Why Communication for Development is a key driver to sustainable development?

Communication for Development, Communication for Social Change

Why C4D is a key driver in implementation of solutions to sustainable development.

Photo: Tes*ng of images with young illiterate women in Karnataka, India. Š 2015, Sabina von Kessel 2

Communication for Development, Communication for Social Change

The planned use of communica.on techniques, ac.vi.es and media gives people powerful tools both to experience change and actually to guide it.

An intensified exchange of ideas among all sectors of society can lead to the greater involvement of people in a common cause. This is a fundamental requirement for appropriate and sustainable development. —Colin Fraser and Jonathan Villet, 1994

Photo: Discussing images with illiterate unorganised workers in Karnataka, India.© 2015, Sabina von Kessel.

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What is C4D? Possible defini,on for C4D The principles:

• C4D is a social process based on dialogue using a broad range of tools and methods. C4D is about seeking change at different levels including listening, building trust, sharing knowledge and skills, building policies, deba.ng, and learning for sustained and meaningful change.

• It is not public rela.ons or corporate communica.ons.

• From messages to dialogue; • From focusing on individual behaviour to focusing on collec.ve social change; • From problems to apprecia.on; • From expert-driven solu.ons to community-driven solu.ons.

(from UNICEF's perspec*ve)

World Congress on Communica*on for Development, Rome, 2006

Communica,on is a process:

Communica.on is not the poster, radio spot or leaflet that is produced and distributed.

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C4D is communication with people

Photo: Construc*on worker in Karnataka, India. Š 2015, Sabina von Kessel

People voice their opinions, share knowledge and ac.vely engage in their own development.

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C4D Therefore, interven.ons must incorporate a mul,level approach in order to bring about sustainable change. At the individual level, our approach is based on the extended parallel process model (EPPM).

This model conceptualizes individual behavior change as being (a) mo.vated by people’s desires to reduce their risk and (b) facilitated by enhancement of personal efficacy to bring about change. At the interpersonal level, we have incorporated principles from the theory of norma.ve social behavior, which conceptualizes behavior change as being determined by interpersonal and social network influences. Finally, at the socio-cultural level, we have incorporated principles from social epidemiology, in which individuals’ choices, decisions, and behaviors depend not only on their own characteris.cs, but also on group or community characteris.cs.

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Why C4D?

Knowledge transfer “...we o]en talk about building ins.tu.ons or building capacity. …that sort of suggests you can come in like an outside contractor and bring some bricks and mortar and you construct capacity.

It doesn’t work that way. You grow it. It’s got to be indigenous.

It’s got to have indigenous roots… you can help people do it. But they need to do it themselves.”

Paul Wolfowitz

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C4D is people-centred

C4D is people-centred communica.on, u.lizing old and new communica.on technologies.

Photo: Young market traders in Karnataka, India. Š 2015, Sabina von Kessel

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Why C4D?

Why we need C4D in Germany's Unis C4D is part science, part cra> and part art, its mul.disciplinary nature draws on aspects of anthropology, sociology, psychology and the behavioural sciences, and its implementa.on depends on crea.vity and an understanding of good communica.on design.

It is not only the tools themselves that create good communica.on, but rather a rich and theore,cally informed understanding of the political, social and cultural contexts in which media and communica.ons interven.ons occur.

“Innova,on can make a difference in addressing urgent developmental challenges such as providing access to drinking water, eradica.ng neglected diseases or reducing hunger. The transfer and, when necessary, adapta.on of technologies developed in developed countries can o]en contribute significantly to these goals. Substan.al research efforts are needed to find solu.ons that address other global challenges. Effec.ve interna.onal coopera.on that involves both public and private bodies is an important mechanism for finding these much-needed solu.ons.”

Innova.on for Development by OECD 2012

Sabina von Kessel, C4D Consultancy

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Why C4D?

Why we need C4D in Germany's Unis The power of media and the poten.al of Informa.on Communica.on Technology (ICT) to educate and to address global crises such as the spread of HIV have led to exci.ng and crea.ve innova.ons in development coopera.on, and this dynamic field con.nues to grow and develop.

UNICEF has recently revisited their C4D strategy and work, calling for a • At university level, new MAs in ComDev have developed in places like Albania, South Africa, Kenya, Spain, Paraguay, the UK and Colombia. stronger linkage with the universi.es and building widespread capacity within their own global organiza.on.

• (Approaches to Development, directed by Jan Servaes, UNESCO 2008)

At university level, new MAs in C4D have developed in places like Albania,

South Africa, Kenya, Spain, Paraguay, the UK and Colombia.

The field is finally becoming more significantly ins.tu.onalised in the world of academia, although it is s.ll grappling with finding its iden.ty between media and communica.on studies on one side, and cultural studies, poli.cal science and not least development studies on some of the other sides. …”

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Why C4D?

Great career opportuni,es The global demand for media and communica.on skills con.nues to increase as organisa.ons such as UNICEF have made it a policy to hire C4D prac..oners, not only for interna.onal development schemes, but for diversity management and other forms of transcultural coopera.on.

Former C4D students end up working in a truly diverse variety of selngs.

Some in UN agencies placing hiring ads seek ‘communica.on for develo pment’ prac..oners by name Some prac..oners are able to make a living as consultants working on pr ojects with NGOs and CSOs, bilateral aid programs (such as Sida or DFID), o r with the UN and World Bank.

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Technology Innova.on

Why C4D?

• •

Many technology innova.on hubs are developing impacsul, locally relevant civic tech solu.ons to pressing commercial and social issues.

There is latent, but recognised, poten.al for tech innova.on hubs in the global South to play a more overt role in promo.ng social change through contribu.ng to the ‘thickening’ of local democra.c space and policy cocrea.on.

(Technology innova.on hubs and policy engagement, Research Report March 2017, Nanjira Sambuli and J. Preston Whip) 12

C4D Example Areas Advocacy Health communica.on Agriculture

Advocacy requires con.nuous efforts to translate relevant informa.on into cogent arguments or jus.fica.ons and to communicate the arguments in an appropriate manner to decision makers.

Photo: ©UNICEF Chad/2015. Youth mappers from Chad share a laugh as they map their community.

ICTs are transforming lives by reducing vulnerabili.es, such as costly and some.mes dangerous travel while increasing access to health care, educa.on, and informa.on. For example, countries such as Uganda, Senegal and Brazil have increased child birth registra.on by empowering community workers with mobile technologies. hWps://www.unicef.org

Photo: Girls looking at Ebola preven*on poster in Voinjama, Lofa County, Liberia. © 2014, UNICEF/ UNI166994/Jallanzo.

Harnessing the power of informa.on communica.on technologies to improve smallholder produc.on and produc.vity is one way of 14 improving food security

C4D

C4D uses multiple media and technology for communication

A short compila.on by Sabina von Kessel, C4D and Transcultural Design Consultancy

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