As a result of increasing national public education, especially around health issues but also, in some countries, around constitutional, developmental, political, economic, and human rights issues, there are now sufficient examples to make tentative proposals about best practices. National voter education programmes are just one example. Other programmes now include AIDS awareness and anti-smoking, anti-drug and anti-pollution campaigns. A number of educational campaigns have taken on global proportions. This is especially true of environmental campaigns, but in recent times one can also look at the anti-land mine programmes and various other peace initiatives.
Public education programmes are interesting by-products, in their present form, of increasing democratisation and globalisation of information. Governments and private institutions have to rely on educational programmes rather than coercion or disinformation to persuade citizens to change their behaviour. Rapid change makes the possibility of doing this slowly through the formal schooling system, where it exists, less likely; and that same change in knowledge and information also reduces the possibility of forms of general socialisation being fully adequate. Despite the obvious need in some contexts, however, limited financial resources, political will, and practical experience may limit the extent and quality of public information programmes, if they exist at all.
The set of best practices present below is narrow in scope. It remains tentative and open to evaluation and testing. Nevertheless, there seem to be certain standardised components and methodologies that are more effective than others. These are:
- Networking and building organisations to ensure an appropriate environment for establishing and delivering the programme
- Ensuring ownership and feedback mechanisms
- Identifying, understanding and using organisations and institutions to communicate to their constituencies, ensuring that
- Access to special target groups is through already trusted intermediaries
- Communication is done by those who understand and already use the appropriate language and media, including oral approaches where needed
- The public education message is distributed rapidly to a wide range of target groups within a short period of time
- Shaping the learning objectives and messages in conjunction with individuals and organisations that are representative of the target groups on the basis of real needs and not just programmatic imperatives
- Creating an appropriate context so the legal, cultural, and organisational environment promotes rather than hinders the behaviours proposed by the learning objectives
- Providing the necessary educational and organisational support by preparing any necessary educational materials for one to one and small group education
- Providing training of trainers, orientation to materials, and user support events
- Providing national and regional reference groups and campaign backup
- Developing national media support, especially through radio advertising and supplementary materials suitable to the available broadcast and press media and;
- Building institutional partnerships to ensure financial, administrative and implementation viability, and public accountability
Each of these principles is elaborated on more fully throughout the Voter Education topic area.
