BC Sustainability Education: Communication guideBLOG

PlayWriting Competition for the Environment

2009-10-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

This is a fabulous example of building the sustainability related cultural capital of youth not only in BC but across Canada.

Act NOW! Playwriting Competition

Canada’s only national playwriting competition on sustainability run by youth for youth that engages young people across the nation to learn, evaluate, innovate and act with a splash of creativity

2009 – 2010

The 2009-2010 competition is officially announced! Please check out our pamphlet below for a sneak peek, as well as the navigation on the right for competition details.
Check out the 2009-2010 Act NOW! sponsors, partners, and supporters here!

Transformative Learning: Creating Resilient Communities Through Sustainability Education

2009-10-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

Originally posted at http://blogs.bcit.ca/appliedresearch/node/364

Conference / Workshop
A workshop for students, faculty, staff and administrators focused on building capacity for sustainability education in post secondary institutions across BC.

This one day workshop will feature inspirational speakers, case studies, and group discussion on topics such as:
- Trends and opportunities in the sustainability education movement
- Professional development tools and approaches for faculty members
- Building relationships with communities to foster critical sustainability research
- Experiential and hands-on learning
- Identifying sustainability learning outcomes
- Measuring success: indicator reporting

Keynote speakers:
- Paul Rowland, Executive Director, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
- Paul Hawken, Author, Activist and Environmentalist

REGISTER NOW
This workshop is proudly hosted by BCIT and sponsored by GreenLearning Canada, Go Beyond, the Walking the Talk Network and the Province of BC. More information--> https://confreg.uvcs.uvic.ca/?cid=1653
Location: Meeting Room 19, Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre (East), 999 Canada Place, Vancouver, BC
Price: $75.00 per person

List of all Recommendations based on the Communications Capital Framework

2009-10-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

Social Capital Recommendations

Four overall recommendations come out of this component of the Communications Capital Framework for this movement.

First, the movement needs to develop a strong group identity, which current and new members can ascribe to so that solidarity, social norms and trust within the movement can be achieved.

Second, movement members need to be self and movement reflective so that the movement does not become too insular and exclusionary of potential new members.

Third, movement members need to become adept at building relationships with others. This means that movement members need to develop skill sets around and capacity for rapport building, negotiation and dialogue, conflict resolution and problem solving within the movement and between movement members and outside parties.

Finally, movement members should consider consciously developing and utilizing social relationships for the benefit of the movement. Each member has the potential to build the social ties, which could advance the movement and should make an effort to increase these ties. Priority for expanding the social network would be with those in positions of power and influence. Thought leaders, government employees, artists, technicians etc would all contribute valuable assets to the movement.

6 Specific Recommendations below focus on actions to build social capital but also improve group culture conditions so that outside members feel comfortable creating ties with movement members and contributing to movement goals.

1. Each organization should support and participate actively in the development and betterment of the BC Working Group and Network on Sustainability Education as a representative of the movement and central focus of political and symbolic power.

2. Support and utilize the WalkingtheTalk social networking and information sharing website

3. Increase the knowledge base within the movement on social capital theory for better utilization of the collective social capital in relation to movement networks and ties.

4. Include in training and education sessions, information on relationship building, interpersonal communication, dialogue and negotiation skills

5. Offer as many opportunities for movement members to meet face-face for planning initiatives so that stronger more meaningful relationships are built. This will increase the likelihood that movement members will work together and new members or other citizens not part of the movement can be included, further building potential social ties and the related social capital

6. Conduct an assessment of the internal culture of the movement and it’s potential barriers to outsiders. Have all members consider carefully the rhetoric and language used to describe the movement and it’s goals and review how this framing of the movement might attract or detract potential new movement members

Symbolic Capital Recommendations

The movement needs to gain control over the symbolism and discourse on sustainability education in BC. In order to do this they need to develop a shared set of symbols and discourse frames, and communicate these symbols and frames in a collective and consistent effort in all avenues for communication. This includes in the dominant and alternative media, through cultural events and products, through public participation and political communication and in person through social networks.

1. Organize regular dialogues which encourage visioning and future planning and help movement members continue to articulate a shared discourse

2. Develop a shared definition of the term sustainability and provide this common definition in all communications documents

3. Follow the recommendations of the 2006 and 2009 Sustainability Poll research done by James Hoggan and Associates on how to communicate about sustainability including using vivid imagery, making sustainability personal and practical, avoiding jargon and remaining hopeful and positive.

4. Include the “Ten Principles of Sustainability” produced by participants of the “Why Sustainability Education” event in 2007 in all communications documents. This should be the shared definition of sustainability education.

5. Develop fact sheets and media backgrounders on the “Ten Principles of Sustainability” and the common definition of sustainability created in recommendation #1

6. Develop and share common communication story frames for each priority audience in BC. Communications professionals working for education organizations and those responsible for developing and implementing communications should work with each other across BC to develop consistent frames to promote. This could be done with a common list-serve or through this blog or other social networking tool.

7. Collectively compile an annual success stories compendium which represents examples of what the movement sees as sustainability education

Human Capital Recommendations

Due to an overall lack of capital to hire communications and technology experts to specialize in promoting the goals of the movement in BC, it is recommended that the movement build human capital to increase the numbers of movement members skilled in media and information technologies. Where there is skill in this area (usually the youth portion of the movement), there is great work being produced to further the movement. A potential approach then would be for the youth groups to educate the rest of the movement on these technologies and processes.

1. Arrange for basic media and communication training for movement members (Potentially run as communication and media workshops across BC designed by communications professionals as volunteers) or as online modules.

2. Arrange for the training of movement members in the development of story frames, press release formats and speaking to the media

3. Arrange for the training of movement members in website and online media design

4. Educate members on writing for radio, newspapers and television

5. Provide training on social networking and online communication such as Facebook, Twitter, Ning and blogging which have become popular sites for public communication and viral marketing

6. Provide training on the development of podcasts, video production and distribution online. The video from the How Sustainability Education? A Solutions Summit event is a great example of the potential of expertise in this area.

7. Arrange for training of movement members in design principles and Adobe Creative Suite

8. Arrange for the training of movement members in basic photography

9. Arrange for the training of movement members in information technology such as webcasting, video conferencing, online document sharing and telephone conferencing

10. Partner with SFU Centre for Dialogue to provide training and skill building in dialogue, negotiation and facilitation

Political Capital Recommendations

Literature in environmental communication focuses a great deal on the need for better public participation processes and greater representation and opportunities for citizens to have their voices heard in public forums. The need to address public participation models and for better representation in public forums is also important for the sustainability education movement in BC. In order for the movement to advance it’s goals it must ensure it has respected, articulate and informed voices speaking on the movement’s behalf in public forums and political debates. It also has to encourage and facilitate dialogue and open discussion to increase the opportunities for achieving consensus and support for movement goals.

1. Take stock of the forms of social capital that movement members have access to that can be converted into political capital specifically

2. Prioritize which forms of social capital may need to be developed and which ones can be converted in the near and medium term future. For example the vast network of respected academics in BC could be mobilized to get sustainability education on the agenda for the next federal election. A few individuals in the movement may be the ones with many connections who could build the momentum

3. Provide training on effective public speaking and utilization of message frames

4. Track public forums on political issues in BC and inform members of these opportunities to attend and represent the voice/perspective of sustainability education

3. Connect with and inform those respected and influential individuals who might have access to many of these forums (or the development of them) and communicate the movement’s goals, story frames and connection to other political issues which might be listed as higher on the agenda at the current time.

4. Develop community forums across BC to connect and communicate with BC citizens. Educating and empowering citizens across BC will likely increase dialogue and a favorable public discourse around sustainability education.

Cultural Capital Recommendations

Although cultural capital is usually referred to as an individual asset that is developed by individuals (as is social capital), the collective cultural capital of many individuals within the movement will be influential and will increase the amount of cultural influence and symbolic power held by the movement itself. Educating the movement members and ensuring access to cultural resources might not be a great difficulty for the movement considering it is an education movement. What might be an important focus though is on expanding the forms of culture that movement members have knowledge of and proficiency in. Art and Culture have a significant influence on public discourse. The more opportunities for the development of cultural artifacts which promote sustainability education the better...

1. Educate members on contemporary cultural forms and the power of these forms to influence public opinion and discourse (such as advertising, formal education, popular music, fashion, celebrities etc)

2. Encourage the framing of education as cultural capital in the public discourse which could be one of the ways to increase the relevance and value of sustainability education

3. Focusing specifically on the cultural capital accrued from an education with a focus on sustainability will also increase the respect this form of education receives (i.e., it is the education of the future, provides skill sets that our new economy requires etc)

4. Educate and encourage movement members to become proficient in and able to produce art and cultural artifacts such as music, paintings, films, books, magazines, radio shows etc to increase the number of cultural artifacts being produced with the frame of sustainability education

Building Cultural Capital: Recommendations for the Movement

2009-10-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

Build Cultural Capital:

Although cultural capital is usually referred to as an individual asset that is developed by individuals (as is social capital), the collective cultural capital of many individuals within the movement will be influential and will increase the amount of cultural influence and symbolic power held by the movement itself. Educating the movement members and ensuring access to cultural resources might not be a great difficulty for the movement considering it is an education movement. What might be an important focus though is on expanding the forms of culture that movement members have knowledge of and proficiency in. Art and Culture have a significant influence on public discourse. The more opportunities for the development of cultural artifacts which promote sustainability education the better...

1. Educate members on contemporary cultural forms and the power of these forms to influence public opinion and discourse (such as advertising, formal education, popular music, fashion, celebrities etc)

2. Encourage the framing of education as cultural capital in the public discourse which could be one of the ways to increase the relevance and value of sustainability education

3. Focusing specifically on the cultural capital accrued from an education with a focus on sustainability will also increase the respect this form of education receives (i.e., it is the education of the future, provides skill sets that our new economy requires etc)

4. Educate and encourage movement members to become proficient in and able to produce art and cultural artifacts such as music, paintings, films, books, magazines, radio shows etc to increase the number of cultural artifacts being produced with the frame of sustainability education

Building Human Capital: Recommendations for the Movement

2009-10-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

Building Human Capital for Communication

Due to an overall lack of capital to hire communications and technology experts to specialize in promoting the goals of the movement in BC, it is recommended that the movement build human capital to increase the numbers of movement members skilled in media and information technologies. Where there is skill in this area (usually the youth portion of the movement), there is great work being produced to further the movement. A potential approach then would be for the youth groups to educate the rest of the movement on these technologies and processes.

1. Arrange for basic media and communication training for movement members (Potentially run as communication and media workshops across BC designed by communications professionals as volunteers) or as online modules.

2. Arrange for the training of movement members in the development of story frames, press release formats and speaking to the media

3. Arrange for the training of movement members in website and online media design

4. Educate members on writing for radio, newspapers and television

5. Provide training on social networking and online communication such as Facebook, Twitter, Ning and blogging which have become popular sites for public communication and viral marketing

6. Provide training on the development of podcasts, video production and distribution online. The video from the How Sustainability Education? A Solutions Summit event is a great example of the potential of expertise in this area.

7. Arrange for training of movement members in design principles and Adobe Creative Suite

8. Arrange for the training of movement members in basic photography

9. Arrange for the training of movement members in information technology such as webcasting, video conferencing, online document sharing and telephone conferencing

10. Partner with SFU Centre for Dialogue to provide training and skill building in dialogue, negotiation and facilitation

Symbolic Capital: Recommendations for the Movement

2009-10-07T22:12:00.000-07:00

Build Symbolic Capital:

Recommendations:

The movement needs to gain control over the symbolism and discourse on sustainability education in BC. In order to do this they need to develop a shared set of symbols and discourse frames, and communicate these symbols and frames in a collective and consistent effort in all avenues for communication. This includes in the dominant and alternative media, through cultural events and products, through public participation and political communication and in person through social networks.

1. Organize regular dialogues which encourage visioning and future planning and help movement members continue to articulate a shared discourse

2. Develop a shared definition of the term sustainability and provide this common definition in all communications documents

3. Follow the recommendations of the 2006 and 2009 Sustainability Poll research done by James Hoggan and Associates on how to communicate about sustainability including using vivid imagery, making sustainability personal and practical, avoiding jargon and remaining hopeful and positive.

4. Include the “Ten Principles of Sustainability” produced by participants of the “Why Sustainability Education” event in 2007 in all communications documents. This should be the shared definition of sustainability education.

5. Develop fact sheets and media backgrounders on the “Ten Principles of Sustainability” and the common definition of sustainability created in recommendation #1

6. Develop and share common communication story frames for each priority audience in BC. Communications professionals working for education organizations and those responsible for developing and implementing communications should work with each other across BC to develop consistent frames to promote. This could be done with a common list-serve or through this blog or other social networking tool.

7. Collectively compile an annual success stories compendium which represents examples of what the movement sees as sustainability education

Strategic Communication Campaigns: Part 1

2009-10-07T22:10:00.000-07:00

Strategic communication campaigns go beyond framing an issue and designing an effective message. It involves designing frames and messages for multiple audiences, using multiple tactics and trying to achieve a specific and measurable goal. Below Robert Cox, an experienced campaigner for the Sierra Club explains best practice in advocacy and strategic communication campaigning.

Cox makes the point that critical rhetoric and advocacy campaigns are fundamentally different and play different roles in the environmental movement. He explains that “[c]ritical rhetoric can be defined as the questioning or denunciation of a behavior, policy, societal value, or ideology; such rhetoric may also include the articulation of an alternate policy, vision, or ideology…[c]ritical rhetorics frequently serve to expand the range of social choices and visions that are eclipsed in the day-to-day struggles of a campaign…Although campaigns, to, may take sweeping social changes as their ultimate goal, they differ from critical rhetorics in their approach and are organized instead around concrete, strategic actions that move us closer to those goals…[t]he difference between a campaign and critical rhetoric, then, is not simply the concreteness of the objective but the strategic course of action by which a campaign pursues such objectives”(Cox, 2006, p. 248-249).

Rogers and Story (1987) identify four features of communication campaigns (from Cox p. 250):
1. A campaign is purposeful
2. A campaign is aimed at a large audience
3. A campaign has a more or less specifically defined time limit
4. A campaign involves an organized set of communication activities

Specifically, environmental campaigns differ from other public health and issue campaigns in that “Environmental advocacy campaigns…are usually waged by noninstitutional sources-concerned individuals, environmental organizations, or small community action groups [and]…[most environmental advocacy campaigns, on the other hand, seek to change either certain external conditions—for example, the cleanup of an abandoned toxic waste site—or the policy or practice of a governmental or corporate body. And although some environmental campaigns may seek to influence individual behaviors…such attempts are often seen as steps toward systemic change in society’s treatment of the environment…”(Cox, 2006, p. 251).

Cox describes the three fundamental questions in an advocacy campaign (Cox, p. 253):

1. What exactly do you want to accomplish?
2. Which decision makers have the ability to respond, and what constituencies can hold these decision makers accountable?
3. What will persuade these decision makers to act on your objectives?

Dialogue and Public Participation

2009-10-07T22:04:00.000-07:00

Communication for Social Change: An Integrated Model for Measuring the Process and Its Outcomes by Maria Elena Figueroa, D. Lawrence Kincaid, Manju Rani and Gary Lewis
(link opens a pdf but you can also find the article at www.communicationforsocialchange.org

Key components of the model (p. ii):

• Sustainability of social change is more likely if the individuals and communities most affected own the process and content of communication.

• Communication for social change should be empowering, horizontal (versus top-down), give a voice to the previously unheard members of the community, and be biased towards local content and ownership.

• Communities should be the agents of their own change

• Emphasis should shift from persuasion and the transmission of information from outside technical experts to dialogue, debate and negotiation on issues that resonate with members of the community.

• Emphasis on outcomes should go beyond individual behavior to social norms, policies, culture and the supporting environment.

Their approach is supported in the literature on environmental communication. One major theme in the literature on environmental communication is the importance of engaging people in a dialogue about solutions to environmental problems.

Kathleen Regan points out that “[d]ialogue is genuinely creative and generative act. Successful dialogue is sometimes simply a willingness to meet again to continue talking, but once people begin to speak honestly about their concerns, and about their own uncertainties with regard to their deeply held positions, ideas for next steps emerge that could not have been imagined before the dialogue. Success can also be a decision to take an action that was previously not imagined or thought possible”(Moser & Dilling, 2007, p. 213).

One of the difficulties associated with framing and message design is the process of learning about people’s cognitive frames or mental models, then having to redesign the messages and sit back and hope that the frame fits and the message hits. With dialogue and public engagement, this can be done all at once. The process can be interactive and democratic. The top down communication model can be discarded for one that is inclusive and creative.

Regan tells us that “[o]ne hallmark of dialogue that distinguishes it from other kinds of talk is its ability to identify an “old conversation” that can act as a discursive trap and its techniques for providing opportunities for participants to step out of that conversation and into a new one…[i]n the context of climate change, the “old conversation” appears to be dominated and carried out within the frame of scientific knowledge, certainty and uncertainty, and predictions of the future…[b]roadening the conversation beyond science and trusting the dialogue process enough for scientists to share the conversation with non-scientists is a key ingredient to creating a “new conversation” on climate change”(Moser & Dilling, 2007, p. 215-216).

Cox and Regan point to the need for a new approach to dialogue and public engagement that makes for more constructive results than have been seen up until now. Cox asks the question “[a]re public hearings sometimes divisive or unproductive because of the way the public acts, or is there something wrong with the process itself?...formal mechanisms for public participation too often are simply ritualistic processes that give members of the public little opportunity to influence decisions. It’s not a surprise, then, that ordinary citizens so often experience ‘frustration, disillusionment, skepticism, and anger’ (Senecah, 2004, p. 18)”(Cox, 2006, p.128).

Human Capital for Communication

2009-10-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

Human Capital

The focus on human capital in the Communication Capital Framework is on the set of skills and knowledge that may in some cases be institutionalized and fit under the institutionalized state of cultural capital as outlined by Bourdieu but for this movement may not be. Human capital in this framework is the focus on increasing the numbers of people and organizations within the movement who have a solid set of technical, strategic and community empowerment communication skills.

Media & Design
Media capital in this framework represents the capacity of movement members to gain access to the dominant media and develop alternative media of their own. Access to and knowledge of the available tools and resources for media production and public relations efforts can make the difference between having movement voices heard, ignored or disregarded.

Information Technology
Information technology capital in this framework represents the capacity of movement members to effectively utilize the new information technologies available. Basic awareness of social networking media, video and web conferencing tools, blogging and online document sharing is not enough. Building information technology capital would mean that movement members feel highly competent in the use of these technologies and processes and can utilize them freely for movement communication.

Dialogue and Negotiation
The ability to negotiate and engage in dialogue is a skill that movement members need formal training in and experience with.

Cultural Capital for Communication

2009-10-07T21:56:00.001-07:00

Cultural capital in the Communication Capital Framework represents the capacity of movement members to understand and leverage the three states of culture capital as described by Pierre Bourdieu.

These three states are the embodied state, the objectified state and the institutionalized state.

“The accumulation of cultural capital in the embodied state, i.e.., in the form of what is called culture, cultivation, Bildung, presupposes the process of em-bodiment, incorporation, which insofar as it implies a labor of inculcation and assimilation, costs time, time which must be invested personally by the investor” (2002, p. 244). For example this would consist for this movement as the ability to speak a language of one or more of the immigrant groups in BC.

Bourdieu describes the objectified state of cultural capital as “…material objects and media such as writing, paintings, monuments, instruments, etc” (2002, p.246), which are materially transmissible. Movement members should actively be cultivating these material objects to increase the number and value of these objects and in relation the value of the subject they described or portrayed (i.e., the movements goals and values). Specifically movement members should contribute actively to the arts through photography, graphic arts, music, performance and film.

The institutionalized state of cultural capital is that which can be formalized, standardized and certified such as all forms of accreditation in the education system. This form of cultural capital would be most familiar to most movement members. A focus on the development of sustainability education programs, courses and content is of course part of the goal of the movement itself. What the focus in this area should be is on the promotion of these new programs, courses and content as a valuable asset to the BC education system that can be converted into real economic benefits for the province.

There are many levels of culture that the sustainability education movement is embedded within. Having the capacity to understand how each level of culture impedes or advances the movement is of utmost importance. Communicating effectively to advance the movement must take into consideration such things as the dominant values, perceptions and beliefs of the mainstream public, sub-culture beliefs such as in religious or counter-culture groups and the shared language and experiences of each culture with which the movement is attempting to communicate.

Visual Rhetoric & Affective Images: Part 2

2009-10-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

Pictures can be very effective communication tools. Choosing the right pictures for the right message is very important. Corbett, Cox and the McAllister research confirms that testing images in advance of using them for communication materials is the best approach. The McAllister poll also found that some pictures could speak for whole concepts and problems. Especially for a concept as complex as climate change, images (both pictures and their associated captions) can help explain concepts to people quickly and effectively. This approach may help provide the public with the mental shortcuts, metaphors and level one frames that the FrameWorks researchers recommend.

As mentioned above and in the previous post, affective imagery goes beyond the use of photographs. Using affective imagery in many cases means speaking in a language that the general public can understand. Using metaphors and descriptors that paint a particular “picture” that will make sense to the particular audience at a particular time. Using terms and everyday experiences people understand are important. For example discussion of elimination of traffic congestion and commute time make more sense to the everyday person than does complex ideas like “less urban sprawl”.

The lesson here, which is mentioned in frequently in the research, is that the end result of the actions requested, must be communicated in a way that connects with the person’s beliefs, values and day to day concerns. In essence, creating affective imagery that connects with the level one frame or big ideas that most people already subscribe to.

Additionally, It is important to present information that is vivid “…[vivid] information increases the likelihood that a message will be attended to initially, a process called encoding, as well as recalled later”(McKenzie-Mohr & Smith, 1999). So the information has to communicate in language that is understood by the audience but it also has to be vivid and captivating in order to encode the information in the audience’s brain.

Following this, the message has to be specific. “Messages that describe actions to be taken in clear, straightforward steps are more likely to be understood and followed”(McKenzie-Mohr & Smith, 1999). It also has to be easy to remember “All actions that support sustainability require reliance upon memory. Some activities, such as recycling, make substantial demands on memory. In asking people to recycle, we are requiring them to remember how to recycle (commingled versus separated, whether items have to be washed, etc.)”(McKenzie-Mohr & Smith, 1999).

Finally, feedback for people participating in a new requested behavior is absolutely important so that they can see that their actions are having a measurable impact. The more vividly this can be done with picture graphs, images, and statistics, the better(McKenzie-Mohr & Smith, 1999).
Personal relevance is also an important aspect of the communication message. One finding associated with this was that the health impacts of climate change seem to be all but absent from climate change communications. Although health impacts are expected to pose the greatest risks to humans from climate change they are missing from most communications. Focusing on the local health implications could bring the message home to a lot more people. While the image of rising sea levels may seem dramatic. For people living above the tide line the health effects that their children will face will be much more effective.

Visual Rhetoric & Affective Images: Part 1

2009-10-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

While the research so far has taught, what not to do in framing and message design there are also some great recommendations for what should be done. One of these recommendations is the use of images and as discussed above metaphor, analogy and concrete description. “Research attention has recently focused on the role of affective imagery in risk perception.

Affect refers to the specific quality of “goodness” or “badness” experienced as a feeling state (with or without conscious awareness) or the positive or negative quality of a stimulus. Imagery refers to all forms of mental representation or cognitive content. ‘Images’ include both perceptual representations (pictures, sounds, smells) and symbolic representations (words, numbers, symbols)…In this sense, “image” refers to more than just visually based mental representations. Affective images thus include ‘sights, sounds, smells, ideas, and words, to which positive and negative affect or feeling states have become attached through learning and experience’”(Moser & Dilling, 2007, p. 46).

When surveyed, researchers found that people were more concerned about the effects of climate change on far away people and places. The researchers concluded that people had high concern regarding climate change but action did not take place as a result of their concern. The conclusion was that the most dominant and common images of global warming were melting polar icecaps and non-human nature suffering and that these commonly used images had no affect on people’s feelings of urgency to act on their own behalf. People cared about the far away people and places but this negative feeling state was not strong enough to encourage action. What are needed are climate change images that are vivid, concrete, and personally relevant. As the McAllister Opinion Poll research found “…the goal of any serious communications campaign is to deliver ‘mental imagery’ that activates audience emotions and drives home a message” (McAllister Opinion Research, 2006, p. 6).

Two of the top findings from the McAllister Opinion Poll were that

1. Images help to communicate the meaning of sustainability better than the word. While over eight in ten Canadians are baffled by the word sustainability, nine in ten get the concept if presented with pictures

2. The use of images is also key to communicating issues related to complex concepts like urban sprawl and global warming. (McAllister Opinion Research, 2006 ,p.13).

These findings about visual images were consistent through the research. “Photographs may be powerful, rhetorical statements and, as DeLuca and Demo (2000) argued, they can constitute a context for understanding and judgment. Especially when accompanied by captions that encourage a particular meaning, photos can embody a range of symbolic resources that sustain or challenge prevailing viewpoints…‘[s]ometimes pictures have a chance to change history by creating a larger understanding of a subject, thus enlightening the public and bringing greater awareness to an issue’…”(Cox, 2006, p. 65).

Photographs and visuals can be so powerful that in some cases they have been banned from public display. Cox uses Subhankar Banerjee’s scenes of Alaskan wildlife and the controversy his collection created at the Smithsonian as a good example of this in the United States. Cox explains that this controversial collection of photographs depicting the wildlife and landscape of an area of Alaska that was slated for oil exploration and drilling was pulled from the Smithsonian exhibit after charges that his photographs were too political. His photos show the effects of oil and gas drilling on the wildlife of the area. His work has now garnered international attention including an award from the United Nations Environment Programme. The photographs and captions can be viewed at this website http://www.subhankarbanerjee.org/.

The Difficulty in Framing and Designing Messages about Climate Change & Sustainability: Part 2

2009-10-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

What the FrameWorks researchers found was that climate change tends to be framed as either scary weather or as an economic issue. Both of these topics leave room for lay theorizing but not in a way that has been productive or helpful. They say that if climate change is framed as weather, people see it as natural. They recognize that it has consequences but do not see human actions as the solution.

Most importantly they say that it triggers an adaptive response. So for example, when people hear about scary weather they protect themselves with a solid SUV or move a block from the beach to prepare for the beachfront property they will one day have. Another result is that “[c]urrent weather is treated as evidence for or against global climate change, with anecdotes more common than not”(Moser & Dilling, 2007, p. 35).

So a particularly cold winter will serve as proof that global warming is not happening and a particularly rough storm will prove the opposite. So whether a person believes global warming is happening or not, the connection to weather does not assist in understanding the problem or lead to appropriate action. When framed as an economic issue, people tend to see climate change as a necessary bi-product of industrialism and it becomes a self-interest issue. Environmentalists in this frame are seen as aesthetics that want us to give up the most practical of conveniences (e.g., air conditioning is the example given). Given the bridging metaphor or “object to play with” and the public come to conclusions that lead to the opposite responses that environmentalists were intending.

To explain this Bostrom and Lashof say that individuals develop mental models of causes, effects and mitigation. They use the example of attributing chest pain to heart burn and treating it with heartburn medication. They say that many times the heartburn mental model and its associated treatment leads to mistreatment of heart attacks. The same can be true for climate change. If people are using mental models constructed to understand weather to understand climate change then the solution that they will imagine is appropriate, will not be the one that alleviates the problem. If a person equates climate change with natural cycles in weather the solution is to wait out the bad weather and make short-term or long-term adaptations.

Therefore we need to create appropriate bridging metaphors and mental models that suggest the right causes, triggers, and desirable remedial action. An important step in this process are the use of appropriate metaphor and analogy. Bostrom and Lashof support the claim by Rappaport and Hammond Creighton, that not only is weather an inappropriate symptom of climate change but the metaphor of the “greenhouse effect” is also not working for the average individual. After long time use of this metaphor it is still not producing the desired effect. People still do not understand it. All of the above authors claim that using a more appropriate metaphor such as “a thickening blanket of carbon dioxide” that “traps heat” in the atmosphere, improves understanding markedly (Rappaport & Hammond Creighton, 2007).

Frameworks researchers call for a personal action communication They explain that Americans (and probably Canadians would be at the same level) already believe global warming is happening and they understand that there are negative consequences. What is needed now is to move on from the convincing stage of communication and move on to action-oriented messages that move the conversation onto “what is to be done.” They recommend getting away from the “chicken little” approach (apocalyptic narrative) and move onto a “little engine that could” model.

Their research shows that people need to know more about the solutions. Getting away from metaphors of weather and moving to discussion that better reflects reality. Since this is a human made problem; a human made solution is the answer. They provide the following specific recommendations for communicators in order to do this:

1) Attach the message to responsibility and planning (level one framing)
2) Bring global warming down to earth-make it manageable
3) Give the public a simplifying model of global warming
4) Use reasonable not rhetorical tone to engage listening
5) Give solutions a high priority
6) Use messengers associated with suggested frames
7) Be strategic in the order of presentation of messages (start with level one framing) (FrameWorks Institute, 2007)

The Difficulty in Framing and Designing Messages about Climate Change & Sustainability: Part 1

2009-10-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

As Moser and Dilling in "Creating a Climate for Change" (2007) point out, climate change specifically has many characteristics that make it difficult to understand and communicate. This seems also true for the concept of sustainability.

They explain that “…the inherent natural characteristics and deep societal roots of climate change stack the deck against the issue being recognized as an urgent and actionable problem.”(Moser & Dilling, 2007, p. 8).

Moser and Dilling discuss some of the most common barriers to effectively communicating about climate change:

1. Uncertain science as a political battlefield
2. Media practices and trends (e.g., the need for media balance and “objectivity”)
3. Inappropriate frames or mental models
4. Cultural barriers
5. Alarmism and other ineffective ways to create urgency

Ungar in Moser and Dilling, like other researchers in this field, point to the need for bridging metaphors to help the public understand the abstract and complex science of climate change and other environmental issues in a language and context that they can understand. Ungar says that the “…key to favorable bridging metaphors is to provide the resources for lay theorizing. If a popular culture template affords an appropriable theory, an ‘object to think with’ or that can be ‘played with’—as in Freudian analysis of dreams—it has the capacity to go beyond the scientific domain and to capture the imagination of the public at large….[t]his is underscored by evidence indicating that people learn more from other individuals than from any other source of information…it is conversational presence, encompassing things like talk radio and informal talk related to mundane practices, rather than media coverage per se, that can put an issue in the air and let it acquire a life of it (sic) own”(Moser & Dilling, 2007, p. 83).

Message Framing

2009-10-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

Framing a message can bring it within the boundaries of symbolic legitimacy or attempt to further an insurgent discourse.

As Cox explains “[t]he term frame was first popularized by Erving Goffman in his book Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience (1974). Goffman defined frames as the cognitive maps or patterns of interpretation that people use to organize their understanding of reality…By providing this coherence, media frames help people cope with new or problematic experiences, relating them to familiar ideas and assumptions about the way the world works…opposing stakeholders try to gain public support for their positions, often ‘not by offering new facts or by changing evaluations of the facts, but by altering the frames or interpretive dimensions for evaluating the facts’ (Miller and Riechert (2000, p.45 emphasis added)”(Cox, 2006, p. 178)

The FrameWorks Institute conducted extensive research on the subject for the Climate Message Project. They explain the central concepts of framing:

1) People use mental short-cuts to make sense of the world--frames allow us to instantly assign meaning to events

2) Understanding is frame-based rather than fact based-we need a conceptual framework to process information. Once we have this we can integrate the facts into this framework and not before

3) Incoming information provides cues that connect to the pictures in our heads-we make a mental match between the stories we know and the new story

4) People get most information about public affairs through news media which eventually creates a framework of expectation or dominant frame

5) Frames connect us to different levels of thinking

They explain that every frame defines the issue, explains who is responsible and suggests potential solutions and that all of these are conveyed by images, stereotypes and anecdotes. Of particular importance are the three levels of thinking. Frames work at these three levels:

1) Level 1: Is the level of big ideas, like freedom, fairness, community, responsibility and choice
2) Level 2: Is the level of issue types, like civil rights, education or the environment
3) Level 3: Is the level of specific issues like rainforests or school readiness (FrameWorks Institute, 2007)

Dominant and Insurgent Discourses: Part 3

2009-10-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

Insurgent discourses question the taken for granted assumptions we have in society and offer alternatives to the dominant discourse and related ideologies. An insurgent discourse attempts to steal symbolic power from the dominant discourse. “Some point to an insurgent discourse emerging in popularity after Earth Day, 1970, called the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP). The NEP emphasizes beliefs and values such as ‘the inevitability of ‘limits to growth,’…the importance of preserving the ‘balance of nature,’ and the need to reject the anthropocentric notion that nature exists solely for human use’” (Cox, 2006, p.59).

Within the NEP are examples of an apocalyptic narrative that is discussed by Cox. Paul Ehrlich’s (1968) The Population Bomb, Rachel Carson’s (1962) Silent Spring, and Murray Bookchin’s (1990) Remaking Society: Pathways to a Green Future, are all listed as radical narratives that have emerged as part of this paradigm. As I will discuss below in the discussion of message design, this form of narrative has had mixed results and in many cases has thwarted action and adoption of the NEP.

The reason for a focus on dominant and insurgent discourses is that discourse has real world implications. “As dominant discourses coalesce around specific policies and institutions, they form symbolic legitimacy boundaries that help to legitimate these policies. These symbolic legitimacy boundaries serve to safeguard specific policies and practices, and the authority of certain groups and institutions…[i]n an important sense, the function of …[environmental] communication is to help establish—or challenge—the legitimacy of actions affecting the environment. Legitimacy is generally defined as the right to exercise authority. Yet such a right is not granted naturally. Instead, recognition of legitimacy depends upon a specifically rhetorical process…One of the most rhetorically powerful claims to legitimacy in American political culture is that something is just common sense.”(Cox, 2006, p. 59-60)

One can frame people, ideas or policies as inside the boundaries of symbolic legitimacy (e.g., the scientific community is in consensus on this) or you can frame people, ideas or policies as outside the boundaries of symbolic legitimacy (e.g., environmentalists are wackos, alarmists and emotional uninformed citizens). “Symbolic legitimacy refers to the perceived correctness, authority, or common sense of a policy or an approach to a problem relative to other competing responses”(Cox, 2006, p. 333).

So a market approach for example, under the current boundaries of symbolic legitimacy would be seen as the sensible approach to many environmental problems. Market mechanisms such as carbon taxes or rebates on energy efficiency products are more often than not put forward as the most appropriate solutions. The role then of environmental communicators is to expose our dominant discourses for what they are and initiate a conversation that helps us as a society create discourses that will help us solve our environmental crisis.

Dominant and Insurgent Discourses: Part 2

2009-10-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

Julia Corbett discusses the tendency for us to have an anthropocentric viewpoint, which is reflected in dominant discourse. She tells us that communication for the environment can play a role in developing a more eco-centric viewpoint in our society and contribute to a new insurgent discourse that supports environmental goals. She provides us with a spectrum of environmental ideologies that are expressed as discourse currently.

1. Unrestrained instrumentalism-the natural world and all of it’s resources exist solely for human use

2. Conservationism-Wise use and greatest use for the greatest number of people

3. Preservationism-Conserving resources for humans to use and enjoy for other reasons (religious, aesthetic etc)

4. Ethics and values-driven ideologies-non-human entities have intrinsic value. Humans are part of a biotic community. Reformist rather than radical.

5. Transformative ideologies-deeper questioning of the roots of ecological crisis. Deep ecology focus, ecofeminism, native and eastern religious traditions. Recognizes the role power and dominance play in the problem. (p. 28). Believe in a radical restructuring of society.

As we can see from the above spectrum, it is clear that not all people are coming from the same place and that there is not one environmental insurgent discourse many on a wide spectrum of radicalism. A lot of the research on audiences and reception of messages focuses on which audiences have which entrenched ideologies and which messages can reach each of these audiences effectively.

For example, an article in the Tyee online newspaper in 2006, encouraged environmentalists to stop talking about saving the whales and other furry creatures and move closer to a discussion about humans and the impact on humans of the environmental crisis. The author recommended this because he believed that most of the people that needed to be convinced to change their beliefs and behaviors fit under ideologies #1 and #2 http://thetyee.ca/Citizentoolkit/2006/04/25/WantPowerGetIt/

Dominant and Insurgent Discourses: Part 1

2009-10-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

What is produced by a critical rhetoric is a new set of discourses that replace previous ones that used to seem natural or common sense. Cox explains that “…a discourse is an overall pattern of speaking, writing, or other symbolic action that results from multiple sources. It functions to ‘circulate a coherent set of meanings about an important topic’ (Fiske 1987, p. 14). Such meanings often influence our understanding of how the world works or should work…[w]hen a discourse gains a broad or taken-for-granted status in a culture (for example, ‘growth is good for the economy”) or when its meanings help to legitimize certain policies or practices, it can be said to be a dominant discourse. Often these discourses are invisible, in the sense that they express naturalized or taken-for-granted assumptions and values about how the world is or should be organized” (Cox, 2006, p. 58)

Cox discusses the Dominant Social Paradigm which “affirms society’s ‘belief in abundance and progress, our devotion to growth and prosperity, our faith in science and technology, and our commitment to a laissez-faire economy, limited governance planning and private property rights…”(Cox, 2006, p.58). This paradigm encompasses most dominant discourse in our society. Anything that challenges these beliefs falls into the category of an insurgent discourse.

Rhetoric

2009-10-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

Once the world around you is ‘made strange’ and the taken for granted symbolism is exposed, it is possible to develop a new vision, or frame of reference to view societal practices. Once one starts communicating this new vision one might be move into the delivery of rhetoric.

“…Aristotle…defined rhetoric as ‘the faculty [power] of discovering in the particular case what are the available means of persuasion’… A rhetorical perspective focuses on purposeful and consequential efforts to influence society’s attitudes and ways of behaving, through communication, which includes public debate, protests, news stories, advertising, and other modes of symbolic action (Campbell & Huxman, 2003)”(Cox, 2006, p.53).

This form of rhetoric is critical, questioning the common sense or evident structures, symbols and relationships between social phenomena. It is the actors efforts at taking symbolic power from the current power holders and transferring with the use of effective persuasion.

In the study of critical rhetoric, Cox claims that the source of a new critical rhetoric is an antagonism. In the recognition of the limits of an idea, ideology or worldview an opposing idea can begin to develop and flourish. Alternative voices and viewpoints begin to grow in the cracks where the old beliefs or ideas fall short of explaining social or natural phenomena. Cox recognizes four historical antagonisms that have led to current critical rhetoric in the area of environment and society (p.40):

• Preservation and conservation of nature versus exploitation of it

• Human health versus business and manufacturing activity

• Environmental justice versus a vision of nature as a place apart from the places where people live, work, learn and play

• Protection of the global commons and communities versus economic globalization

Studying the effectiveness of the modes of persuasion (protests, advocacy campaigns, online debates etc) is an entire field of study on it’s own. The approaches that environmentalists have used since the 1970s have garnered a great deal of debate. In particular, the use of radical tactics has generated both criticism and complements. The approach is important though, as much as the messenger. This is where Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic capital as credit is most helpful. The person with a great deal of symbolic capital is much more likely to gain audience and acceptance of his or her ideas. It is also important to recognize here that it is not enough to question the norms, a new theory that can replace the old one is of utmost importance.

Making the World Strange

2009-10-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

Making the world strange

One of the major roles of sustainability communication is in the naming of the problem and in the identification of ways of thinking that is counterproductive to solving the problem. How we perceive and think about the environment leads us to different treatment of it. Much of the literature on environmental communication points to the historical roots of our relationship with the environment.

Being aware of the embedded nature of dominance, paternalism, and reductionism in science in our current societal values, and common sense ideas of the world, is important for making changes to harmful practices that are the result of these embedded historical structures. A good first step is to question everything. Recognizing the current dominant paradigm in our symbolism, discourse and rhetoric is the essential first step to designing frames and messages that can form a new sustainability paradigm.

Julia B. Corbett in her book titled "Communicating Nature: How We Create and Understand Environmental Messages" points out that almost everything in our society communicates. A particularly good example is the cut green lawn. The suburban lawn is a symbol for human control over nature. This important concept of managed nature is symbolism repeated over and over in the way we design our cities, organize our homes and speak to each other about our relationship to nature.

Symbolic Capital Part 3

2009-10-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

Bourdieu also asserts that one cannot gain symbolic power without already having built symbolic capital. Symbolic capital is what an individual can cash in for symbolic power. The ability to legitimately name and classify the social world cannot be done with any effectiveness by one who has not built up symbolic capital in previous battles. In other words not just anyone can exercise legitimate naming power. He tells us that

“To change the world, one has to change the ways of world-making, that is, the vision of the world and the practical operations by which groups are produced and reproduced. Symbolic power, whose form par excellence is the power to make groups (groups that are already established and have to be consecrated or groups that have yet to be constituted such as the Marxian proletariat), rests on two conditions. Firstly, as any form of performative discourse, symbolic power has to be based on the possession of symbolic capital. The power to impose on other minds a vision, old or new, of social divisions depends on the social authority acquired in previous struggles. Symbolic capital is a credit; it is the power granted to those who have obtained sufficient recognition to be in a position to impose recognition…Secondly, symbolic efficacy depends on the degree to which the vision proposed is founded in reality…The ‘theory effect’ is all the more powerful the more adequate the theory is. Symbolic power is the power to make things with word…In this sense, symbolic power is a power of consecration or revelation, the power to consecrate or to reveal things that are already there” (Bourdieu 1989, p. 23).

One builds symbolic power through the legitimating systems controlled by the state, which can grant credentials that allow individuals to exercise symbolic power.

“A credential such as a school diploma is a piece of universally recognized and guaranteed symbolic capital, good on all markets. As an official definition of an official identity, it frees its holder from the symbolic struggle of all against all by imposing the universally approved perspective…The legal consecration of symbolic capital confers upon a perspective an absolute, universal value, thus snatching it from a relativity that is by definition inherent in every point of view, as a view taken from a particular point in social space”” (Bourdieu, 1989, p. 21-22)

The sustainability education movement has a great deal of symbolic capital legitimized by the current social structures and ‘common-sense’ construction of our social reality. Recognizing the immense amount of symbolic capital held by this movement is the first step in the mobilization of symbolic power for the re-visioning of our social world. It is not only within our power to reconstruct the common-sense view of the world and the social structures that support it, the movement is particularly well placed with a large stock of symbolic capital to carry out this work. The collective symbolic capital of the sustainability education movement in BC mobilized for a common cause would go a long way towards developing a vision of an education system that contributed to a more just, economically stable and environmentally healthy society.

“In fact, there are always, in any society, conflicts between symbolic powers that aim at imposing the vision of legitimate divisions, that is, at constructing groups. Symbolic power, in this sense, is a power of ‘world-making.’ ‘World-making’ consists, according to Nelson Goodman (1978), ‘in separating and reuniting, often in the same operation,’ in carrying out a decomposition, an analysis, and a composition, a synthesis, often by the use of labels” (Boudieu 1989, p. 22).

One of the most important assets for this movement to build upon and utilize for movement gain is that of symbolic capital and the symbolic power that can be accessed through this. The following section discusses some key concepts in sustainability communication that I believe falls under the concept of symbolic power.

Symbolic Capital Part 2

2009-10-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

Bourdieu discusses what “…appears to be a universal property of human experience, namely, the fact that the familiar world tends to be ‘taken for granted,’ perceived as natural. If the social world tends to be perceived as evident….this is because the dispositions of agents, their habitus, that is, the mental structures through which they apprehend the social world, are essentially the product of internalization of the structures of that world” (Bourdieu 1989, p.18).

As mentioned in the previous paragraph the movement needs to make the current symbolic representation of reality ‘strange’. Specifically, it needs to redesign the theory of the ‘good life’, ‘progress’, ‘success’ and the purpose of human societies and most important the education system in human societies. It needs to question and deconstruct and then reconstruct how education fits into this new world vision, what it means to get a good education, what productive knowledge is and how symbolic capital is produced. The movement also needs to reclassify the symbolic representations of nature, consumption, economy, industry, and social equity relations.

Bourdieu describes how symbolic struggles such as this develop. He says that these struggles are a negotiation of personal and group identity as well as the negotiation of descriptions and explanations for social phenomena and social structures and who has the power to define and describe. He tells us that

“Symbolic struggles over the perception of the social world may take two different forms. On the objective side, one may act by actions of representation, individual or collective, meant to display and to throw into relief certain realities: I am thinking for instance of demonstrations whose goal is to exhibit a group, it’s size, it’s strength, it’s cohesiveness to make it exist visibly…On the subjective side, one may act by trying to transform categories of perception and appreciation of the social world, the cognitive and evaluative structures through which it is constructed. The categories of perception, the schemata of classification, that is, essentially, the words, the names which construct social reality as much as they express it, are the stake par excellence of political struggle, which is a struggle to impose the legitimate principle of vision and division, i.e., a struggle over the legitimate exercise of what I call the ‘theory effect.’” (Bourdieu 1989, p. 20-21).

Symbolic Capital Part 1

2009-10-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

Symbolic Capital & Symbolic Power-Part 1

Symbolic capital in this framework represents the capacity of movement members to exercise symbolic power and legitimately deconstruct and reconstruct a vision of social reality, which better aligns with the movement’s goals and values. This includes understanding the complexity of the public discourse surrounding the movement values and having the capacity to intercede in this discourse to ensure that movement voices and central principles are heard over the din. This also includes the capacity of the movement to develop a common language, set of symbols and shared frames of reference for communicating about the movement and it’s goals. The development of a strong theory that appropriately describes the world in a way that is compatible with movement values is of utmost importance.

Pierre Bourdieu asserts that symbolic power is the power to name, classify and group social and objective reality. If a group has symbolic power and therefore can name and classify social phenomena, it also has the power to decide what the natural and common sense actions of that thing or group is. Symbolic power then, is the power to legitimately reclassify the social world. Therefore the movement needs to focus on entering the symbolic struggle by reconstructing the classifications and groupings that render the objective structures of society in a particularly natural or evident way (1989) which hinder the progress towards a sustainable society. The movement needs to ‘make the world strange’ in the eyes of the voting public in BC and present a vision of a world that both makes better sense and directs action towards the realization of this vision.

Building Political Capital: Recommendations for the Movement

2009-10-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

Build Political/Representational Capital:

Recommendations:

Literature in environmental communication focuses a great deal on the need for better public participation processes and greater representation and opportunities for citizens to have their voices heard in public forums. The need to address public participation models and for better representation in public forums is also important for the sustainability education movement in BC. In order for the movement to advance it’s goals it must ensure it has respected, articulate and informed voices speaking on the movement’s behalf in public forums and political debates. It also has to encourage and facilitate dialogue and open discussion to increase the opportunities for achieving consensus and support for movement goals.

1. Take stock of the forms of social capital that movement members have access to that can be converted into political capital specifically

2. Prioritize which forms of social capital may need to be developed and which ones can be converted in the near and medium term future. For example the vast network of respected academics in BC could be mobilized to get sustainability education on the agenda for the next federal election. A few individuals in the movement may be the ones with many connections who could build the momentum

3. Provide training on effective public speaking and utilization of message frames

4. Track public forums on political issues in BC and inform members of these opportunities to attend and represent the voice/perspective of sustainability education

3. Connect with and inform those respected and influential individuals who might have access to many of these forums (or the development of them) and communicate the movement’s goals, story frames and connection to other political issues which might be listed as higher on the agenda at the current time.

4. Develop community forums across BC to connect and communicate with BC citizens. Educating and empowering citizens across BC will likely increase dialogue and a favorable public discourse around sustainability education.

Converting social capital into political capital

2009-10-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

Briner and Wittmer (see previous post on "Political Capital for Communication) list the following transformations of social capital into political capital as viewed in practice in case studies from the Thailand forest conservation reform movement:

• Electoral leverage “Actors such as NGOs and POs, which dispose of a high level of social capital in form of organizations and networks, can try to convert it into instrumental political capital in form of electoral leverage” (nd, p. 13)

• Direct participation in the legislative process “The social capital of the supporters of the People’s draft allowed them to make sure of this possibility and collect more than 50,000 signatures, a process, which definitely requires a high degree of organization and logistical support” (nd, p. 14)

• Disruptive leverage The disruption of the economic system in some way whether through blockades, boycotts etc which requires a large network oriented towards a common goal (p. 15)

• Negotiations between peak organizations based on the built social capital of an organization with other organizations, these organizations were able to lobby and negotiate with the government as a collective, increasing their voice and power considerably

• Lobbyism “It appears justified to assume that social capital held by this group in the form of elites…may have been useful for building up political capital by lobbying” (p. 16)

• Strategic Use of Scientific Knowledge “The alliance between academics and the grassroots-oriented NGO and PO movement is a distinctive feature of Thai politics, which has been described as a ‘third force.’

• Politicizability and Use of Ideological Resources Built social capital in the form of networks and relationships with journalists and media groups can greatly assist a movement in politicizing an issue of interest and placing it in the centre of the public discourse. Being able to draw on these resources while piggy-backing on symbolic frames can be of great use to the movement. (p. 17).

• International Influence and “Iso-morphic Pressure. Built networks and relationships with or memberships in global organizations and agreements such as the UN’s Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2015) can assist with mobilization of instrumental political capital.

• Discretionary Administrative Authority Networks and relationships with government bureaucrats and administrators can be converted into political capital with high potential for impact including agenda creation and Bill formation.

Political Capital for Communication

2009-10-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

Political Capital Theory

Political capital in this framework represents the capacity of movement members to gain influence over political processes for the purposes of furthering movement goals. This includes appropriate representation in the media to get issues on the agenda, at public dialogues, within and through the government and as thought leaders with lobbying power in communities across BC.

Regina Briner and Heidi Wittmer in their article "Converting Social Capital into Political Capital: How do local communities gain political influence? A theoretical approach and empirical evidence from Thailand and Columbia" distinguish between instrumental and structural political capital.

“Instrumental political capital is defined in the actors’ perspective as the resources which actors can use to influence policy formation processes and realize outcomes in their interest. Structural political capital is defined in the public perspective and refers to variables of the political system which condition the actor’s possibilities to accumulate instrumental political capital and to use if effectively” (Briner and Wittmer, nd, p. ii).

Without connected, articulate, knowledgeable and respected thought leaders with instrumental political power, the movement as a whole cannot communicate internally or externally with much legitimacy or further it’s goals in the political arena. This will also result in the movement continuing to be underfunded, under resourced, deficient in human capital and lacking in symbolic power. While political capital can be developed through the use of economic capital, the focus on political capital for communication is on how the developed social capital (discussed in a previous blog post) can be converted into political capital.

Building Social Capital: Recommendations for the Movement

2009-10-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

Social Capital for Communication

2009-10-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

Social Capital Theory

Social capital in the Communication Capital Framework represents the capacity of movement members to obtain useful resources through the development and ongoing maintenance of social networks and ties. The use of the term “social capital” for this framework is based on Alejandro Portes’s review of the term and the more poignant definitions developed by prominent sociologists in his 1998 article “Social Capital: It’s Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology”. In this article he quotes Pierre Bourdieu who he felt provided the most theoretically refined introduction of the term. Bourdieu “…defined the concept as ‘the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance or recognition’ (Bourdieu 1985, p. 248; 1980)” (p. 3).

The ties and social networks that produce social capital have both benefits and downsides. Both strong and weak ties can produce benefits for the individual but they can also exclude others from enjoying these benefits and/or limit the individual from enjoying benefits that could potentially be accrued by other ties and group memberships. Members of the sustainability education movement in BC need to be well versed in both the benefits and downsides of the pursuit of social capital.

Social capital is included in the Communications Capital Framework for three reasons.

First, because the development and maintenance of social ties and networks requires deliberate investment by individuals and this investment includes the utilization of strong interpersonal communication skills. Members need to be aware of the benefits of their current networks, learn to increase the potential for accruing benefits from these networks and attempt to increase networks and ties that provide increased access to social capital.

The second reason this concept is included in this framework is because it’s important to see how social capital can produce human, cultural and political capital resources for the movement. Portes discusses how the ‘capital’ in social capital can many times come in the form of access to educational opportunities, membership in notable organizations or status and power that would greatly benefit the movement as a whole.

Third, movement members need to be acutely aware of the potential negative affects of social capital such as exclusion of outsiders from group access to social capital, suppression of group members who excel or succeed in ways that are outside of group norms, demands for group conformity within the movement and the downward leveling norm that keeps group members at the same level as others (Portes, 1998 p. 15-17). If each member of the movement has access to strong social capital sources and the movement itself is a source of social capital for movement members, the chance of success for achievement of movement goals would be greatly enhanced.

Environmental Communication as a Field of Study

2009-10-07T20:23:00.000-07:00

Robert Cox has a great book called "Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere" which can be found here at Amazon or any larger book store

Cox describes environmental communication as “…[a] study of the ways in which we communicate about the environment, the effects of this communication on our perceptions of both the environment and ourselves, and therefore on our relationship with the natural world(Cox, 2006, p.xxiii).

He elaborates on this definition by saying that

“[a] clearer definition [of environmental communication] takes into account the distinctive roles of language, art, photographs, street protests, and even scientific reports as forms of symbolic action. The term comes from Kenneth Burke (1966), a 20^th-century rhetorical theorist…Burke stated that even the most unemotional language is necessarily persuasive. This is so because our language and other symbolic acts do something as well as say something…symbolic action assumes that language and symbols do more than transmit information: they actively shape our understanding, create meaning, and orient us to a wider world”(Cox, 2006, p.12).

As will be discussed in more detail under the blog posts on symbolic capital, environmental or sustainability communication is focused on creating a more sustainable and equitable world by reinventing, imagining and describing the world in a way that precludes action and progress towards this world. Environmental/Sustainability communication focuses on taking the common sense, taken for granted social structures within our society and “making them strange”. In other words, stripping them of their take for granted status and laying their basic assumptions, values and power inequities out for questioning and deconstruction. Sustainability communication also attempts to recreate a vision of society that is preferable to the one we currently have so that citizens can start to weave a new story about the way things “should be”.

Good sustainability communication then, as Cox describes helps us understand where our perceptions of our taken for granted reality come from and redesign these perceptions in order to reorient human action. The author asserts that access to symbolic power, the ability to describe and reconstitute the description of the world and our place in it, is the most important goal for the sustainability education movement in BC.

Photographic Expression

2009-10-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

Photography is a very powerful means for communicating sustainability topics. Some of the best resources and samples can be found at the following links:

Prix Pictet

Edward Burtynsky TED talk

CBC Ideas Show Submissions

2009-10-06T21:57:00.000-07:00

A great way to reach the Canadian audience is through the popular CBC Radio Show IDEAS

The next submission deadline is January 8, 2010. Go to this site to learn more

In the words of CBC

"IDEAS is CBC Radio's program of contemporary thought. The show is an hour long and is broadcast nationally – Monday to Friday – at 9:05 p.m. on CBC Radio One.

The show’s content is wide-ranging. From the French thinker Simone Weil to ideas about oceans. From ice cream to Einstein. Dante to spy novels. Robin Hood to the culture of pain. Almost any subject can become an IDEAS program, as long as there's an important idea at the core and a fascinating story to be told.

Our approach is eclectic, but we focus on the documentary, using story-telling and narrative techniques to convey ideas. Our attitude is one of open exploration tempered by skeptical inquiry. We look for original perspectives and draw on the knowledge, insights and character of our contributors in shaping our programs.

Our aim is to create programs that are insightful, informative, provocative, quirky and entertaining – programs that will appeal to a wide audience."

Recent Resources on Sustainability Communication Theory and Approaches

2009-10-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

Kosmos Spring/Summer 2005 Volume IV, Number 2
Article: "Integral Communication for Sustainability" by Barrett Brown
www.uspartnership.org/.../Barrett_Brown_Communicating_Sustainability_Kosmos.pdf

Sustainability Communications: A Toolkit for Marketing and Advertising Courses http://www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?id=DTI/0886/PA

United Nations Environment Programme The Creative Gallery on Sustainability Communications
http://www.unep.fr/scp/communications/ads.htm

United Nations Environment Programme Communicating Sustainability: How to produce effective public campaigns
http://www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?id=DTI/0679/PA

Futerra Communication Tactics for Climate Change
www.futerra.co.uk/downloads/NewRules:NewGame.pdf

Future Foundation Group "Polishing the Diamond"
www.nfpsynergy.net/includes/.../p/3_polishing_the_diamond.pdf

Now Hear This: The 9 Laws of Successful Advocacy Communicationswww.fenton.com/FENTON_IndustryGuide_NowHearThis.pdf

The Royal Society: Climate Change controversies: a simple guide
http://royalsociety.org/page.asp?id=6229

Ekos Communications reports on sustainability communication research by James Hoggan & Associates
http://ekoscommunications.com/node/307

Communications Capital Framework Post #1

2009-10-06T20:37:00.001-07:00

I thought it would be helpful to start with a framework which sustainability education advocates in BC could use to develop their communications approaches. This framework is based on the community capital framework discussed in detail in Mark Roseland's book "Toward Sustainable Communities: Resources for Citizens and Their Governments" and theory on different forms of capital by Pierre Bourdieu and others.

The framework is based on my informed belief (and on a great deal of research out there...see my September 28th post for some of these listings) that communication strategies must go much deeper than media and marketing campaigns and encompass network development, communication skills development, language and symbolic power formation and much more.

In order to address the communication challenges, questions and prescriptions for “how” discussed by the BC Sustainability Education movement (see Introduction Blogs from October 2009), it is helpful to have a framework to guide action. The following is an overview of a framework for communications planning, which will assist movement members in the development of more comprehensive and effective strategies and will empower them to move beyond basic information and marketing models.

The Communications Capital Framework is based on research in the field of environmental and sustainability communication and is modeled after the theoretical concepts of alternate capital sources which has been used in community capital models. The theory for most of the discussion on forms of capital for this framework was taken from the work of Pierre Bourdieu, a pioneer in this area. The concept of utilizing many forms of capital as a framework for asset development comes from the work in sustainable community development, primarily the work of Mark Roseland and associates, in which communities are encouraged to develop and utilize all the assets they require to make positive change. The Communications Capital Framework is not designed with the assertion that it is a completely unique theoretical framework but instead was put together as a way of organizing what the blog author believes to be critical areas of asset development for effective social change movement communication.

The communications capital framework has been and will continue to be used to develop recommendations for the movement in throughout guideBLOG and it can also be used to develop plans and evaluation criteria for communication strategies in organizations wanting to advance sustainability education in BC.

The Communications Capital Framework utilizes the concepts of social capital, political capital, human capital, cultural capital and symbolic capital. The framework is based on the assertion that all of these sources of capital need to be considered and developed as assets within the movement in order to move beyond individual communication strategies and toward a truly transformative discourse about sustainability education. The framework includes the capital concepts as listed above as well as key environmental and sustainability communication theory which the author of this blog believes can be very complimentary.

The blog posts following this will discuss each form of capital and my recommendations for the movement in each area.

Introduction to Communications guideBlog #2: Sustainability Education Action Focus 3: Communicate and Connect

2009-10-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Sustainability Action Focus 3: Communicate and Connect

The following text is from the How Sustainability Education? A Solutions Summit Report

How do we ensure that our mutually created discourse continues to be transformative?

This action theme embraces the need for a transformative discourse, one that weaves a new story about our place in the world, what makes a good and prosperous society and why and how sustainability education can get us there. Many participants discussed developing tools and approaches for collective and collaborative visioning. They also urged us all to reach out beyond the institutions and organizations we are members of and talk with the people in our communities and within the wider public sphere. To do this well, we need a common and accessible language to work with. Sustainability is a complex and sometimes confusing concept and the better we are at helping people connect the concept of sustainability with their own lived experiences, the more likely our discourse will be truly transformative.

Communication is the starting point for involving everyone, since how we communicate can make the difference between engaging people and alienating them. If we can’t communicate with each other, we can’t work together.

Participants at the April 27, 2009 How Sustainability Education: A Solutions Summit event, discussed developing strong relationships within and outside the movement, building systems and tools for ongoing networking and dialogue, creating our own media and messaging outlets and going out into our communities to speak face to face with people directly. Learning and teaching members of the movement about interacting with the media, developing marketing materials and engaging in effective public relations was also deemed important. Finally, there was an emphasis on communicating hope and celebrating successes as a central theme of all communication efforts. While climate change and other environmental crises are a serious threat to us all, and we all need to be aware of this fact, scary messages of this type do not always get people engaged effectively. Participants recommended that we pair the facts with inspiring messages of hope and possibility as much as possible.

QUESTIONS developed by participants
• How do we collectively develop a common language to speak to each other with?
• How do we create a metanarrative/new story to connect agendas?
• How can we keep the dialogue, conversations and brainstorming going?
• How do we get our message out to the general public and decision makers?

HOW developed by participants
• Build personal relationships within our organizations, our sectors and across organizations and sectors
• Create tools and spaces for visioning a preferred future
• Focus on communicating hope
• Engage the community/public through the media, public forums/blogs and face to face
• Develop effective messages to meet people where they are. All communication must take into consideration people’s lived experiences. Think about how you can talk meaningfully with anyone about sustainability issues
Actions/Opportunities
• Online portal/clearinghouse for sharing information, connecting with others, posting best practices, sharing success stories, sharing tools, developing mentorship relationships and coordinating efforts.
• Hold multi-stakeholder School District dialogues on sustainability as a step toward creating a culture of sustainability within the K-12 school system
• Submit Short Videos About Sustainability Work
• Develop a Walking the Talk Channel on YouTube
• Infuse Sustainability Indicators Into Everyday Language
• Work on bringing visioning exercises that inspire action to students, creating leadership that they can carry with them
• Gaining access to or creating an institutional website for teaching and learning on sustainability ” (p.16

Introduction to Communications guideBlog #1:Sustainability Education in BC: 8 Priority Action Themes

2009-10-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

The Communications guideBLOG for the BC Sustainability Education Movement was developed to address the communication challenges and barriers experienced by individuals and organizations within the movement.

This guidebook is the result of research conducted before, during and after the “How Sustainability Education? A Solutions Summit” event, which took place in Vancouver, British Columbia on April 27, 2009. The results of the Summit can be found on the WalkingtheTalk website

“At the 2007 event titled “Why Sustainability Education”, participants from post-secondary, K-12 and other public sector organizations developed the 10 Principles of Sustainability Education. These principles provided a guide for educators and learners on what sustainability education should look like in practice. In 2009, the BC Working Group and Network on Sustainability Education posed a new question to participants at their follow up event titled “How Sustainability Education? A Solutions Summit”. This question asked, “How can we build a cohesive movement for sustainability education in BC?” The answers to this question are reflected in 8 action themes, which serve as a roadmap to education as sustainability:

1. Radically redesign the education system so that the 10 Principles of Sustainability Education are integrated into the foundation of the education system in BC.

2. Involve everyone in every sector, at each institution, in all parts of the province.

3. Communicate and Connect with each other, with sustainability education opponents and with the general public to keep a transformative discourse alive and collectively write a new story about education and its place in our society.

4. Collaborate and Share with each other. Working together rather than reinventing the wheel. Developing and sharing best practices together, coordinating projects and resources and keeping each other updated on successes.

5. Cultivate Leaders/Change Agents to increase the number of confident, capable and engaged individuals within the movement.

6. Develop common planning & measurement processes and tools to reduce work and allow for cross sector organization and project comparisons

7. Develop new funding and resource strategies to sustain the movement and ensure the legitimacy of sustainability education within the system

8. Collectively advocate for policies that support top down AND bottom up change within the education system

These action themes were developed out of the major recurring dialogue threads emerging from the April 27^th Summit. The themes emerged through a daylong dialogue involving students, staff, faculty, teachers, administrators, operational managers, business leaders and non-profit staff. The action themes reflect the collective effort to brainstorm and problem solve the way to how.

“The “8 Action Themes for How: A Roadmap to Education as Sustainability” was developed by coding the entire collection of notes from the dialogue (over 100 pages of text). This includes the individual table notes from each round and the whole group notes from the Vancouver session, notes from each of the regional dialogues and the pre & post survey completed by participants. Coding is a qualitative method that develops categories (which are then grouped into themes) out of texts of conversations, interviews, survey responses, meeting notes, dialogue sessions and other human interactions. The themes resulting from the coding, reflect a common thread within the discourse of the Summit participants before, during and after the Summit” (How Sustainability Education Report p.12).

This guidebook will focus on action theme number three which has a communications focus.

“3. Communicate and Connect with each other, with sustainability education opponents and with the general public to keep a transformative discourse alive and collectively write a new story about education and its place in our society”.

The purpose of this guideBLOG is to address the challenges and barriers identified in this action focus by providing a resource for sustainability education advocates and change agents so that they can become more effective communicators and the movement as a whole can utilize communication theory, strategies and tools to advance sustainability education in British Columbia.