The CGIAR Media Unit became operational mid-2006 and was quickly able to deliver resounding success in strengthening the public profile of the CGIAR and its Centers as leaders in agricultural research for development. Using a consultatively developed work plan complemented by activity-specific media strategies, the Media Unit secured positive coverage in mainstream and specialist print and broadcast media outlets nationally and internationally.

Key Accomplishments in 2006

Promoting and Publicizing CGIAR Research, particularly focusing on case studies in Africa. The Media Unit began on a high note by supporting a media event organized by the Marketing Group in its 2006 communication campaign on desertification. The desertification media event, held in June in Nairobi, brought together a number of Centers to showcase how agricultural research is developing technologies for farmers in Africa to deal with land degradation. Panelists were drawn from the World Forestry Center, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), with 27 national and regional journalists attending. At least 10 media hits followed, including coverage on SciDev.Net, New Agriculturist, allAfrica.com, and national newspapers and radio in Kenya. Another media effort hinged on a desertification symposium held in Niger in September, generating about 20 media hits.

The Media Unit also supported the Africa Rice Center's efforts to raise its profile in East Africa during the first Africa Rice Congress, held in Dar es Salaam. The effort realized more than 40 media hits, not only in key national and regional media of East Africa, but also in India and China - and in the Economist. An equally successful press trip to an ICRISAT research-for-development site in Tanzania for nine journalists from Kenya and Tanzania yielded an average of two articles per journalist.

With the support of Burness CommunicationThe CGIAR's profile was catapulted to new levels through good publicity worldwide generated by the August media launch of the landmark Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture. This media pitch hit all major international newswire services, with Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Inter Press Service, Reuters and Xinhua generating 37 print articles, about 160 online articles, and several radio and TV reports, not to mention extensive coverage in other languages (e.g., Swedish). Comparable success was attained for an ILRI book, Mapping Climate Vulnerability and Poverty in Africa, during the November meeting in Nairobi on climate change. Indeed, because the CGIAR was positioned as a credible, accessible source of information, the Media Unit got, on one day alone, three interview requests from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Network Africa, BBC World Service, and BBC French Service.

Building Effective Working Relations with National and International Journalists and Media Organizations. The media specialist has enjoyed an exceedingly fruitful reengagement with former colleagues in national media in Kenya and other African countries, as well as establishing links with the Foreign Correspondents Association of East Africa, whose members represent most key international media as well as media from various CGIAR Members. As a subscribed association member, the CGIAR gets inside information on the comings and goings of international media, direct access to association members, and the opportunity to host members and provide speakers for their monthly meetings.

Equally important, the Media Unit has used every activity it has undertaken, including Center induction and work-planning visits, to reach out to journalists and establish contacts with media at those locations. For example, by collaborating with the Swedish International Water Institute and attending the World Water Week in Stockholm, during which the Comprehensive Assessment was launched, the Media Unit was able to gain access to hundreds of specialist journalists attending the meeting. These journalists are now in the CGIAR media database, which by the end of 2006 had more than 1,000 media contacts.

The Media Unit continues to build on the CGIAR's relationships with such journalist organizations as the International Federation of Environmental Journalists and the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ). Indeed, CGIAR Centers in Nairobi were privileged in November to host about 80 members of the WFSJ, generating awareness, interest and coverage of their research activities (see below).

Strengthening the Capacity of CGIAR Centers to Make the Most of Interactions with Journalists. The media specialist devoted substantial time last year to visiting Centers to understand their priorities and capacities in communication and public awareness. During these visits, she undertook a variety of activities including helping public awareness staff understand what makes news, how journalists work and what they want from Centers. She also addressed the fears and misconceptions held by scientists and other Center staff about journalists and the media, paving the way for more positive, proactive engagement with journalists.

In every media campaign undertaken by the Media Unit, time is devoted to meeting scientists and spokespeople to ensure clear, coherent and consistent messages. This is augmented by developing press releases, or other appropriate media materials, e.g., backgrounders and fact sheets. Working with scientists also prepares them to anticipate questions from journalists.

Strengthening the Capacity of Science Writers in Africa Improve the Frequency and Quality of Stories on CGIAR research. The Media Unit partnered with WFSJ to hold a peer-to-peer mentoring workshop in Nairobi in November. The Media Unit arranged visits to CGIAR Centers in Nairobi for 70 or so journalists from Africa and the Middle East, together with about 10 senior science writers (mentors) from developed countries. Visits to the World Agroforestry Center and ILRI campuses enabled the science journalists to see world-class agricultural science firsthand, interact with researchers and avail themselves of unique story opportunities.

Collaboration with Other System Office Units

The CGIAR Media Unit collaborated with other SO units as follows:

• It worked closely with the CGIAR Secretariat/ the CGIAR Marketing Group's campaign on desertification and organized an inter-Center media event in Nairobi in June, generating media coverage of the issue and of relevant CGIAR interventions in the region. In September, the media specialist arranged media coverage of a high-level symposium on desertification in Niger, generating good coverage regionally and internationally. The key success story of land rehabilitation resonated in various media to November.
• The Media Unit helped the Gender and Diversity Program promote the second round of fellows in national media in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya by disseminating a press release that generated coverage in Ugandan and Tanzanian dailies, as well as in the regional weekly East Africa.
• The Media Unit and the CGIAR Secretariat worked together on what was probably the year's most successful campaign: the media launch of the landmark Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture.