E VA LUAT ION R E P OR T

Executive summary
Mexico | Central America
Growing audiences and strengthening local media:
Media Viability and Media and Information Literacy inviolent contexts

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Background
Latin America is characterized by social inequality, violence, and major social problems. Indigenous communities and people
in remote or impoverished areas have very
limited access to robust media offeringson topics relevant to them. Critical reporting by journalists and local media outlets isoften only possible under insecure conditions. DW Akademie addresses this deficit
with two strategies, namely by making theongoing human rights violations visible
and strengthening media outlets themselves (Media Viability) and by empowering users to better assess media reports
and make their own voices heard (Mediaand Information Literacy). The project fosters the long-term resilience and viabilityof independent local media in Mexico, aswell as their attempts to increase publicawareness of human rights violations. The
overall goal is to increase both the relevance of local media outlets and trust injournalists. In Guatemala, the focus is on
Media and Information Literacy (MIL). Vulnerable population groups in rural, mainly
indigenous, regions and urban peripherieslearn to exercise their rights to self-determination and social participation. In El
Salvador, two universities joined forces
to advance MIL approaches in the educational field. In Honduras, disadvantaged

young people from poor urban neighborhoods were empowered to use the media
more safely and to express their concerns
in public.
The overall objective of the program isto support “disadvantaged populationgroups, especially indigenous peoples andyouth, as well as those affected by violent
conflicts, in their use of the media to claim
their social, political and cultural rights
and constructively participate in the management of social conflicts.” The expected
outcome is to support “independent Mexican media and civil society organizationsin the promotion of a broad social debate on human rights violations in areas
where freedom of expression is particularly threatened. Organizations in Central
America and Mexico are actively promoting Media and Information Literacy (MIL)
and a greater presence of disadvantaged
youth in the media landscape.”
The project partners in Mexico are the umbrella organization of independent media
houses “Periodistas de a Pie (PdP)” and thehuman rights organization “Técnicas Rudas (TR)”. The target group encompasses
media professionals and committed volunteers from civil society. In Guatemala, theproject partners are ASEC (radio stationsand a publishing house), IGER (a publishingand training institution) and Comunicares,
a consulting NGO for indigenous regions,while the target group includes the indigenous populations of four separate linguistic regions and disadvantaged youth fromthe urban peripheries. In Honduras, OYE
addresses older young people from disadvantaged segments of society. In consultation with ASEC, the media lab format“AlfabetaMedia” was developed in El Salvador by two universities, UCA and ECMH, toteach media skills.
In addition to the DAC criteria (relevance,coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability), this evaluation takes
a closer look at the issue of efficiency andthe cooperative relationship between DW
Akademie and its local partners. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and theadaptation of the project to the changed
framework conditions caused by the pandemic were also examined. Methodologically, the evaluation is based on a document­analysis, interviews and focus groups.

Project evaluation results
Relevance: The project convincingly pursues a human rights approach. While thecreation of a project with a specificallyregional focus was a new development, it
was clearly successful, as demonstrated
by the transfer of MIL activities to Mexicoand the supra-regional networking with
important organizations. The directly andindirectly addressed target groups wereselected according to need and greatly
benefited from the various project measures. In Mexico, a clear delineation of thetarget group is still lacking. Through thereallocation of funds, many of the ongoing project activities could be adapted andimplemented despite pandemic-relatedrestrictions. Face-to-face activities weresuccessfully replaced by interactive digital
instruments that will still be useful after
the pandemic is over. The project’s relevance is thus rated as “overall fulfilled.”

Coherence: When selecting the project
partners, care was taken to ensure thatthe working methods and values of theorganizations were coherent with theobjectives and measures of the planned
project. The transition to online work wasa dynamic process, which also accelerated innovative digital productions andstabilized the close exchange between
DW Akademie and its partners. The networks and working strategies initiated by
the project, such as Campus AMI, AMIDual and the network Red AMI, establishedsustainable structures and created synergies between the partners in the countries
involved and other organizations active
across the region, such as with UNESCO
in the context of the Red AMI. Overall, theproject’s coherence is rated as “comprehensively fulfilled.”

Effectiveness: Based on the media viability approach, eight media houses in
Mexico were strengthened organizationally and structurally so that their work
is more targeted, effective, and able tocounter the “disinformation crisis” inMexico. The media alliance organized byPdP has succeeded in defusing the threat
they face. With its numerous events, TR
has created new opportunities for directly addressing interested segmentsof the population and has increased thevisibility of human rights violations. InGuatemala, MIL has proven to be a successful education and skills development
measure for various target groups. The
impact will be most felt in the scalabilityof the experiences from Guatemala into
further project countries. The establishment of MIL in the four indigenous
project regions was successful. The part-ners in Honduras and El Salvador weretrained in MIL activities and successfully adapted them to their own needs andcontexts. The project’s effectiveness israted as “comprehensively fulfilled.”
Efficiency: The management structure ofthe project—with a program director inboth Mexico and Guatemala, and an office manager in Guatemala who supported the project’s activities in Honduras
and El Salvador—proved to be successful.
The head office in Mexico needs to bestrengthened in terms of staff in order tobetter reflect the regional nature of theproject, especially since local/regional
experts ensure an adequate understanding of the socio-cultural context. The
management level of DW Akademie in
Germany is committed to a participatory
working culture, although not all cultural and historical factors were fully taken
into account. Communication processesand responsibilities were clearly defined.
The cost-benefit ratio is optimal. The flexible reallocation of funds in response to
the pandemic has proven to be extremely
successful. The project’s efficiency can beassessed as “overall fulfilled.”

Impact: The changes brought about by
the project include an increase in reporting on human rights violations in Mexicoand the integration of disadvantaged
population groups in Guatemala into themedia landscape. It can be assumed thatyoung people in Guatemala, Honduras andEl Salvador have become more critical andself-confident in dealing with media offerings. Although not planned, the project
also sparked the interest of parents in theindigenous regions of Guatemala for MIL
and helped strengthen young people’s linguistic and cultural self-identification. The
project’s impact is thus rated as “comprehensively fulfilled.”
Sustainability: In Mexico, the solidarity
and structured exchange among the media outlets have strengthened the media
alliance both internally and externally, interms of their public visibility, for the longterm. Thanks to DW Akademie’s consultancy services, the internal organizational
structures of various media outlets havebeen improved for the long term, and PdP
could professionalize their work. In Guatemala, sustainable structures have beencreated, partly through the recognition ofMIL concepts within educational policy.
Both project partners are financially stable. The enormous commitment shown by
ASEC and Comunicares in Honduras and El
Salvador are beginning to have a visible,
sustainable impact on the cooperation
partners there. The project’s sustainability
is rated as “comprehensively fulfilled.”

DW Akademie

is Deutsche Welle’s center forinternational media development,journalism training and knowledgetransfer. Our projects strengthen thehuman right to freedom of expression
and unhindered access to information.
DW Akademie empowers people
worldwide to make independent
decisions based on reliable facts andconstructive dialogue. DW Akademie isa strategic partner of the German
Federal Ministry for Economic
Coopera­tion and Development. We
also receive funding from the Federal
Foreign Office and the European Union
and are active in approximately 60
developing countries and emerging
economies.

CONTAC TDr. Laura Moore
Head Research and Evaluation
laura.moore@dw.com
Berlin, Germany
DWAkademie@dw_akademie
DWAkademie
dw.com/newsletter-registration
dw.com/mediadev

The objective of the external evaluation is to provide a constructive assessment of the project results. It does not necessarily align with theperspective and planning of DW Akademie. Nevertheless, all findings were discussed in order to allow lessons learned to be incorporated into
the development of future strategies.