TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT INFORMATION ECOSYSTEMS executive summary 1 Most Trusted Broadcaster: State Television MRTV 30 ABOUT INFORMATION ECOSYSTEMS 5 Radio - Most Trusted Source for Information In Former Conflict Areas 30 6 International Radio - Perceived Bias In Coverage Of Conflict In Rakhine State 32 8 Print – the need for local language publications 34 Eight Critical Dimensions of Information Ecosystems ABOUT THE RESEARCH Relevance of Mon State Study to Myanmar as a whole 11 From Burma to Myanmar: Information Ecosystems at Work 12 Information Ecosystems under Military Rule 13 information flows 36 Trust and Verification – No Single Source Is 100% Trusted 38 INFORMATION FLOW MAPPING 41 Control and Propaganda 13 INFORMATION FLOWS IN ACTION – CASE STUDIES 41 Alternative Information Supply as a Pro Democracy Tactic 14 CASE STUDY 1: EARTHQUAKE IN SANGAING AND MANDALAY REGIONS, NOVEMBER 2012 42 CASE STUDY 2: U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S VISIT TO MYANMAR, NOVEMBER 2012 44 New Perspectives: Supply vs Consumption 15 Ecosystems in Political Transition 16 Myanmar Media Landscape 2012-2014 16 Increased Access Does Not Necessarily Mean Better Informed 17 How Information Permeates: trust, need, flow and exchange 18 findings 19 Use of Media and Technology: Key Findings 21 Information Flows: Key Findings 21 Understanding Trust And Influence: Key Findings 22 Interpreting the Key Findings 22 Electricity Availability Limits Use of Technology 24 Mobile – Significant Expansion Despite Cost 25 Internet Awareness Low Half the Population of Mon State Doesn’t Know What The Internet Is 27 CASE STUDY 3: COMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN RAKHINE 46 STATE, JUNE – DECEMBER 2012 conclusions & recommendations Conclusion 49 LESSONS LEARNED 50 abbreviations and glossary TIMELINE 2012-2014 appendix 1: research design 52 53 54 Research Objectives 54 Methodology and Approach 54 SMS and Internet Penetration – Complicated by Illiteracy and Lack of Written Language 28 Television – Overtaking radio in Urban Mon State But Half of Mon State Residents Have Never Watched 48 28 A t the heart of the Internews Center for Innovation & Learning’s work is the vision that healthy information ecosystems are a root solution to furthering human progress. The term Information Ecosystems refers to a loose, dynamic configuration of different sources, flows, producers, consumers, and sharers of information interacting within a defined community or space. For anyone interested in improving information access, flow and uptake in target communities, an understanding of Information Ecosystems are increasingly recognized as being key to the design of appropriate and effective interventions. Borrowed from environmental studies, the term “information ecosystem” is used to describe how local communities exist and evolve within particular information and communication systems. Within these systems, different types of news and information may be received from outside then passed on to others— through word of mouth, key community members, phone, the Internet, and the like. An examination of an information ecosystem looks at the flow, trust, use and impact of news and information. 4 INFORMATION ECOSYSTEMS in transition: a case study from myanmar part one: rese arch findings An information ecosystem is not a static entity; it is by nature constantly evolving and changing. Nor is it a discrete form; it can be defined at many levels, from global to interest-based groupings within communities. Any examination of an information ecosystem looks at information needs, creation and distribution as fluid systems that adapt and regenerate according to the challenges of a given situation. More formally, the Internews Center for Innovation & Learning (hereafter referred to as the Center) currently defines an information ecosystem as follows: Information ecosystems are complex adaptive systems that include information infrastructure, tools, media, producers, consumers, and sharers. They are complexes of dynamic social relationships; information moves and transforms in flows. Through information ecosystems, we can see information as a master resource, like energy, the lack of which makes everything else more difficult. 5 how to inform, empower, and impact communities INFORMATION ECOSYSTEMS in transition: a case study from myanmar how to inform, empower, and impact communities PART ONE: RESEARCH FINDINGS