Development communication A revisited.

PAGBABAGOA A A A A A A A A A

While Senator Imee Marcos' description ofA development communication as "cute and archaic may have flustered some of our colleagues, and that the remarks may be somewhat demeaning, they may be the needed "trigger" to make those of us in the field do some serious reflection. Though it has been around for over seven decades, taught in some of the most prestigious institutions of learning in various parts of the world, with perhaps tens of millionsA of college graduates and practitioners, the fact is, its real worth andA A impact needs deeper appreciation. Perhaps it is because it is better understood as a catalyst, where its contribution is more deeply felt when it is applied side by side with other disciplines. It had been earlier said thatA A communication by itself, will not be able to bring about change, but change will not happen without communication.

Especially so with development communication (or communication for development or change), which, aside from its earlier historical origin (its focus on agriculture, diffusion, and adoption of technological and social innovations), is primarily a strategy or an approach in effecting behavioral change, and manifested in indicators such as participation, dialogue, and exchange to arrive at consensus, sharing, listening, connecting. And since development communication is purposive, its ultimate goalA is, among others, self-management, structural change, power distribution in relationships, managing information to prevent flow of irrelevant information, two-way flow of information, andA multilateralism.

Two publications which best illustrate communication's role as an engine for change are Communication for Social Change, a 1,067-page anthology edited by Alfonso Gumucio-Dagron and Thomas Tufte with contributions from our local pioneers, Nora Quebral and Juan Jamias, from UP Los Banos; Gloria Feliciano, dean, UP College of Mass Communication; Victor Valbuena, Celeste Habito-Cadiz (who is trustee of the Consortium publisher), Karina Constantino-David, Mina Ramirez, and this writer. Many would recognize among the other 150 or so contributorsA famous writers like Paolo Freire; officials of UNESCO, Food Agriculture Organization, International Labor Organization where contributor Juan Somavia, isA director-general;A andA academics and noted iconsA inA communication and change like Wilbur Schramm, Daniel Lerner, Everett Rogers, Luis Ramiro Beltran, and many others who had...