Development Communication: Meaning, Concept and Definition
Notes by Sr P Michelle Mathias for BJMC students
Introduction:
Development is basically an empowerment of people, community and the entire society at large to contribute to their own growth and a better living in union with nature and the cosmos at large. In Development Communication, tools of Communication play a vital role in promoting and understanding the varied nuances that can contributed to a better living in society.
As we have already covered the entire first Unit in the previous blog on Development, wherein we have learnt how the concept of Development got enlarged, let us get straight to the definitions by varied scholars on development communication.
Development Communication: Concept, Meaning and Definition
Development Communication is a subject in the field of communication that highlights the role played by Communication and Communication tools in the role of providing information and knowledge that leads to the socio-political and economic development of individuals, communities and the nation at large.
Development Communication in its early stages focused on the one-way, ‘monologic’ tradition of Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver wherein, communication was seen as a persuasive stance to develop habits and practices that cater to modernization and adaptation to innovations. This initial tendency wherein Development was seen as a means to overcome traditional practices and adapt to modernization, industrialization, economic boom only led to countries with poor economies depending on countries with rich economies which was criticized by various scholars.
Development Communication was then defined in a healthier perspective that enabled the growth of Human beings in their entirety, including their political, socio-economic situation and with regard for the Environment. Development was considered achievable only when the recipients were contributors of their own development. Communication was not just persuasive and a one way means to use media to adapt to innovations, rather communication was a means to understand the actual situation, probe the real needs, become aware of one’s rights as citizens and contribute to one’s growth hand in hand with collaboration at varied levels between authorities and the Recipients.
In ‘Sharing Knowledge’, A video programme by FAO on communication for sustainable development, Erskine Childers rightly said, “If you want development to be rooted in the human beings who have to become the agents of it as well as the beneficiaries, who will alone decide on the kind of development they can sustain after the foreign aid has gone away, then you have got to communicate with them, you have got to enable them to communicate with each other and back to the planners in the capital city. You have got to communicate the techniques that they need in order that they will decide on their own development. If you do not do that you will continue to have weak or failing development programmes. It’s as simple as that.” (quoted in Colle, R. 2002)[1]
Let us now look at the varied definitions of Development Communication.
Moemeka (1994) says that Development Communication is the use of the principles and practices of the exchange of the ideas to achieve development objectives. Quoting Rosario Braid, he says that “In a very broad sense, development is “the art and science of human communication applied to the speedy transformation of a country (economic growth, modernization, industrialization, etc,.) and the mass of its people (self-actualization, fulfilment of human potentials, greater social justice, etc.) through the identification and utilisation of appropriate expertise in the development process that will assist in increasing participation of intended beneficiaries at the grassroots level.” (Rosario Braid, 1979)[2]
“Development communication is the art and science of human communication applied to the speedy transformation of a country and the mass of its people from poverty to a dynamic state of economic growth that makes possible greater social equality and the larger fulfilment of the human potential” (Nora Quebral, 2006; Currin, 2002).
Wilkins (2015) says that Development communication refers to strategic communication toward and about social change. Development encompasses intentional strategies designed to benefit the public good, whether in terms of material, political, or social needs.)[3]
Fraser and Restrepo-Estrada (1998, p.63) elaborated development communication as: “Communication for development is the use of communication techniques, process and popular media to help individuals towards a consciousness of their circumstances and available options to change, to resolve issues of conflict, to help natives in planning actions to transform and for sustainable development. People acquire the knowledge and skills they need to improve their condition and the society, to improve the effectiveness of institutions.” (Garima)[4]
P Mefalopulos (2008) says that the main scope and functions of development communication are not exclusively about communicating information and messages, but they also involve engaging stakeholders and assessing the situation.[5] He adds that “Development communication is not exclusively about behaviour change. The areas of intervention and the applications of development communication extend beyond the traditional notion of behaviour change to include, among other things, probing socio-economic and political factors, identifying priorities, assessing risks and opportunities, empowering people, strengthening institutions, and promoting social change within complex cultural and political environments.” [6]
Royal Colle (2002) defines Development Communication as the planned and systematic use of communication through interpersonal channels, and audio-visual and mass media:-
(1) to collect and exchange information among all those concerned in planning a development initiative, with the aim of reaching a consensus on the development problems being faced and the options for their solution.
(2) to mobilize people for development action, and to assist in solving problems and misunderstandings that may arise during project implementation.
(3) to enhance the pedagogical and communication skills of development agents (at all levels) so that they may dialogue more effectively with their audiences.
(4) and last but, by no means least, to apply communication technology to training and extension programs, particularly at the grassroots level, in order to improve their quality and impact. (Colle, R. 2002)[7]
The above definitions, highlight that Development Communication today includes a Participatory and Dialogic nature with a strong emphasis on Sustainability. In the next Blog, we shall focus on the two modes of Communication that are used in Development Communication and the different dimensions of Development Communication in today’s Context.
[1] Royal Colle, 2002, Chapter 6. Threads of Development Communication. In: SERVAES, J. (ed.), Approaches to Development Communication, Paris: UNESCO, http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/approaches_to_development_communication.pdf
[2] Andrew A. Moemeka, Development Communication: A historical and Conceptual overview, Editor Andrew A. Moemeka, 1994, Communicating for Development: A New Pan-Disciplinary Perspective, pgs 11-12, State University of New York Press
[3] Karin Gwinn Wilkins, Development Communication, Wiley Online Library, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781405186407.wbiecd020.pub2, Retrieved : 01.09.2020
[4] Garima, Dimension of Development Communication, https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/24796/8/08_chapter%202.pdf, Retrieved: 02.09.2020
[5]Paolo Mefalopulos, Development Communication Sourcebook-Broadening the Boundaries of Communication, 2008, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-7522-8, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/6439/446360Dev0Comm1ns0handbook01PUBLIC1.pdf?sequence=1
[6]Paolo Mefalopulos, Development Communication Sourcebook-Broadening the Boundaries of Communication, 2008, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-7522-8, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/6439/446360Dev0Comm1ns0handbook01PUBLIC1.pdf?sequence=1
[7] Royal Colle, 2002, Chapter 6. Threads of Development Communication. In: SERVAES, J. (ed.), Approaches to Development Communication, Paris: UNESCO, http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/approaches_to_development_communication.pdf
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