AMALNA South Sudan was fund on a foundation of peacebuilding with a focus on the use of media and communication as a tool for dissemination of information. We work with likeminded media and communication partners to address critical challenges affecting the citizens.

We work to tackle issues such as COVID-19, sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV), human rights, democracy and governance, resource mismanagement, Conflicts among others. Our focus is particularly on people and communities who are most vulnerable due to factors such as cultural norms, poverty, gender, conflicts, disability and others.

We also influence policy makers to make legislations that favor its citizens and address critical issues; we inspire and empower people to make informed decisions to improve their lives and wellbeing of their communities.

AMALNA takes integrated approach to peace building where peace-building activities are cross cutting in all programs. Our activities are community base and we use participatory approach where stakeholders and beneficiaries are involved in all levels of programming process. We believe in growing together and building each other.

We focus on youth, women and girls: we believe that the youth in South Sudan are the most vulnerable and used by armed groups, politicians as agents of conflict because they are not empowered and lack information. They are involved in hate speech on social media, involved in intercommunal conflicts and tribalism.

We also believe that women and girls have high level of vulnerability in the communities; they suffer gender-based violence (GBV), forced marriage, not given equal treatment with men and boys and their voices not heard.   As a result, we put more focus in providing them with information that provoke their thinking to make informed decisions. Our key approaches include;

Radio Drama Production and Dissemination

We use media and communication to reach our audiences in hard to reach areas. Production and Dissemination of Media Content to media houses is at the heart of our work. We use radio, social media and produce a range of factual and entertainment content (such as dramas, radio magazine, jingles and spots) to engage with audiences as well as supporting effective conversations between leaders and their communities. Through these platforms, we reach far, engage and influence those that need trusted information to make informed decisions.

Mobile Cinema (Film) Experience

We use films as a tool to disseminate trusted and reliable information to our audience across South Sudan. Our films reflects true stories from the community. In partnership with PAX and PCF, AMALNA the consortium developed a peace building film “Picturing a common future” a film that galvanize South Sudanese youth to promote peaceful coexistence in South Sudan.

The project use mobile cinema methodology for dialogue and enable youth groups between 18-40 years of age to undertake reconciliatory initiatives among youth at community level. Mobile cinema has a strong potential to generate awareness, stimulate debate and initiate change in people and societies. Film has the capacity to feature controversial or sensitive issues in a way that gives people a voice and a face and builds on existing oral traditions to connect youth where prejudices and violent conflict prevent youth from different regions and/or ethnic groups to physically meet and discuss with one another. We use a participatory decision-making process to define key messages, issues for the debate and the film content.

This helps local partners and organization to embrace the film, develop ownership over it, make the film context-relevant, and link it as much as possible to other ongoing activities to ensure a multiplier effect. In order to transform conflict, processes and mechanisms of dialogue and reconciliation are needed. The acceptance of narratives of others strengthens healing, inclusivity and support. Offering youth the opportunity to hear from and reflect on viewpoints and especially conciliatory initiatives of their peers of different ethnicities through mobile cinema, will stimulate individual responsibility in forging peaceful cohabitation and social cohesion.

Outreach Activities: We use media alternative approaches that help people access information. We also believe that many people have limited or no access to media due to their location, finance strength, gender, age and other circumstance. Our alternative approach to reach those that do not have access to media is to use a range of outreach activities, such as discussion groups, theater performances, and community events to engage with those audiences. Some approaches such as online communication is critical in our interventions to empower people to change their behavior.

• Since inception, AMALNA produced over 120 episodes in English and Arabic. These radio content was produced, aired for awareness creation (radio dramas, jingles, magazines) and other radio programmes
• AMALNA South Sudan use Outreach programs (Trainings, Dialogue forums, street theater, and Focus group discussions) in Juba, Wau and Bor.
• Film for awareness raising (production and screening of various films)
• Research on issues of public interest across South Sudan.
• Social media (use of Facebook, tweeter, WhatsApp etc) for daily awareness raising.

Research Approach: we use research base information for programming and content development. Local and international researchers are involved in conducting research that use a mix of methods to understand audiences’ media problems, needs, beliefs, behavior and influencers that help inform our programming and content development. Our research consider diversity and is tailored to a specific programme to ensure that we impact our audiences. We conduct such research before the inception of the program, during implementation and at evaluation level.

Capacity Strengthening: We work in partnership with media organizations, government agencies, and civil society organizations (CSOs). We also involve actors, scriptwriters, producers, musicians, community volunteers throughout our programmes. We ensure that their capacities are strengthen through training and coaching for professional and effectively performance. We believe that to achieve positive outcomes through media and communication, it is essential to strengthen their capacity as it is vital for sustainability.