Bougainville Audience Study - Niupela Wokabaut Bilong Bogenvil - Phase 2

Media and communication play a crucial role in Bougainville’s peace process and preparations for the referendum about Bougainville’s political future. The baseline research of the Bougainville Audience Study (Phase 1), which was conducted in 2015 and published in 2017, demonstrated a number of limitations and opportunities with regards to media and communication for people living in Bougainville. The study provided information about Bougainvilleans’ access to and use of information sources and channels, as well as how much they knew about, and how they perceived, the Bougainville Peace Agreement and the upcoming referendum. This Phase 2 of the study uses the data of the Bougainville Audience Study conducted in 2015 as comparative data, and aims to assess the effectiveness of relevant information activities undertaken and materials circulated since 2016. One significant difference between Phase 1 and Phase 2 is that this second study included responses from two groups of Bougainvilleans: those living in Bougainville and those living outside Bougainville. During Phase 2, the research team asked Bougainvilleans how they thought their knowledge level about the peace agreement and referendum had changed, and what their aspirations were for the referendum process and beyond as it relates to information and communications. This Phase 2 research presents an important component in understanding the knowledge levels of the Bougainville population prior to the referendum, as well as people’s attitudes and expectations about the various components of government and Bougainville’s political development. The results presented in this report offer insights to the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) and other organisations involved in public awareness and designing media and communication strategies informed by what Bougainvilleans would like to know and what they feel the current gaps around information and communication are.