Neighbourhoods fit for diverse young people: civic media practices and urban claims-making in Nepal and India

Many grassroots groups are using media tools as a key aspect of their advocacy and collective mobilisation: in other words, civic media. 

Emerging digital tools and platforms have created new possibilities for citizen participation and are shaping the urban experiences of many, particularly the young. However, there are many disparities in terms of digital literacy, infrastructure, the media landscape, and social and cultural norms. 

These can create barriers and reinforce inequalities across gender, ethnicity, age and caste, among others. 

This action-research project saw IIED work with NGOs and grassroots groups in the cities of Dharan in Nepal and Bhuj in India, as well as with the regional network of the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR).

The partners explored how diverse groups of young people can use civic media technologies to enable meaningful and equitable participation as ‘urban citizens’ towards ‘neighbourhoods fit for young people’.

In each city, a series of ‘civic media labs’ were created with youth groups. Following a methodology IIED had already advanced in Lagos and São Paulo, the project documented these labs and supported local partners to ensure the labs had a meaningful impact.

What did IIED do?

The research was led by the University of Sheffield, in collaboration with academic institutions in Nepal and India, with local NGOs implementing the labs. IIED supported the project by leading two areas: 

• Policy impact, supporting the process of consolidating learning, scaling out, and policy uptake of the project. We did this by convening workshops and exchanges with regional and international organisations and networks, as well as producing impact strategies, policy papers and other outputs. 
• Civic media, supporting the design of the labs’ methodology and implementation, and the production, documentation and organisation of civic media training materials, methods and approaches. 

Across both areas, IIED produced an online toolbox of civic media practices. This was used to document the pedagogical process, methods and lessons around embedding digital strategies into more democratic urban processes such as claims-making. This platform also allowed the project to connect with other initiatives addressing similar issues.