Creating a communication strategy for a Maltese gay rights organisation

Abstract

The following is a practical dissertation aimed at developing an effective communications strategy for a Maltese gay rights organisation. After conducting a number of interviews and focus groups, and research on 'effective communication', a communications strategy was generated outlining, primarily, the organisation's objectives, challenges and the most important messages that need to be communicated. As an appendix to the communications strategy, a sample year-plan was also created, with practical suggestions of how the organisation can communicate its message with its limited resources, each month. This is a ready-for-use communications strategy and year-plan that can easily be tailored to the specific needs of any organisation, but that focuses on the current needs and situation of the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) - a prominent pressure group which has been around for seven years and which for the most part has been the only political voice of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. In the first chapter, I outlined the current situation in Malta in terms of gay rights, as well as giving a brief explanation of the justification and reasoning behind this project. In the second chapter I highlighted aspects from literature ranging from advertising to public relations and cause- and social-marketing. In the third chapter I explained the methodology used to identify the needs of a gay rights organisation in Malta by interviewing prominent gay activists, and conducting focus groups with heterosexual University students and the executive board of the MGRM. In the fourth chapter I expanded on the results of these sessions and explained how I used the qualitative research to form ideas for the communications strategy and year-plan. In the concluding chapter I drew conclusions and made a number of recommendations as to how the organisation can be more effective in its workings. Throughout my research I found that an increase in visibility is the most important step for the LGBT community in Malta, so that it becomes a larger force to be reckoned with and so that the Maltese people can become more informed and less fearful about homosexuality. However, in order to increase visibility, LGBT people need to 'come out of the closet' and start to live their lives openly- and they can only do that once the society ensures their safety and security. In order for this to happen I also found that the organisation needs to supplement its public messages with strong, behind-the-scenes lobbying with decision-makers. The artefact (the communications strategy and sample year-plan) that is presented with this dissertation is not in APA format, but in a style in which it can be presented to 'the client'.