The Montes de María region of Colombia, found on the country’s northern Caribbean coast, is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. But the ecosystem faces a major complication: human interference. Clemencia Rodríguez, Temple University professor and director of the Klein College of Media and Communication’s Media Studies and Production Master of Arts program, knows all too well about the unique struggles of the area. Along with Patrick Murphy, associate dean for Research & Graduate Studies at Klein College, she helped launch the Communication, Community, and Environmental Stewardship initiative. The project aims to bridge the gap between environmental grassroots collectives and the local population by developing communication strategies that citizens can use to take control of their region’s narrative and improve environmental practices. This collaborative project also involves researchers from the University of Western Sydney in Australia, as well as from two Colombian universities: Universidad del Norte and Universidad Autónoma del Caribe.
Rodríguez is a scholar in the area of community media. She developed the “citizens’ media theory,” which examines the ways communities use media as tools of protection, strategy and activism.
“I totally fell in love with the idea that media technologies are in the hands of people,” she says. “And that people -- totally normal folks from all walks of life without professional training in media -- can actually learn to operate these media technologies and use them to improve the quality of life in their communities.”
Montes de María was the site of warfare between guerrilla organizations such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP), extreme right paramilitary groups and the government’s security forces for more than 50 years. The war had a paradoxical impact on the region; on one hand, it scarred local ecosystems and kept biologists, conservationists and environmental NGOs away; on the other hand, the war isolated the region and deterred tourism and extractive economies.
However, when recent peace treaties went into effect, tourism and agribusiness began to rise and now disturb the previously preserved region. This unique situation places urgency on grassroots collectives to explore what messages work best for their environmental causes, and because researchers have expertise in this kind of development, the two sides make a perfect pair.
“A lot of the things that are happening in the global South, particularly in Latin America, are exceptionally interesting because oftentimes … these are communities that are seeking and doing for themselves,” Murphy says. “And sometimes the role of [a researcher] who does these kinds of workshops is just to facilitate that process. So it’s not really like ‘Here, we have the answers, take them,’ as much as it is facilitating conversation and problem-solving skills.”
“We as researchers are experimenting with very new, innovative methodologies on how to work with grassroots organizations and academic organizations together, because the relationship has never been easy,” Rodríguez says. “We are approaching things in a much more respectful way, and we believe that [the organizations] have tremendous knowledge, and we have tremendous knowledge.”
Murphy is excited to continue the program, which has already held two workshops: one last December with six grassroots collectives and the university researchers, and another earlier this year with researchers from Universidad del Norte. They plan to have another joint workshop later this year.
“There’s an element of exchange, reciprocity, of shared learning,” says Murphy. “And that’s the power and dynamic of these kinds of workshops.”
Reporting By Dylan Coyle