Digital communication of Spanish NGOs in support of Western Sahara

La comunicación digital de las ONG españolas de apoyo al Sáhara

doxa.comunicación | 26, pp. 13-34 | 13

January-June 2018

ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978

How to cite this article:

De Cos Carrera L. and Mañas Viniegra, L. (2018). Digital communication of Spanish NGOs in support of Western Sahara. Doxa Comunicación, 26, 13-34.

Laura de Cos Carrera. Student in Audio-visual Communication and Advertising, a Bachelor’s Degree in Ad-vertising and Public Relations from Complutense University of Madrid, and is co-founder of the Association of Solidarity with the Sahrawi People Nuestra Jaima. Her lines of research are related to Communication in non-profit organizations.

Complutense University of Madrid, Spain

[email protected]

ORCID: 0000-0002-3963-6685

Luis Mañas Viniegra. He holds a PhD in Audiovisual Communication and advertising. He is Associate Professor at Complutense University of Madrid and University Rey Juan Carlos, and a member of the Complutense Research Group for Brand Management and Communication Processes. His main lines of research are the management of intangibles in the corporate brand and the application of new technologies to educational innovation. His latest publication starts one of the topics on which his next research will focus: Mañas-Viniegra, L. (2017). “Digital storytelling in corporate communication: Comparison between IBEX 35 and Dow Jones”. The professional of the information, v. 26, n. 6, pp. 1127-1138.

Complutense University of Madrid, Spain

[email protected]

ORCID: 0000-0001-9129-5673

Resumen:

Esta investigación analiza cuantitativa y cualitativamente las ac-ciones de comunicación que realizan las ONG españolas de apoyo al Sáhara, así como su nivel de profesionalización. Se realizó un estu-dio exploratorio basado en un análisis de contenido de las webs de las entidades miembro de CEAS, realizando posteriormente entre-vistas semiestructuradas a sus responsables para profundizar en la gestión de su comunicación. Como conclusión, se observa un escaso nivel de profesionalización y la necesidad de incorporar a profesio-nales de la comunicación en redes sociales.

Palabras clave:

Comunicación; redes sociales; ONG; Sáhara; web 2.0.

Recibido: 06/11/2017 - Aceptado: 05/12/2017

Abstract:

This research analyses quantitatively and qualitatively the com-municative actions carried out by Spanish NGOs in support of Western Sahara, as well as their level of professionalism. An ex-ploratory study was conducted based on content analysis of the websites of members of CEAS (State Coordinating Committee of Solidarity with Western Sahara Associations), and then sub-sequently carrying out semi-structured interviews with their directors to delve deeper into the management of these NGOs’ communications. In conclusion, it has been observed that the level of professionalism is low, and there is a need to incorporate communication specialists in social media.

Keywords:

Communication; social media; NGO; western Sahara; web 2.0.

Received: 06/11/2017 - Accepted: 05/12/2017