Public Broadcasting in North Africa and the Middle East (2012)	1711 kB

Panos London presents six case studies of women who are defying stereotypes to tackle poverty and gender inequality in developing countries. Breaking Barriers: Women in a Man’s World is a showcase of exceptional women who are breaking stereotypes to change their own lives and inspire other women and girls around them.

The media pack features mothers who have become builders in Brazil, a Ugandan fisherwoman who has broken into the traditionally male fishing industry on Lake Victoria, an all female taxi service in Delhi, a woman union leader in South Africa and Afghanistan’s only female governor.

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BREAKING BARRIERS: WOMEN IN A MAN\'S WORLD (2011)	1436 kB

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This practical guide is for journalists and editors passionate about development issues, who see the value of publishing stories based on development research findings. It will also be of interest to communications staff in universities, think tanks, or civil society organisations responsible for promoting research findings. Although there are many advocates of communicating research through the media, there are few practical guides on how to do it well.

Research findings can provide journalists with news stories, news ‘pegs’, background information, statistics, case studies and expert sources. But research papers are often written in an inaccessible style and poorly promoted.

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A JOURNALIST\'S GUIDE TO REPORTING RESEARCH FINDINGS (2011)	1768 kB

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With the aim of strengthening radio pluralism in West Africa, this study sought to chart the evolution of the West African radio sector by assessing it in terms of international norms in radio pluralism & taking the application of the African Charter on Radio Broadcasting provisions as a reference in the target countries. 

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AFRICAN CHARTER ON BROADCASTING IMPACTS REVIEW (2011)	1898 kB

This case study describes some of the methods and activities developed by the Relay programme, managed by Panos London, and how they were applied in Kenya to the issue of tax and governance. It offers a detailed and descriptive account of Relay’s series of workshop sessions they ran with researchers, civil society organisations and journalists in the country.

In late 2009, three newspaper articles appeared in the Kenyan press, contributing to a newly emerging debate in the Kenyan media over government transparency and accountability. Media reporting in Kenya on governance issues, particularly in relation to corrupt practices in public spending, is not new. What was unusual about these articles was the attention they brought to the specific issue of taxation.

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REPORTING TAX RESEARCH IN KENYA	1798 kB

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This case study shares recommendations and details the lessons learned during a communications project to improve media reporting on tuberculosis (TB) in Zambia.

Project partners Relay and the health research consortium TARGETS, brought together journalists and TB researchers in Zambia to explore stigma around tuberculosis and to explore areas of potential conflict and collaboration.

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CONNECTING TB RESEARCHERS AND JOURNALISTS IN ZAMBIA	1523 kB

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This case study examines the long battle by fishing and farming communities living on the shores of Pakistan’s Manchar Lake against the pollution destroying their livelihoods and health. It explains how the community was able to draw national media attention to their predicament with the help of Panos and its partners.

The Manchar Lake project is an example of an integrated approach to communication for development. A combination of first person testimonies, relationship-building, inclusive dialogue and mainstream media coverage helped those most affected by the pollution to contribute to debate and decision making at national-level.

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ALL TOGETHER NOW	2291 kB

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While the West had already begun this process several years ago, the issue of digital migration in Africa has rarely been discussed or taken into account, except in rare countries such as South Africa.

The end of analogue broadcasting and the production of dedicated equipment are likely to give rise to serious problems in Africa such as: problems of maintaining infrastructures which remain analogue and the further ‘Balkanisation’ of African production, etc.

In addition, the move to digital broadcasting brings with it other crucial challenges regarding regulation planning, pluralism of information, media development and access for all to new digital equipment, and increasing dependency beyond national borders in the sector. 

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DIGITAL MIGRATION IN AFRICA (2010)	1492 kB

"Economic globalisation has whetted an insatiable appetite for energy and raw materials across the world. The gradual easing of national barriers to passage of finance capital and goods means nation states and corporations are much freer now to quarry the last remaining jewels from the earth’s bowels.

Unfortunately, the sites of these mineral treasure troves also happen to be the homelands of indigenous peoples, or Adivasis, as we call them in India. With nations claiming sovereign rights over resources that lie under their territories, these communities, already pushed to the margins by colonialism, nation-building, cultural discrimination, and environmental racism, are fighting a grim battle for justice and survival against voracious markets backed by growth-hungry states. (...)"

This Panos South Asia book is part of a project supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).

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CATERPILLAR AND THE MAHUA FLOWER: TREMORS IN INDIA’S MINING FIELDS (PSA, 2007)	849 kB
CATERPILLAR AND THE MAHUA FLOWER: HINDI VERSION (PSA, 2007)	18549 kB

In this landmark publication, Panos London sets out what it believes should be the role of communication in long-term, sustainable development.

It challenges governments and all involved in policy-making and planning to listen to the views of ordinary people, to involve civil society in decision-making and to recognise the important part the media can play in debating development issues and challenging government accountability.

Written in a clear and concise style, At the heart of change suggests four key areas for action by governments, NGOs, the media and international organisations, in order to realise the power and potential of information and communication. 

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AT THE HEART OF CHANGE	1893 kB
MAPPING C4D	376 kB
THE CASE FOR COMMUNICATION IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT	753 kB

After years of neglect, more money and political interest is being directed towards AIDS than ever before. But is today’s response to the pandemic learning from the lessons of the past, lessons now stretching back over 20 years? Large sums of money have been spent on activities aiming to achieve rapid results. Often the results have been disappointing or short lived.

This report focuses on the way in which the response to the pandemic has been shaped, with a particular emphasis on the way in which communication has been used. Often the emphasis is on information dissemination, and the distribution of health messages. While information is vital, past successes in fighting AIDS suggest that approaches need to be far broader than this.

A politicised civil society, with communities able to take ownership of the response to HIV/AIDS, can catalyse extraordinary change and mobilisation. Similarly, a media able to support informed, inclusive debate will also be critical to future successes. 

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MISSING THE MESSAGE (2003)	2092 kB
MISSING THE MESSAGE (2003) FRENCH	2113 kB
MISSING THE MESSAGE (2003) SPANISH	2094 kB

Global warming may be the greatest environmental threat of the 21st century. Rising sea levels, violent floods, drought and cyclones and changing agricultural conditions will threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.

Most people agree that greenhouse gases, caused largely by fossil fuels, are one of the main sources of global warming. But fossil fuels are seen to be at the heart of wealth and development.

Written just before the November 2000 meeting of 180 signatory countries to the 1992 UN Climate Change Convention, this report explains the issues and the concerns, the possibilities and the dangers around agreeing joint action on reducing fossil fuel use. 

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JUST HOT AIR (2000)	132 kB

This training manual was produced in response to the many requests Panos receives for practical guidelines from individuals and organisations interested in implementing oral testimony projects.

The manual is a practical companion to the Panos book Listening for a Change, which explored the ideas behind the methodology and looked at different examples of oral testimony and development.

“Giving Voice has been an invaluable resource for students embarking on field work. I recommend it for anyone involved in qualitative research.” - Pat Caplan, Professor of Anthropology, Goldsmiths College, London 

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GIVING VOICES (1999)	607 kB

This book argues that the AIDS epidemic cannot be contained until men are persuaded to reassess their traditional concepts of masculinity.

Published jointly with Zed Books, it examines the relationship between men and HIV/AIDS and suggests that one in four men world-wide have sexual and drug-taking behaviour which places themselves and their partners at risk. 

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AIDS AND MEN (1999)	1120 kB
AIDS AND MEN (1999) CHINESE	4208 kB

Based on extensive research in 87 developing countries, On the Margins is the first comprehensive study of male-to-male sex and its role in the spread of HIV in the developing world.

The report looks at the many different types of men who have sex with men, the extent of male-to-male sex, and the frequency of risky sexual practices which can lead to the spread of HIV, as well as the legal, social and religious taboos and discrimination surrounding sex between men.

“This report should be on the desks of all government officials throughout the world. It speaks to the issues and provides some provocative views of what can be done. A highly recommended book for all public, academic and medical libraries.” – AIDS Book Review Journal

ON THE MARGINS (1996) - 10,8MB

While the impacts of armed conflict the world over have a shocking familiarity – death, disability, rape, displacement, family separation and economic destruction – women’s experiences are not uniform.

In this book, women from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Tigray (Ethiopia), Uganda, Somaliland, Liberia, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Lebanon, Bosnia and Croatia speak of the psychological and physical damage of war, and the battle for economic survival. This collection of testimonies reveals the wide diversity of women’s views and experiences.

PDF - 32,9MB

Fifteen journalists from Africa, Asia and Latin America present the views of ordinary men and women and report on subjects as diverse as son preference, female genital mutilation, unauthorised sterilisations, untreated STDs, HIV infection, and the influence of Catholicism and Islam – all of which affect reproductive decision-making.

This report offers a critique of family planning programmes that ignore concerns and social realities, which can either constrain or enhance women’s opportunities to control their own lives.

"(...) offers women-centred solutions to one of the world’s seemingly intractable problems: finding a balance between the private nature of reproduction and its public consequences.” - Frances Kissling, President, Catholics for a Free Choice

“These 15 developing country journalists hammer home an urgent message for policy makers and the public: reproductive health is a vital priority for the world’s women… and for sustainable development.” - Fred Sai, Chairperson, National Population Council of Ghana

WINNER, GLOBAL MEDIA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM

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PRIVATE DECISION, PUBLIC DEBATE (1994)	2654 kB

This report challenges everyone in the aid world to listen to the individual voices of the people at the heart of development.

It is written for anyone working with communities in the collection and dissemination of first-hand testimony, but above all for policymakers, practitioners and students of social and economic development.

“A must-read for all organisations and individual scholars involved in development programs and/or relief work in developing countries.” - Canadian Journal of Development Studies

“The richness of the book lies in its handling of oral testimony, and the variety of private and community voices… Individual case studies are worked in beautifully… this is a fine book.” - Memories of Partition Journal, India

	LISTENING FOR A CHANGE, CHAPTERS 1-2 / 12,8MB
	LISTENING FOR A CHANGE, CHAPTER 3 / 26,1 MB
	LISTENING FOR A CHANGE, CHAPTER 4 / 20,3 MB
	LISTENING FOR A CHANGE, CHAPTER 5 / 26,5 MB
	LISTENING FOR A CHANGE, CHAPTER 6 / 7 MB

Based on interviews with over 500 men and women from eight Sahelian countries – including farmers, fishermen, nomads and refugees – this is a unique collection of knowledge about changing ecological conditions, conservation and agricultural practices, traditional medicines and social relationships.

“In the 1980s, western media coverage generated awareness and concern for the victims of drought in the Sahel and spurred massive fundraising efforts. For the first time, some of the recipients of this international philanthropy speak out about their lives.” - African Urban Quarterly, Kenya

“This is a book replete with Sahelian wisdom, ancient and modern… The results bring us generations of knowledge, customs strange and wonderful, tales of drought and misery, and also perceptions of Africa in its modern phase of change and development.” - The Guardian Weekly, United Kingdom 

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AT THE DESERT\'S EDGE - CHAPTER 1	1651 kB
AT THE DESERT\'S EDGE - CHAPTER 2	3321 kB
AT THE DESERT\'S EDGE - CHAPTER 3	2103 kB
AT THE DESERT\'S EDGE - CHAPTER 4	2287 kB
AT THE DESERT\'S EDGE - CHAPTER 5	2744 kB
AT THE DESERT'S EDGE - CHAPTER 6	2561 kB
AT THE DESERT'S EDGE - CHAPTER 7	2289 kB
AT THE DESERT'S EDGE - CHAPTER 8	2946 kB
AT THE DESERT'S EDGE - CHAPTER 9	1834 kB
AT THE DESERT'S EDGE - GLOSSARY	1188 kB
AT THE DESERT\'S EDGE - PREFACE	296 kB

"Biotechnology could provide 28 new vaccines in the next decade alone, and a reduction in the use of fertilisers, pesticides and other chemicals in agriculture could all lead to better global living standards. Biotechnology promises a changed future, particularly for countries in the Third World. It could help to raise living standards – or it could add still further to the poverty gap which exists between developed and developing countries."

Miracle or Menace? Biotechnology and the Third World describes, objectively and dispassionately, what biotechnology is, spells out its implications for developing countries, and asks in whose interest it is being developed . In plain language it explains the science behind the new developments and examines the implications, good and bad, for people now and in the next century.

“Miracle or Menace? is unique in combining simple yet authoritative descriptions of the latest gene splicing and associated techniques with crisp vignettes of biotechnology projects throughout the world and a sensitive account of economic and global perspectives.”

– Dr Bernard Dixon, European contributing editor to Bio/Technology, former editor of New Scientist. 

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BIOTECH: MIRACLE OR MENACE? (1990)	16147 kB