Communication For Social Change

Communication for Social Change A key to participatory development

It is easy to write recipes, but it´s difficult to communicate with people Franz Kafka

Purpose of this presentation
Community radio is part of a larger conceptual framework: communication for development and social change
It emerges from social struggles and resistance (Bolivia, Colombia 50’s, France & Italy 70’s, South Africa 80’s, Philippines, Indonesia 90’s)
Important to understand the general context of communication applied to development
Schematic, for the purpose of establishing differences between trends and models
Presentation based on discussions within RF working group & papers by Waisbord and Morris

A look back in history…

Post World War II context
Major powers compete to gain control of regions in the developing world
Liberation struggles & decolonisation process in Africa, Asia and Latin America
The chessboard: domination by the force of weapons or through co-operation and debt?
New development paradigms are born – the Marshall Plan
Independences negotiated in Africa
Rationalisation of war industry

Development perspectives
Paternalistic vision: to level the differences between rich and poor countries
Rise the income of poor rural families
Expand consumer markets towards the south
Technologies seen as the panacea
Development understood as increased productivity & trade
Cold War: information & manipulation

Fifty years later…

The cemetery of development
Half century of missed opportunities:
Water pumps without water
Roads that lead nowhere
Hospitals without health staff
Schools without teachers & books
Dusty video & radio equipment in state media
Backyards full of rusty donated vehicles
Immunisation rates down, HIV/AIDS up
White elephants in Africa, Asia and Latin America

Who’s fault?
Government corruption
Vertical planning from development agencies
No dialogue with beneficiaries
Communication absent in the process
Knowledge arrogance
Weak community organization
Illegitimate local leadership
Submissive relations with power structures
No sense of ownership
No capacity to voice community views
Planners Community

The story of a community dream What the donor thought the community wanted... How it was described in the project document… What the consultant recommended… How programme implementers designed it… The way it was installed in the community… What the community really wanted but was not able to communicate…

Paradigms (1950-2000)
Based on Modernisation Theories ( diffusion ):
Diffusion of innovations
Social marketing
Health promotion
Edutainment (education & entertainment)
Based on Dependency Theories ( participation ):
Development communication
Alternative, horizontal, dialogic
Participatory communication
Communication for social change

I. Modernisation theories
“ Deficit of information” causes poverty
Traditional cultures, a barrier for modernisation & development
One only model of development: copy industrialised nations
Selling the image of international co-operation to developing countries
Impressive growth & expansion of communications technologies: radio, TV

Diffusion of innovations
“ Poor lack of knowledge” - Knowledge viewed as a exclusive privilege of the North
Transfer of knowledge to change behaviour
Adoption of western innovations & transfer of media technology and models
Communication models alien to local needs: awareness, interest, decision, trial, adoption
Decision-making made elsewhere by donors & funding agencies
Intensive involvement of government media

Social marketing
Propaganda-based techniques from WWII & commercial advertising models
Advertising jargon: “clients”, “consumers”, “Reduce distance between consumer & product”
Military jargon: “targets”, “campaign” , “tactics”
Influence of behavioural change theories
Intensive use of mass media & add agencies
Ignorance of local cultural context
Lack of analysis of structural causes
Biased self-promoting quantitative evaluations

Health promotion
Established from health services perspective: “the doctor knows better” - prescriptive
Believes individual behaviour responsible for health problems - Blames the victim
Promotes official public health policies
Ignores political, cultural & social conditions
Often lacks of communication expertise

Education & entertainment
“ Edutainment ”, an improved version of IEC
More emphasis on educational process
Mix of mass media & interpersonal communication: media “not the silver bullet”
Creativity: TV & radio dramas, songs, etc
Direct link with health services
Promote women & youth local organisations
Criticism: How much education and how much entertainment? – Long-term impact?

II. Dependency theories
Growth of social & political movements in Africa, Asia, Latin America
Analysis of structural causes (political, economic, social) of underdevelopment
Oppose to neo-colonial strategies
Builds alliances between workers, peasants, intellectuals of North & South
Social participation & organisation is key
Criticism of media dependency & diffusion

Development communication
Works with community & involves people
Communication to promote participation
Promoted by FAO in rural areas in the 70’s
Specific analysis of local problems
Increased attention to culture & identity
Relate to local organisations & co-operatives
Training of change agents – “extension workers”
Specificity vs. massive use of media
Remained institutional & programme-linked model

Alternative, dialogic, horizontal
Born from struggle against dictatorships
Rejection of hegemonic mass media - MacBride
Interpersonal, horizontal & dialogic (Freire)
Use of appropriate low-cost media tools
Mushrooming of grassroots' experiences - radio
Demystification of technology tools
Appropriation of media tools & contents
Development of critical sense towards media
Criticism: isolated, small, no impact, no evaluation

Participatory communication
Increased involvement of social & community organisations
Media & contents decided democratically within the community
Social empowerment, networking & organisation objectives
The communication process is more important than the end products
Ownership of media tools

Communication for Social Change
Concept articulated by RF , April 1997
Recovers lessons learned & experiences from developing countries
Process of dialogue and debate, based on tolerance, respect, equity, social justice & active participation of all stakeholders
Rejects hierarchic & mass media intensive models of communication
Aims community empowerment & local decision-making process

Main differences
Structural causes
Horizontal
“ Concientisation”
Social change
Active & critical
Agents of change
Dialogue & debate
Specific , diverse
Long-term / process
Behavioural causes
Vertical
Persuasion
Individual change
Passive & “bancaria”
Objects of change
Massive diffusion
General assumptions
Short-term / messages
Participatory model Hierarchic model

Diffusion model
Problem: lack of information & knowledge
Solution: knowledge -> attitudes -> practice
Conceptual framework: modernization through diffusion of innovations
Definition of communication: information transfer – vertical
Methods of communication: information dissemination – mass media
Goal: outcome oriented – behaviour change
Types of interventions: Social Marketing, Edutainment (entertainment-education)

Participatory model
Problem: structural inequalities
Solution: participation -> community empowerment
Conceptual Framework: dependency, social mobilisation
Definition of communication: information exchange –horizontal dialogue – respect knowledge & culture
Methods of development communication: grassroots participation – community interaction
Goal: process oriented – social change
Types of interventions: Participatory Action Research (PAR), Rapid Participatory Appraisal (RPA), development, alternative, participatory, dialogic communication

Horizontal Vs. Vertical
People are dynamic communicators participating in social change, with a critical approach to information
People perceived as mere passive receivers of information and instructions, decisions made by others

Process Vs. Campaign
People taking in hand their own future through a process of democratic participation in communication planning
Campaigns are expensive and not sustainable, they mobilise but they do not build capacity at the community level

Long-Term Vs. Short-Term
Communication and development, are long-term processes which need time to be assumed and appropriated by people
‘ Annual report’ donor driven projects do not acknowledge the cultural realities and often oversize results & outputs

Collective Vs. Individual
Communities act collectively in the interest of the majority, avoiding the risk of loosing power to a few
People targeted individually are detached from their community and from their communal forms of decision-making

With… Vs. For…
Researching, designing, disseminating messages with the community & by the people, to establish dialogue and debate
Designing, pre-testing, delivering, evaluating messages to or for… remains external to communities

Specific Vs. Massive
Communication process & messages should specifically adapt to each social group in terms of content, language & media
Using the same mass media, messages & strategies in diverse cultural contexts, and for different social sectors of society

People needs Vs. Donor musts
Community based research to identify, define & discriminate -with the people- the felt needs and the real needs
Communication projects on donor-driven needs: privatisation, birth control (family planning), extensive farming

Ownership Vs. Access
Ownership of media and communication tools provides voice and opportunity with no restriction
Access to information channels is a step forward, though often controlled and regulated by others

Consciousness Vs. Persuasion
A process of bring up consciousness and deep understanding about social reality, problems, and solutions
Persuasion to change behaviour and perform acts on specific issues is only sustainable with permanent stimulus & funds

CFSC – main principles
[1] Sustainability of social changes is certain when individuals & communities affected become owners of the communicational process & contents
[2] CFSC, horizontal & participatory, aims to strengthen community links and amplify the voices of the poorest; based on the notion of the appropriation of the communicational process and the development of local contents

CFSC – main principles …
[3] Communities should be the agents of their own social change and master the communication process
[4] Emphasis on promoting dialogue, debate & negotiation, building alliances; rather than persuasion, pure transfer of information & external knowledge

[5] The CFSC process should go beyond individual behaviours and take into consideration social norms, current policies, local culture & tradition, and the general context of development
[6] Dialogue & participation are key to strengthen cultural identity, trust, commitment, ownership of ideas & expressions, and community organisation

[7] CFSC rejects the linear model of transmission of information from a central sender towards a individual receiver, and promotes a circular process of interactions where knowledge is shared and collective action is taken

Communication resources The up-side down pyramid community organisations media D $ 1,000.000.000 $ 1 $ 1,000 $ 1,000.000

$ Communication resources The pyramid community organisations media D

If community media is the answer, what is the question?
Alfred E. Opubor

A question of power
Communication for Social Change contributes to put the decision-making about development in the hands of the people
It consolidates the capability of communities to confront their own ideas about development with planners
Within the community itself it favours the strengthening of democratic process

A question of identity
Participatory communication contributes to install cultural pride and self-esteem
It reinforces the social tissue through the strengthening of indigenous & local forms of organisation
It protects traditions and cultural values, while being able to incorporate new elements

Steve Biko
It is through the evolution of our own genuine culture that our identity can be fully discovered.

Five conditions for CFSC
Essentials in the process of CFSC :
[1] Community participation & appropriation
[2] Language & cultural pertinence
[3] Development of local contents
[4] Use of appropriate technology
[5] Networking & convergence

Articulating the local
The consequence of losing one’s ability to articulate the local is unavoidable if coverage and audiences expand. The capacity to articulate the local constitutes a crucial component of the political potential of citizen’s media.
Clemencia Rodríguez

Introducing technology
When a new technology is introduced to a different setting, what is transferred is not only the technology itself, but also a set of assumptions and practices regarding the particular technology and its use.

New discourse of development
Acknowledging failures
Rejecting top-down approaches
Promoting participatory planning & monitoring
Community involvement & ownership
Sustainable development
Acknowledging role of communication for social change & development

Demand & Supply
Development organisations slowly moving towards new paradigm
Gap between demand & supply
No qualified communication strategists to deal with planners & experts
Lack of comprehensive long-term vision
Improvising short term training for staff at project level – many “doers”, few thinkers
Universities not providing the needed human resources: changing names but same curricula

Anybody out there?
Many professionals claim to subscribe to communication for social change, even social marketing defenders
Communication Initiative lists hundreds specialists from Europe & North America
However, at programme & project level, difficult to find development & social change communication strategists, only journalists
Development agencies improvising communicators from any other discipline & field of experience

The ivory tower
Academic world has often turn its back to development issues
Journalists are trained by thousands, not communicators – media bias
Training based on alien models & theories
Satisfying demands of artificial markets
Ignorance about our own thinking
New curricula are needed

The iceberg
Communicators learn from experience
Rich environment in Third World, lessons
Most of experiences remain hidden
Task of universities:
Reveal and analyse experiences
Train new comunicators
Facilitate networking

The New Communicator
Theoretical & practical balance
Direct experience in development
Knowledge of communication practices
Strategic, long term thinking
Understanding technology is just a tool
Flexibility in the alternative use of media
Role of amplifying the voices of voiceless
Work rooted in cultural identity & dialogue

http:// www . comminit . com / making - waves . html
webinfo @ rockfound .org
Making Waves: Participatory Communication for Social Change

The Communication Initiative
www. comminit .com

Alfonso Gumucio Dagron 28/05/09 Alfonso Gumucio-Dagron
- Bolivia, South America
Managing Director CFSCC
Filmmaker, journalist & writer
- Development communication since 1978
- CIMCA (NGO): miners’ radio stations
- UNICEF 1990-97 (Nigeria & Haiti)
- Guatemala since 1998 - consultancy work
- The Rockefeller Foundation / CFSC
- Denise Gray-Felder, Vice-President

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Communication For Social Change

by Alfonso Gumucio on Nov 24, 2007

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