An Operational Framework for Media and Peacebuilding - Montreal ...

2 • AN OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR MEDIA AND PEACEBUILDINGagencies and nongovernmental organizations,media practitioners, governments andothers, and conflict managers or peacekeepers.The fact is that media has becomeso pervasive and influential that anyonecurrently working in the field of conflictreduction must consider both edges of thesword. A project that launches withoutexamining the media environment, such asan indigenous media that is fomentinghatred, is more liable to fail. Similarly, anyeffort to resolve or prevent deadly conflictthat ignores the media as an opportunity initself is incomplete. This document offers aguide or framework for understanding howmedia-related interventions can be used in avariety of conflict conditions. The frameworkcan support planning, implementing orevaluating media initiatives to avoid risk andmisapplication of resources.The framework provides some commonindicators or consequences for the media inenvironments of pre-, overt and post-conflict.It presents a typology of interventionspotentially appropriate to the media conditionsthat exist in those stages of conflict, orin others. It provides indicators for assessingthose interventions. And the frameworkdraws operational lessons from mediarelatedprogramming and includes a matrixof exceptional examples of media peacebuildinginitiatives. A resources list is included.