United Nations: Background Information and Engagement with the Public Sphere
Please follow the rubric and Report exemplar is in the file
Background and Context
This task is designed to develop your understanding of the relationship among public opinion, policy and the public sphere. It requires you to research the contemporary nature of role of the public sphere, especially in relation to the integration of digital, online spaces (such as websites, social media, mobile media, digital platforms, and so on) from an organisational communication perspective.
You are able to choose the type of organisation you would like to investigate in your report. This can be a NGO (like Amnesty International or Greenpeace), either national or international, a political party, a supranational institution like the United Nations or the World Trade Organisation.
Key questions
What is the mission, key objectives, and strategies of the organisation, especially in relation to public sphere and public opinion?
Who are the organisation’s stakeholders?
How does your chosen organisation use online spaces and digital technology to engage with the public?
In what kind of digital platforms does the chosen organisation present its public image? What is behind these choices?
Who does the organisation target in dissemination of messages and information?
What is the content and form of the organisation’s online communication?
What kind of timing does the organisation disseminate specific messages and information?
Does the use of such digital technologies alter, extend, or refine the organisation’s engagement with public sphere and public opinion?
What recommendations can be made to improve the organisation's online engagement?
Key inclusions
Demonstrated theoretical understanding of foundational concepts of the public sphere and application to public engagement by an organisation
Detailed original analysis of the selected organisation's use of digital technology as per the questions above
A report structure: Introduction, sub headings and recommendations
Assignment Presentation Requirements
Your report should be 1500 (+/- 10%) words in length. The reference list is not included in the word count.
APA referencing must be used. A guide to APA 6th can be downloaded here
Due to anonymous marking only use your SID and not your name
Only submissions in doc or docx files will be accepted
Appendices, diagrams and/or glossaries are encouraged.
Presentation should be professional in tone, style, formatting, and design.
Submission must be uploaded as a doc or docx file. No other file formats will be accepted.
Assignment Exemplar
Report exemplar.docx download This exemplar is of a High Distinction submission. Note, however, there may be some minor errors.
Learning Support
Time will be spent in seminars exploring the topics and discussing relevant concepts and ideas.
Writing resources are available through the University. The Write Site and the Learning HubLinks to an external site. have excellent resources.
Report Structure. This is a typical report structure:
Title Page
Executive summary
Introduction
- Purpose of the report
- Issues to be discussed and their significance
Discussion
- Subheading/topic 1
- Subheading/topic 2
- Subheading/topic 3
(As many are needed)
Conclusion/Recommendations
References
Appendices
Learning Outcomes
Research and analyse the roles of various stakeholders, including states, NGOs and other civil society actors in the formation of public policy
Critically assess the communication approaches, strategies and tactics these stakeholders employ
Reflect on the role of the professional communicator in influencing public opinion and legitimating policy
Interrogate theoretical positions and assumptions regarding the concept of the public sphere and processes of public opinion formation in a postmodern context
Report: United Nations
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Report: United Nations
Introduction
The idea of the public sphere, while it has its origin in ancient Greece, has remained critical in modern society as a tool to assist in demonstrating the relationship between the media and democracy. Philosopher and sociologist Habermas developed the concept of the public sphere, where he wrote about the emergence of the bourgeois public sphere (Iosifidis, 2011). In the particular sphere, public debates occur, which facilitates citizens’ engagement in essential matters. The public sphere shapes public opinion on the issues, hence acting as a link between citizens and the government (Dahlgren, 2005). The formation of networks by the bourgeoisie within society and the increase in the number of newspapers offered means through which private thoughts could be made public. Debates about the contribution of the Internet to the public sphere and democracy became more pronounced when online became a mass phenomenon in the mid-1990s. Various online spaces like Facebook and Twitter have become platforms where people gather to discuss political issues and disseminate information meant to influence society in a particular direction (Nielsen, Cornia, & Kalogeropoulos, 2016). The online space is a new sphere for public engagement, hence understanding how the new arenas contribute to democracy. Despite the controversies surrounding digital platforms as means of influencing democracy, it is apparent that most organizations are capitalizing on digital technologies to communicate with their audience. This report will demonstrate how the United Nations (UN) gets involved in the public sphere and influences public policy. In particular, the report will focus on how the organization uses digital platforms to disseminate crucial information to the audience.
Background Information
Founded in 1945, the UN currently has 193 members. UN as an intergovernmental organization aims to maintain international peace and security. The organization establishes friendly relations among countries and fosters international cooperation (United Nations, 2021). As a result, the UN manages to harmonize the activities of nations, hence ensuring that countries can coexist harmoniously and peacefully. Here, the UN seeks to be central to coordinating the actions of the members, therefore enabling them to achieve the stated goals and objectives. The organization also helps countries work together to improve the people’s livelihoods to conquer hunger, illiteracy, and disease. The UN’s mission is to maintain peace and security, protect human rights, deliver humanitarian aid, support sustainable development and climate action, and uphold international law (United Nations, 2021). The UN exists to serve the interests of the stakeholders. These include local authorities, non-governmental organizations, scientific communities, indigenous peoples, workers, trade unions, women, children, youth, and the business community. When executing a program, the UN relies on stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation of the set activities. The organizations rely on the stakeholders’ expertise and outreach capabilities to implement projects to benefit society (United Nations, 2021). The member states benefit from the cooperation of the UN with the various stakeholders. The UN has continued to evolve over the years to keep pace with the changing world. The organization appreciates that the world is rapidly changing hence the need to make adjustments to remain relevant. The UN is aware that new ways of communication keep on emerging (United Nations, 2021). Despite the changes, the UN has remained a place where all the world’s nations gather to highlight issues affecting them and discover shared solutions for the benefit of all people.
UN’s engagement with the public sphere
The UN uses UN blogs to provide users with updates from the UN social media team. Individuals can access the website for an article that handles an area of interest for the organization. The posts are updated to ensure that they meet the required threshold. In addition to the website, the UN capitalizes on social media to connect with the audience. The organization uses Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Medium, and TikTok. Among the various social media platforms, Twitter has the highest followership of 14.2 million.
On Twitter, the UN targets more professional audiences who want to get official communication from the audience. The posts contain hashta...