Abstract :

The presence of Internally Displaced Women (IDW) from the Anglophone crisis has become a strategic communications lever for the municipality of Douala IV. Acting in a context of national media silence and strong political sensitivity, the municipality deliberately adopted the principle of “Doing is Communicating” (Watzlawick et al., 1972, p. 48). The positive image of the territory is not constructed by speech, but by concrete proof of action on the ground.

This approach is anchored in the Theory of Social Constructivism (Berger & Luckmann, 1966), where the municipality seeks to externalize its political intention and construct a favorable reality. It achieves this by actively supporting the resilience and self-organization of the IDW. Associations, training and various supports allow women to project their strength of character, thus deconstructing the Social Representation (SR) of the passive victim to impose that of the active entrepreneur (Abric, 1994).

Individual successes are integrated into municipal storytelling (Salmon, 2007) and showcased during public events (Goffman, 1959). This positive instrumentalization directly serves Place Branding: the success of the IDW becomes proof of performance which strengthens the reputation of Douala IV (Fombrun, 1996) as an efficient, humane and united city (Kavaratzis & Hatch, 2013). The visible and successful management of IDW legitimizes social spending among local citizens and ensures strategic alignment with the financing criteria of social associations and national NGOs, guaranteeing the attractiveness and stability of the territory.

Research background :

• Contextual Motivation: The Challenge of Media Silence and Legitimization

The primary motivation is to analyze communication strategies in the context of national media silence and political sensitivity. The Cameroonian context requires an unconventional analysis to understand how a local authority, Douala IV, legitimizes its action and the allocation of its resources to the host populations without the support of the national press (Fombrun, 1996, pp. 7-10).

The research aims to determine how the municipality forces its image to exist and maintain its credibility in the face of international partners despite the absence of traditional coverage, transforming the absence of media into an imperative for action (Bourdieu, 1994, pp. 140-145).

• The Theoretical Framework: Action as Construction of Reality 

The theoretical motivation is to apply Social Constructivism to territorial marketing. We seek to prove that the principle "Doing is Communicating" is not just a theory, but a survival strategy for municipal image. The research uses the concept of Externalization (Berger & Luckmann, 1966, p. 77) to analyze how concrete actions to help the IDF (doing) constitute the only way to actively build the reality of a united city.

This involves studying how the municipality converts an experienced social reality (the crisis) into a desired reality (resilience), all supported by the pragmatics of communication (Watzlawick et al., 1972, p. 48).

• The Innovative Role of Women Displaced by the Anglophone Crisis in Place Branding (Municipality of Douala IV).

The research is motivated by the study of the role of the marginalized individual (the FDI) in Place Branding. She analyzes how the municipality positively exploits the resilience and positive Social Representations (SR) of women (Abric, 1994, pp. 55-60) to strengthen its symbolic capital.

The FDI, as an involuntary ambassador, allows Douala IV to differentiate itself by anchoring itself on strong human values (Kavaratzis & Hatch, 2013). The motivation is to decipher how individual successes, mediated by storytelling (Salmon, 2007, pp. 45-50), are strategically used to support the reputation of local governance.

Research methods :

• Literature Review: Understanding the Context and Strategy

This literature review aims to establish a solid theoretical and empirical framework for analyzing the use of Internally Displaced Women (IDWs) as a communication tool within the Douala IV district. Empirically, this review will focus on reports from humanitarian organizations (UNHCR, IDMC) on the vulnerability of IDWs in Cameroon, specifically examining Women Heads of Households (WHHs) to understand the raw material of this communication strategy namely, the initial state of the IDWs.

Theoretically, it is crucial to consolidate the conceptual basis of the work: Social Constructivism (Berger & Luckmann, 1966) for the analysis of image construction, Place Branding (Kavaratzis & Hatch, 2013) and Reputation Theory (Fombrun, 1996) to measure territorial issues, and finally Social Representation Theory (SRT) (Jodelet, 1989; Abric, 1994) to decipher the perceptions and stereotypes that the municipality tries to modify through its communication action ("Doing is Communicating").

• Qualitative Interviews: Gathering Stories and Perceptions

The interview phase aims to collect rich and nuanced primary data in the field, allowing us to grasp the lived experience of the instrumentalization and communication strategy in the absence of national media coverage. Key stakeholders will be segmented into three groups to cross-reference perspectives: first, the FDI themselves (the mechanism), particularly those involved in Common Initiative Groups (CIGs) or micro-enterprises funded by the municipality, to assess their perception of the aid and their sense of being valued or utilized; second, Municipal Actors (the sender), to document their communication strategy in the face of media silence and the justification for the instrumentalization of the FDI cause; third, Key Partners (the intermediary receiver, such as NGOs and neighborhood leaders), to assess the credibility and impact of Douala IVe's actions on the territory's reputation and on local social perceptions.

• Thematic Analysis: Decoding Messages and Representation

Thematic analysis is a systematic qualitative approach applied to data from interviews and municipal documents, aimed at identifying recurrent and structuring themes that explain the effectiveness of the communication strategy. Central themes will include the Theme of Evidence, which will analyze how success stories of FDI validate the principle of “Doing is Communicating” and reinforce municipal legitimacy; the Theme of Double Representation, which will examine the tension between the Representation of the Victim (necessary for humanitarian aid) and the Representation of the Contributor (necessary for Place Branding); and finally, the Theme of Intermediation, which will highlight the essential role of NGOs and local social networks as alternative communication channels to bypass the national media void and ensure message dissemination.

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