CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction

This chapter comprised of ; the background to the study, statement of the problem, research question objectives of the study, research hypothesis , significance of the study, methodological scope,delimitation and scope of the study, justification of the study, and operational definition of terms.

1.1 Background to the Study 

Even though advocacy has not been studied in depth, it has been addressed by many scholars as one of the main functions of public relations (Berg, 2009; Bernays, 1971; Cutlip, 1994; Edgett, 2002; Heath, 2007; Nelson, 1994). Advocacy can be described as “the act of publicly representing an individual, organisation, or idea with the object of persuading targeted audiences to look favourably on—or accept the point of view—the individual, the organisation, the idea” (Edgett, 2002). Although individuals can perform the activities of advocacy as mentioned above, the active agents of advocacy are mostly the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that work for public interest. Advocacy is a tool for generating public support for particular topics that NGOs focus on. It contributes to the perpetuation of NGOs as well as empowering NGOs as agents in policy-making processes. NGOs usually perform advocacy activities around consumer rights, environment, peace, civil rights, and social justice (Heaney, 2008). As a method, NGOs also tend to organise advocacy campaigns that target wide public support.

Building upon the public support gained, NGOs aim at shaping the political reforms related to their working areas, in favour of public interest in the broader sense via advocacy campaigns.

Approaching advocacy from a historical perspective, the last three decades stand out as a period in which NGOs spent more time and gave more priority to advocacy activities at local, national and international levels (Coates & Rosalind, 2002). The timing is not coincidental: Neoliberal policies of the post-1980 period, the transformation of state-citizen relations through governance discourse, and the public discussions encouraged by NGOs around relatively invisible issues and new communication technologies enabled NGOs to gain wider public support for their advocacy campaigns. Their potential to establish relationships between different parties such as civil societies and state, local, national, and international organisations empowered their advocacy campaigns, whilst the public support they achieved via these campaigns allowed them to take part in the processes of policy-making as active and powerful agents. On the other hand, the topics of advocacy campaigns conducted by NGOs are various, including:

general principles of inclusion and participation in decision making, through macro issues such as reform of the WTO, human rights, corporate responsibility, and the regulation of multinational corporations, to more specific issues such as education, debt, child labor, food security, biotechnology and reproductive health. (Hudson, 2002: 407).

It is often argued that NGOs have become increasingly visible in the media discourse on Armed conflict and thus play a growing role in shaping states foreign policies. However, there is little investigation on their influence on specific conflict coverage and what type of NGOs are influential in what way and what conditions. Over the years, there have been lots of NGOs in Cameroon but these numbers drastically increased due to the outbreak of the on going  Anglophone Crisis. Since the genesis of this crisis, many NGOs have come up with claims of helping the needed affected by the crisis. With the rise of this numbers of NGOs, it makes people wonder whether they are actually out to help  the people or make themselves known by all, using the media as a means of publicity to get help from the diaspora and local government.  This Article tries to see the roles the NGOs play in preserving peace using the media. That Is, if the NGOs are really using the media to promote peace, helping the needy or are they using it for their own benefits which is to promote themselves by showing off and tallying about their deeds using the media since history has shown that for many decades now, the media has been used to incite people towards violence or peace. NGOs need to help the media in promoting peace since the people mostly use the media and are directly affected by it.

1.2 Statement of Problem

The problem here is that NGOs use the media to promote peace or simply showcasing themselves over the media because all over the world, people are fighting against themselves, hunger everywhere, youths and children are suffering and since the aim of the NGO is all round, they are expected to advocate for peaceful methods in resolving all of these. They can talk to the people using the media because the people now listen to the media to influence their behavior. So perhaps the NGOs can actually get to play a greater part in ending violence and societal ills by using the media.

1.3 Research Questions

The researcher seeks to answer the following questions which can be categorised under general questions and a set of specific questions.

1.3.1 General Research Question

The general question is, how do NGOs use the media in advocating peace in Buea?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

• What are the different kind of media which NGOs make use of for peace Advocacy?
• What constitutes the contents/Messages passed by the NGOs through the various media they use?
• What are some of the challenges face by NGOS in the advocacy of peace?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The objectives are divided into general and specific objectives

1.4.1 General Objective

The goal of the research is to critically assess the use of the media by NGOs in advocating peace in Buea.

1.4.2 Specific Objectives

• To find out the different kind of media used by NGOs for peace Advocacy.
• To find out the contents/Messages passed by the NGOs through the various media they use.
• To find out some of the challenges faced by NGOS in the advocacy of peace.

1.5 Research hypothesis

H1: NGOs use many media outlets in the dissemination of information for the advocacy of peace.

H2: NGOs encounter challenges in their quest for advocacy of peace.