MASS MEDIA AND SOCIAL CHANGE
8.0. Objective of the Lesson:
The objective of this lesson is to assist you in
- Understanding how communication can be used for social change
- Understanding the role of media in social development
Structure of the lesson :
- Introduction
- Communication for Development
- Trends, challenges and priorities
- Communication strategies for implementation of sustainable development
- Development Support Communication
- Mass Media in Development and Social Change
- Summary
- Technical Terms
- Model Questions
- Refernce Books
The relationship between the practical application of communication processes and technologies in achieving positive and measurable development outcomes is a relatively modern subject of research, discussion and conjecture. While media professionals, opinion-shapers and development assistance policy-makers have often sought to utilize communication systems for social mobilization and change, a lack of understanding of the complexity of behavioural, societal and cultural factors on end-user consump- tion patterns has more often led to an ineffective, or even counterproductive, outcome.
“The driving forces of communication for social change can be synthesized as follows:
- Sustainability of social changes is certain when individuals and communities affected acquire ownership of the communication process and contents;
- communication for social change is horizontal and strengthens community bonds by amplifying the voices of the poorest;
- communities should be the protagonists of their own change and manage their communication tools;
- ratherthan focusing on persuasion and information dissemination, communication for social change promotes dialogue, debate and negotiation from within communities;
- the results of the CFSC process must go beyond individual behaviour and consider social norms, current policies, culture and the general development
- CFSC strives to strengthen cultural identity, trust, commitment, voice ownership and generally community empowerment;
- it rejects the linear model of information transmission from a central sender to an individual receiver, and promotes instead a cyclical process of interactions focused on shared knowledge and collective
Five essential conditions
Communication for social change is a live process which is difficult to capture with academic definitions. However, there are at least five essential characteristics or conditions that are present in processes of communication for social change.
[1] Community participation and ownership
Too many communication projects in the context of development have failed due to lack of participation and commitment from the subjects of change. “Access” to mass media has proved insufficient and has often resulted in manipulations with vested interests. Therefore, one of the main CFSC conditions is participation and ownership of the communication process and contents.
[2] Language and cultural relevance
For several decade development programmes were imposed on Third World nations, while communica- tion strategies were designed in the laboratories of industrialised countries. The same models, messages, formats and techniques were utilised and still are today-in distinct cultural contexts. The communication process cannot ignore or deny the specificity of each culture and language; on the contrary, it will support them to acquire legitimacy. Cultural interaction or the exchange between languages and cultures is healthy when it happens within a framework of equity and respect, through critical dialogue, debate on ideas and solidarity.
[3] Generation of local contents
Vertical models of communication for development take for granted the fact that poor communities in developing nations lack “knowledge”. Access to information generated in industrialised countries is seen as the silver bullet. CFSC strengthens local knowledge and promotes exchanges in equal terms, learning through dialogue in a process of mutual growth. For CFSC, the generation of local contents and the revival of knowledge accumulated over decades is fundamental.
[4] The use of appropriate technology
Fascination with technological innovation, often presented as the sine qua non condition for development, can lead to greater dependency. Many projects failed because they were equipped with technology that people were unable to pay for, renew and control. Communication for social change promotes processes, not technologies. The use of technology must be adapted not only to the real needs but to the potential of ownership by the actors involved in each stage of the process.
[5] Network and convergence
Communication process that isolate themselves, that don not establish dialogue with similar experiences, are less likely to grow and be sustainable. CFSC promotes dialogue and debate, not only within the community, but also towards similar processes. Networking contributes to strengthening the process and exchanges add richness to them.”
Source : Wikipedia
A history of Communication for Development
The initial enthusiasm for development communication was seen as a social system that could transform individuals and societies from ‘traditional’ to ‘modern’. Development was seen as a unilinear, evolutionary process.
In the mid-1960s, this perspective was challenged by Latin American social scientists, and a theory dealing with dependency and underdevelopment was born. Implicit in the analysis of the dependistas was the idea that development and underdevelopment must be understood in the context of the world system. This dependency paradigm played an important role in the movement for a New World Information and Com- munication Order. Emerging nations moved to form the Non-Aligned Movement, which defined develop- ment as political struggle.
Today, since the demarcation of First, Second and Third Worlds has broken down, there is a need for a new concept of development which emphasizes cultural identity and multidimensionality. As countries and communities become more interdependent, a new framework must be sought within which both the Centre and the Periphery can be studied separately and in their mutual relationship, at global, national and
local levels. A new viewpoint on development and social change has come to the forefront. The common starting point here is the examination of the change from “bottom-up”, from the self-development of the local community. More attention is also being paid to the content of development, which implies a more normative approach.
Another school of though questions whether “developed” countries are in fact developed, and whether this genre of progress is sustainable or desirable. It favours a multiplicity of approaches based on context and basic, felt needs, and the empowerment of the most oppressed sectors of various societies.
The diffusion model
Although development strategies in developing countries diverge widely, the usual pattern for broadcasting and the press has been predominantly the same: informing the population about projects, illustrating the advantages of these projects, and recommending that they be supported. A typical example of such a strategy is situated in the area of family planning, where communication means like posters, pamphlets, radio, and television attempt to persuade the public to accept birth control methods.
This model sees the communication process mainly as a message going from a sender to a receiver. Modernization is conceived as a process of diffusion where by individuals move from a traditional way of life to a different, more technically developed and more rapidly changing way of life. This approach is therefore concerned with the process of diffusion and adoption of innovations in a more systematic and planned way. Mass media are important in spreading awareness of new possibilities and practices, but at the stage where decisions are being made about whether to adopt or not to adopt, personal communica- tion is far more likely to be influential.
Therefore, the general conclusion of this line of thought is that mass communication is less likely than personal influence to have a direct effect on social behaviour.
Newer perspective on development communication claim that this is a limited view. They argue the development will accelerate mainly through active involvement in the process of the communication itself. Research has shown that, will groups of the public can obtain information from impersonal sources like radio and television, this information has relatively little effect on behavioral changes.
The participatory model
The participatory model stresses the importance of cultural identity of local communities and democratiza- tion and participation at all levels – international, national, local and individual. In order to share information, knowledge, trust, commitment, and a right attitude in development projects, participation is very important in any decision-making process for development. This model stresses reciprocal collaboration throughout all levels of participation.
Also, these newer approaches argue, the point of departure must be the community. It is at the community level that the problem of living conditions are discussed, and interactions with other communities are elicited. This principle implies the right to participation in the planning and production of media content.
Participation is made possible in the decision-making regarding the subjects treated in the messages and the selection procedures.
One of the fundamental hindrances to the decision to adopt the participation strategy is that it threatens existing hierarchies. Nevertheless, participation does not imply that there is no longer a role for develop- ment specialists, planners, and institutional leaders.
It only means that the viewpoint of the local groups of the public is considered before the resources for development projects are allocated and distributed, and that suggestions for changes in the policy are taken into consideration.
A question of power: cultural freedom
When discussing communication for development, there is more at stake than mere attitudes. It is also question of power. Policy-makers cannot legislate respect, nor can they coerce people to behave respect- fully. But they can enshire cultural freedom as one of the pillars on which the state is founded. Cultural freedom differs from other froms of freedom in a number of ways.
First, most freedom refer to the individual. Cultural freedom, in contrast, is a collective freedom. It is the condition for individual freedom to flourish. Second, cultural freedom, properly interpreted, is a guarantee of freedom as a whole. It protects not only the collectivity but also the rights of every individual within it.
Third, cultural freedom, by protecting alternative ways of living, encourages creativity, experimentation and diversity, the very essentials of human development. Finally, freedom is central to culture, and in particular the freedom to decide what to value, and what lives to seek. One of the most basic needs is to be left free to define our own basic needs.
Therefore, in contrast to the more economic and politically-oriented approach in traditional perspectives on sustainable development, the central idea is that three is no universal development model which leads to sustainability at all levels of society and the world, that development is an integral and multidimensional process that can differ from society to society, community to community, context to context.
The perspective on communication has changed. The emphasis now is more on the process of communi- cation (that is, the exchange of meaning) and on the significance of this process (that is, the social rela- tionships created by communication and the social institutions and context which result from such relation- ships). With this shift in focus, one is no longer attempting to create a need for the information dissemi- nated, but rather disseminating information for which there is a need.
Democracy is honored in theory, but often ignored in practice. Governments and/or powerful private interests still largely control the world’s communication media, but they are more attuned to, and aware of, democratic ideals than before. At the same time, literacy levels have increased, and there has been a remarkable improvement in people’s ability to handle and use communication technology. As a conse- quence, more and more people can use communications media. They can no longer be denied access to, and participation in, communication processes due to a lack of communication and technical skills.
And yet the disparity in communication resources between different parts of the world is increasingly recognized as a cause of concern. The plea for a more balanced and equal distribution of communication resources can only be discussed in terms of power at local, national and international levels.
“Internal” and “external” factors inhibiting development do not exist independently of each other. In order to understand and develop a proper strategy one must have an understanding of the class relationships of any particular peripheral social formation and the way in which these structure articulate with the Centre on the one hand, and the producing classes in the Third World on the other. The very uneveness and contra- dictory nature of the capitalist development process necessarily produces a constantly changing relation- ship.
Some communication systems have become cheap and so simple that the rationale for regulating and controlling them centrally, as well as the ability to do so, is no longer relevant. However, other systems (for instance, satellites, remote sensing, transborder data flows) remain very expensive. They are beyond the means of smaller countries and may not be “suitable” to local environments.
Information has been seen as the leading growth sector in society, especially in advanced industrial economies. Its three strands – computing, telecommunications and broadcasting – have evolved histori- cally as three separate sectors, and by means of digitization these sectors are now converging.
Throughout the past decade a gradual shift can be observed away from a technological in favour of more socio-economic and cultural definitions of the Information Society. The term “knowledge society” better coins this shift in emphasis from ICTs as “drivers” of change to a perspective where these technologies are regarded as tools. These may provide a new potential for combining the information embedded in ICT systems with the creative potential and knowledge embodied in people: meaning is not something that is delivered to people, people create and interpret it for themselves.
Discussions on globalization and localization have challenged old ways of thinking about sustainable development. Lie and Servaes adopted a convergent and integrated approach in studying the complex and intricate relations between globalization, social change, consumption and identity. Such an approach would allow problems to converge at key crossings or nodal points. Researchers then are rid of the burden
of studying linear processes in totality, eg, production and consumption of global products and their relevance from a sustainable perspective, and instead are allowed to focus on the nodal points where processes intersect.
The Thai concept of community development
The TERMS model of Ruaral Community Self-Reliance is an integrated framework. TERMS stands for Technology, Economic, Natural Resource, Mental and Socio-cultural. It is the result of Extensive research. which the Thai National Research Council commissioned from the Science and Technology Institute. More than 50 academics, from government bureaus, universities, the private sector, and community leaders from five villages were involved. It took them more than seven years to arrive at what now is being called the Thai concept of community development. It views self-reliance of a community as a goal of community development. Self-reliance of a community can be established if in addition to TERMS, the following dimensions are taken into account: A development and self-reliant process based on Balance, Ability and Networking (BAN). These three factors run together with the balance of each element in TERMS and community management. Participatory Action Research (PAR) as the process in which the facilitators and villagers collaborate through discussion, planning, evaluation or research at all times. A re-socialization and conscientization process (in Thai: Khit pen) which makes the people value Thai identities, Thai culture and folk wisdom to benefit the Thai style of living.
Priority areas for communication organizations and Practitioners in relation to sustainable development
Communication has become an important aspect of development initiatives in health, nutrition, agriculture, family planning, education, and community economics. They believe there are three general perspectives on Communication for Development:
- A first perspective could be of communication as a process, often seen, in metaphor as the fabric of It is not confined to the media or to messages, but to their interaction in a network of social relationships. By extension, the reception, evaluation and use of media messages, from whatever source, are as important as their means of production and transmission.
- A second perspective is of communications media as a mixed system of mass communication and interpersonal channels, with mutual impact and In other words, the mass should not be seen in isolation from other conduits.
The digital divide is not about technology, it is about the widening gaps between the developed and developing worlds and the info-rich and the info-poor, While the benefits offered by the Internet are many, its dependence on a telecom infrastructure means that they are only available to a few. Radio is much more pervasive, accessible and affordable. Blending the two could be an ideal way of ensuring that the benefits accruing from the Internet have wider reach.
- A third perspective of communication in the development process is from an intersectoral and inter- agency This video is not confined to information or broadcasting organizations and ministries, but extends to all sectors, and its success in influencing and sustaining development depends to a large extent on the adequacy of mechanisms for integration and coordination.
Different approaches and strategies at UN agency, governmental and NGO levels
Distinct development communication approaches and communication means used can be identified within UN agencies, governmental and non-governmental organizations. Some of these approaches can be grouped together under the heading of the diffusion modle, others under the participatory model. The major ones could be identified as follows.
Extension/Diffusion of Innovations Network development and documentation ICTs for development
Social marketing Edutainment (EE) Health communication Social mobilization
Information, Education and Communication (IEC)
Institution building
Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) Development Support Communication (DSC) HIV/AIDS community approach
Community participation
The three main strategies for Communication for Development can be identified at three levels: behaviour change communication; advocady communication and communication for social change (sometimes called communication for structural and sustainable change).
1. Behaviour change communication
This category can be further subdivided in perspectives that explain:
- Individual behaviour The Health Belief Model (HBM) is based on the premise that one’s personal thoughts and feelings control one’s actions. It proposes that health behaviour is therefore deter mined by internal cues (perceptions or beliefs), or external cues (e.g. reactions of friends, mass media campaigns, etc.) that trigger the need to act. This model further explains that before deciding to act, individuals consider whether or not the benefits (positive aspects) outweight the barriers (negative aspects) of a particular behaviour.
Social marketing in Honduras and the Gambia
Social marketing is the application of commercial marketing techniques to solve social problems. It involves a multi-disciplinary approach. To fight deaths caused by diarrhoea, one of the social marketing “products” in Honduras was a package of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) powder which is meant to be dissolved with one-half or one litre of clean water. In Gambia, due to the problematic distribution system and no capacity to manufacture ORS, the concept of “home-made mixture” became one of the products. The other products are the concept of taking fluids while having diarrahoea, good feeding practices for stick children, the importance of breastfeeding, the importance of feeding solid foods during and after diarrhoea, and keeping the family compound free from faeces, Comprehensive mediated campaigns were launched. Radio and pictorial print media were carefully planned to reach illiterate target groups. Interper- sonal communication in the form of community volunteers, traditional birth attendants, community health workers, and midwives was also effective.
- Some theoretical framework that explain interpersonal behaviour are the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), the Social Experience Model (SEM), the Social Network and the Social Support Theory. The Social Network theory explains the mechanisms by which social interactions can promote or inhibit individual and collective behaviour. An understanding of network theory enables program mers to better analyse how friends, families and other significant people might impact on the same individuals and groups that they are trying to influence. The Social Support Theory, on the other hand, refers to the content of these relationships – ie. what is actually being shared or transmitted during different interactions. As such, assistance provided or exchanged through interpersonal and other social relationships can be characterized into four types of supportive action: Emotional support, instrumental support such as tangible aid or services, appraisal support such as feedback and constructive criticism, and informational support in the form of advice or suggestions etc.
The Development Support Communication (DSC) is the systematic utilization of appropriate communica- tion channels and techniques to increase people’s participation in development and to inform, motivate and train rural populations. In the late 1980s, FAO started the CATs (Community Audio Towers) and UNICEF, the Compas (Community Public Address System), in the last 1990s. Both are similar communi- cation strategies based on community audio towers. At the heart of both projects is the support for rural communities to use this narrowcasting technology for community communication and social development. The local communication system aims to raise and discuss local issue and mobilize community members on children’s rights, health and nutrition, child protection, education, livelihood, agriculture, etc. A Commu- nity Media Council may vary from one place to another, but generally includes equal representation from farmers, wome, elderly people, youth, health workers, educators, local authorities, religious leaders and so on. It is important to note that women make up half of the representatives at the CMC, and are very active as broadcasters.
- The best-known theoretical framework that explain community or societal behaviour is the Diffu sion of Innovations (DOI) approach. There are others as well, such as the Conceptual Model of Community Empowerment.
Advocacy communication
Advocacy communication is primarily targeted at policy-makers or decision-makers and international levels. The emphasis is on seeking the support of decision-makers in the hope that if they are properly “enlightened” or “pressured’”, they will be more responsive to societal change. A general definition of advocacy is:
“Advocacy for development is a combination of social actions designed to gain political commitment, policy, support, social acceptance and systems support for a particular goal or programme. It involves collecting and structuring information into a persuasive case; communicating the case to decision-makers and other potential supporters, including the public, through various interpersonal and media channels; and stimulating actions by social institutions, stakeholders and policy-makers in support of the goal or programme.”
Advocacy is most effective when individuals, groups and all sectors of society are involved. Therefore, three main interrelated strategies for action can be identified:
- Advocacy – generating political commitment for supportive policies and heightening public interest and demand for development issues;
- Social support – developing alliances and social support systems that legitimize and encourage development-related actions as a social norm;
- Empowerment-Equipping individuals and groups with the knowledge, values and skills that encourage effective action for
3. Communication for structural and sustainable change
Behavioural change communication and advocacy communication, though useful in itself, will not be able to create sustainable development. This can only be achieved in combination with, and incorporating, aspects of the wider environment that influence (and constrain) structural and sustainable change.
In sum, there are a variety of theortical models that can be used to devise communication strategies for sustainable development. However, as each case and context is different, none of these have proven completely satisfactory in the field of international development. Therefore, many practitioners find that they can achieve the greatest understanding by combining more than one theory of developing their own conceptful framework.
In recent years, mass media has become a powerful tool for bringing about social change. “The same techniques which were developed in industry for promoting commercial goods and services are now being applied to community development.
One of the first examples of using media for social change and development is Farm Radio Forums in Canada. From 1941 to 1965 farmers met in groups each week to listen to special radio programs. There were also printed materials and prepared questions to encourage group discussion. At first this was a response to the Great Depression and the need for increased food production in World War II. But the Forums also dealt with social and economic issues. This model of adult education or distance education was later adoped in India and Ghana.
Instructional television was used in EI Salvador during the 1970s to improve primary education. One of the problems was a lack of trained teachers. Teaching materials were also improved to make them more relevant. More children attended school and graduation rates increased. In this sense the project was a success. However, there were few jobs available in EI Salvador for better-educated young people.
In the 1970s is Korea the Planed Parenthood Federation had success in lowering birth rates and improv- ing life in villages such as Oryu Li. It mainly used interpersonal communication in women’s clubs.
A project of social marketing in Bolivia in the 1980s tried to get women in the Cochabamba Valley to use soybean recipes in their cooking. This was an attempt to deal with chronic malnurishment among children. The project used cooking demonstrations, posters and broadcasts on local comercial radio stations. Some people did try soybeans but the outcome of the project is unclear.
By working as a partner in the process of social change, the media can bring about positive results in society. Broadcasting mass media provide information following allocution patterns, with all the attendant, intrinsic disadvantages: one-way communication with few possibilities for feedback, physical distance between sender and receiver, and reinforcement of the existing power structure. Two further weaknesses of mass media broadcasts are the difficulty of retaining the information for later use and the susceptibility, at the same time, of messages to alternative interpretations.
Radio is by far the most widely used electronic (mass) medium in rural regions of developing countries, primarily because of its versatility which allows for its use in various types of communication efforts. The presence of local radio stations and the availability of small transistor radios allow for ‘easy and affordable access’ in relatively large geographical areas. The extent to which local radio stations operate as indepen- dent broadcasters largely depends on the socio-political and economic context of a country, which also determine the way radio stations are allowed to be used.
Local radio stations can be considered the most important mass media as far as their contribution to rural development in developing countries is concerned. The role of these radio stations consitsts of providing an alternative, more independent, source of general information, as well as offering information on issue of local interest through discussions, interviews with representatives of local interest groups, and testimonies of individuals on their experiences. Simultaneously they offer local NGOs and government agencies access to mass media and often serve as intermediaries between the population and local authorities.
Although active participation of the audience in broadcasts may compensate for some of the disadvan- tages of broadcasting in general, local radio stations seem to be unable to move beyond the aforemen- tioned role. In a sense participation of the audience represents a registration pattern, which could serve to provide more meaningful information through broadcasts, thus increasing the relevance of allocation patterns. The relative independence of the local stations (of the state, but not of commercial interests, or institutions such as the church) gives them a higher level of credibility with the local population, but the essentially one-way information flow of the broadcasts limits the use of radio in rural development to very specific aspects.
Media As an Instrument Of Social Change
The last three decades have witnessed unprecedented growth in the worldwide spread of electronic mass media. This has been made possible mainly due to the digital revolution in computer networks, compres-
sion technologies and proliferation of satellite broadcasting. Radio and, later television, as the dominant medium of the so-called “information explosion” during the Seventies, became one of the most powerful forces for stimulating social change and technological advancement. Its global impact, however, was on people living in industrialised countries and to a lesser extent on those in urban areas of developing countries.
The same pattern of distribution has been evident in the emergence of knowledge-based societies in- creasingly relying on the Internet and the World Wide Web for access to information, education and entertainment.
These technologies are a part of the worldwide digital network called the “information superhighway” that links converged media in the form of text, video, audio and graphics. A critical part of this social matrix are the rural areas of developing countries, particular Asia and Africa, that together constitute almost three quarters of the world’s population, with almost 70 percent of the latter living in village habitations.
While there is a surfeit of communication technologies, there is also a massive reservoir of rural poor for whom the information glut and the content of information are irrelevant simply because they do not ad- dress their concerns and needs.
The idea of community-centered rural development has grown out of a body of research finding that have found that “people-oriented” communication strategies could play a catalytic role in creating decentralised project structures that strengthen the process of participatory management in developing countries.
Therefore, “small media” also known as “alternative media” or “community media” (i.e. folk, street theatre, group radio, video, Internet etc.) appropriate to a community are now being structured to empower the inhabitants in rural areas to strengthen capacity building and enable equitable access along with behav- ioral change.
Herein, project strategies now include multifacted communication campaigns as entry point activities to strengthen interpersonal communication. Participatory self-magnagement methods have also been refined to incorporate needs of the intended beneficiaries from designing the project goals and selecting the appropriate. “communication mix” to support implementation in sectors such as education, health, poverty alleviation and agriculture. For example, participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is a technique that involves bottom-up needs assessment through social and livelihood mapping that serve as diagnostic profiles for the framing of communication support objective.
Over the years, new forms of democratic communication institutions have been emerging in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean with the collaboration of civil society stakeholders, NGOs and organisations like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Culturl Organisation. These emphasise self-management, through ownership and operation, of information and communication technologies by marginalised rural communities that are enabled to network horizontally rather than vertically through converged multimedia systems.
Consequently, access to and effective use of these tools and networks of the new global economy, and the innovations they make possible, are critical in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals of poverty reduction, increased social inclusion and leading of a more fulfilling life for all the rural poor.
Community media today, therefore, according to one perspective, involves the use of communication tools to which members of a community have access for information, eduaction, and entertainment, when they want access. They are media in whihc the community participates as planners, producers and performers. Thus, social groups use media to create and foster forms of culture that structure everyday life.
A second perspective about community media is based on the concept of alternative media. Alternative media (such as folk, street theater, video) are small scale, oriented towards disadvantaged groups, horizontally structured allowing for facilitation of audience access and participation within the framework of democratisation and multiplicity.
The explicit positioning of community media as independent from state and market supports the articula- tion of a third perspective that considers such media as a part of civil society. By defining community media as a part of civil society, these media can be defined as a “third voice” between the state media and the commercial media.
The fourth perspective envisages community media as a rhizome (that unlike trees or their roots connects any point to any other point). Herein, community media not only play a pivotal role in civil society but can also establish a strategic linkage with state and the market without losing their identity.
The Kotemale Internet Community Radio project is a community radio station, radiating with a one KW transmitter, 15 hours on weekdays and 20 hours of programming on weekend days covering about 60 villages of Sri Lanka.
Free public access to the Internet is supplemented by facilities like the radio browsing programme in the local language and a community website for database development. The mahaweli, Tambuli and Sagarmatha radio projects in Sri Lanka, Philippines and Nepal respectively are other similar projects.
Likewise, radio projects in the Caribbean country of Haiti-Radio Inite, Radio Sel, Radio Flambeau and Radio Lakay link participatory communication to larger goals of achieving justice, human rights and equitable development. They aim at promoting community empowerment and addressing the issue of “digital divede” by combining community broadcasting with the Internet and related technologies. By reaching out to the illiterate and with universal access as the fulcrum, such centres help develop the cultural identity of communities, act as a vehicle for people’s self-expression and serve as a tool for diagnosis of a community’s problems.
Similarly, Namma Dhawani, a community multimedia centre in Bangrapet Taluk of Kolar District in Karnataka (in collaboration with UNESCO and NGO’s Myrada and Voices) transmits cable FM and makes narrowcasted loudspeaker broadcasts for 20,000 local people.
Outside the fold of agencies like UNESCO, there are outstanding examples of community multimedia projects which successfully help strengthen the democratic process by providing access to different viewpoints in India’s rural landscape. ITC’s e-choupal project is very popular with farmers in India that provides connectivity to relevant global market information. Video SEWA’s participatory videos, which use folklores to enable women’s empowerment, reaches millions of rural women for multiple purposes of teaching, organising and inspiring.
Source : Abhilash LIkhi in the Tribune, Sunday, November 6, 2005,
Communication can be used effectively for social change and national development, for improving the conditions and quality of life of people struggling with underdevelopment and marginalization. Develop- ment communication is characterized by conceptual flexibility and diversity of communication techniques used to address the problem. Some approaches in the “tool kit” of the field include: information dissemina- tion and education, behavior change, social marketing, social mobilization, media advocacy, communica- tion for social change, and participatory development communication.
It has been found that five essential conditions needed to facilitate communication for development and change are :
Community participation and ownership, Language and cultural relevance, Generation of local contents, The use of appropriate technology and Network and convergence.
The diffusion of innovation model and the participatory model of communication were widely cited as models of development communication. However, today the perspective on communication has changed.
The emphasis now is more on the process of communication (that is, the exchange of meaning) and on the significance of this process (that is, the social relationships created by communication and the social institutions and context which result from such relationships). With this shift in focus, one is no longer attempting to create a need for the information disseminated, but rather disseminating information for which there is a need.
The three main strategies for Communications for Development can be identified at three levels: behaviour change communication; advocacy communication and communication for social change.
The Development Support Communication (DSC) is the systematic utilization of appropriate communica- tion channels and techniques to increase people’s participation in development and to inform, motivate and train rural populations.
Advocacy for development is a combination of social actions designed to gain political commitment, policy support, social acceptance and systems support for a particular goal or programme. It involves collecting and structuring information into a persuasive case; communicating the case to decision-makers and other potential supporters, including the public, through various interpersonal and media channels; and stimulat- ing actions by social institutions, stakeholders and policy-makers in support of the goal or programme.
In recent years, mass media has become a powerful tool for bringing about social change. “The same techniques which were developed in industry for promoting commercial goods and services are now being applied to community development.
By working as a partner in the process of social change, the media can bring positive results in society. Broadcasting mass media provide information following allocution pattrns, with all the attendant, intrinsic disadvantages: one-way communication with few possibilities for feedback, physical distance between sender and receiver, and reinforcement of the existing power structure. Two further weaknesses of mass media broadcasts are the difficulty of retaining the information for later use and the susceptibility, at the same time, of messages to alternative interpretations.
Development Communication : The processes, strategies and principles within the field of international development aimed at improving the conditions and quality of life of people struggling with underdevelop- ment and marginalization.
Development Support Communication : The practice of Development Support Communication, DSC, is a multi-sectoral process of information sharing about development agendas and planned actions.
Sustainable Development : balancing the fulfillment of human needs with the protection of the natural environement so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future.
- What is development communication? Give examples from
- How can media be used for social change and development? Cite
- Illustrate two important theories that can be applied to development
- Discuss development support
