Thomas Tufte, Tobias Denskus and Norbert Wildermuth are some of the leading scholars in Scandinavia in the field of Communication for Development (C4D). They are all part of the bi-national research centre Ørecomm hosted at Roskilde University, Denmark and Malmø University, Sweden. Ørecomm works on exploring the interrelationship between media, communication and glocal change processes and they organize a large yearly festival in the Øresund’s region every September. Thomas Tufte, Tobias Denskus and Norbert Wildermuth have all agreed to present their latest research regarding role and use of social media amongst social movements, within civil society and amongst established organisations, i.e. the UN. New media developments and massive civic engagement using the social media are sparking new dynamics and new challenges into the way communication for development is conceived and performed. What are the issues in these current developments and where is both the theory and practice of C4D heading? Besides introducing the challenges and benefits outlined above, the three presenters will together with a representative from United Nations discuss the future role of social media in pursuit of social inclusion, accountability and empowerment.

1. From social media to social change?
Insights into digital development trends
Dr. Tobias Denskus
Malmö högskola
#smwcph
‘Communication for Development at a
Crossroads –
The Challenge of Social Movements’,
UN City, 20 February 2014

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Introduction: A picture says more…
Social media & advocacy
Social media & humanitarian aid
Social media & Rest of Development (RoD)
Blogs & development
Twitter & development
TED talks & development
Conclusion: The elephants in the room…

3. A CNN journalist’s tweet goes viral…

4. …and then the full picture emerges
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Power of and trust in
traditional media
Professional response
from UNHCR
However, millions of
people still affected
by crisis
‘Technology, without changing the social context
of its implementation, merely reinforces existing
inequalities.’(Mandiberg 2012)

5. ‘More research is needed
to determine to what
degree political tweets
influence the agenda of
news media outlets and
the public’
(Parmelee & Bichard 2013)
‘By acknowledging complexity, using an
empowerment rather than a savior model, and
recognizing and respecting the limits of our role in
such a crisis, we can work to avoid “badvocacy”’
(Seay in Taub 2012)

6. ‘Volunteer engagement in
Twitter analysis after the
Baluchistan quake
produced 0 relevant tweets,
but: outsourcing this work
allowed responders to focus
on other things without
committing scarce
resources’ (Luege 2013)
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’Big data’ and crowd-engagement are in their
infancy
Micro impact under-researched
Humanitarian industry is already constantly
engaging with operational, political and
philosophical challenges

7. ‘Fresia analyses how a
consensus was
imagined, negotiated and
constructed in the
executive committee of
the UNHCR
until the subtleties of form disguise
oppositions…
She observed over a period of several
months how a small group of diplomats
& lawyers from UNHCR elaborated,
through arduous discussions, a soft &
uncommitted text’(Mueller 2013)

8. Research: Blogs & development
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Qualitative research based on interviews
with development bloggers
Blogging as reflective writing tool for
students & aid workers
Little impact on formal structures, power
relations & decision-making
Admittances of failure & insights into
realities of the aid industry have introduced
reflective writing
Blogging remains a bottom-up process that
has only begun to trickle up into formal
places & spaces

9. Research: Twitter & development
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Qualitative & quantitative analysis of ~3,000
tweets & 108 blog posts on UN MDG Summit
World conferences are still a powerful,
invited ritual space (and little has changed
since the Earth Summit in 1992)
Virtual debate was dominated by global
Northern experts
Celebrities (Clinton, Gates, Sachs) and
celebrity content (TED presentations) were
shared often
No communication between ‘blogosphere’
and official delegates

10. Research: TED talks & development
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Qualitative & quantitative analysis of 38 TED
talks on ‘international development’
TED’s complex, paradoxical franchising
strategy: Enabling access for speakers from
around the world, including the global
South, but exporting a digitalized one-sizefits-all global model
Structural issues, from power to
mediatization and ritual dynamics, are very
present in emergent forms of digital media.

11. ‘Not only because the humanitarian imaginary
needs to balance a delicate act between
judgment without over-rationalization, emotion
without sentimentalism and an awareness of its
paradoxes without surrendering the hope of
representation.
But because we, too, have to
balance an equally delicate act
between being good to
others whilst skeptical about any
justification for such goodness that
transcends ourselves.’
(Chouliaraki 2013)

12. Conclusion
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Social media & the elephants in the room:
Traditional discourses, rituals, organizations
& power relations are still dominant
The governmentality of technology, big
data & (social) media needs more critical
attention (dual use, ‘ICT 4 Bad’)
From reactive ‘peaks’ to proactive routines
Development education & Communication
for Development are transforming through
social media
ComDev portal wpmu.mah.se/comdev

13. References
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Chouliaraki, L. 2013: The Ironic Spectator.
Solidarity in the age of post-humanitarianism,
Oxford: Polity Press.
Denskus, T., Papan, A. 2013: Reflexive
engagements: the international development blog
, Development in Practice 23: 435-447.
Denskus, T., Esser, D. 2013:
Social Media and Global Development Rituals: a c
Third World Quarterly 34: 409-424.

14. References
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Mandiberg, M. 2012: The Social Media Reader,
New York, NY: NYU Press.
Mueller, B. 2013: The Gloss of Harmony. The
Politics of Policy-Making in Multilateral
Organisations. London: Pluto Press.
Parmelee, J.H; Bichard, S.L 2013: Politics and
the Twitter Revolution. How Tweets Influence
the Relationship between Political Leaders and
the Public, Plymouth: Lexington Books.
Taub, A. 2012:Beyond #Kony2012: Atrocity,
Awareness + Activism in the Internet Age,
Leanpub ebook.

15. Email
tobias.denskus@mah.se
Blog
http://www.aidnography.de
Twitter
@aidnography