Communication for Development Roundtable Report just published
24-08-2005 (Paris)
Cover of the report
The UN Inter-Agency Round Table on Communication for Development has published the proceedings of its meeting in Rome, Italy, from 6-9 September 2004.
The report underlines the changing nature of the media and the challenge of including the voices of the poor into public discourse.
In the introductory chapters, the report draws attention to the increasingly complex and horizontal communication environments in which development strategies are currently deployed, the ever-increasing focus on the importance of ownership, as well as the failures of mainly vertical and top-down communication strategies.
The recommendations highlight the contribution of communication to sustainable development, in particular, the essential role of communication for development in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The Roundtable Action Plan identified five cross-cutting issues that emerged as priorities for UN inter-agency collaboration:
- advocacy
- learning and capacity building
- building alliances
- research, monitoring and evaluation
- information sharing
In this context, participants of the round table agreed on the following points:
- Participatory Development Communication needs to be taken in a holistic context because of its potential to influence communication practices at the community level in Natural Resource Management.
- Communication with the poor is key to meeting the isolated and marginalized groups by creating a plural information society, supporting the transition from state to public broadcasting, supportive regulatory environment and finding ways of supporting and including the voices of isolated and marginalized groups.
- The setting up of an interagency group to analyse communication experiences in Research, Extension and Education and develop a framework and a common approach to indicators of success.
The Ninth Roundtable was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the Government of Italy, UNESCO, the World Bank, IDRC and CTA.
The UN interagency Roundtable is a bi-annual event which brings together the various agencies, bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations, development agencies, non-governmental organizations, scholars, and a number of practitioners in development communication throughout the world.
The 10th Communication for Development Roundtable for 2006-2007 will be hosted by UNESCO.
In the introductory chapters, the report draws attention to the increasingly complex and horizontal communication environments in which development strategies are currently deployed, the ever-increasing focus on the importance of ownership, as well as the failures of mainly vertical and top-down communication strategies.
The recommendations highlight the contribution of communication to sustainable development, in particular, the essential role of communication for development in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The Roundtable Action Plan identified five cross-cutting issues that emerged as priorities for UN inter-agency collaboration:
- advocacy
- learning and capacity building
- building alliances
- research, monitoring and evaluation
- information sharing
In this context, participants of the round table agreed on the following points:
- Participatory Development Communication needs to be taken in a holistic context because of its potential to influence communication practices at the community level in Natural Resource Management.
- Communication with the poor is key to meeting the isolated and marginalized groups by creating a plural information society, supporting the transition from state to public broadcasting, supportive regulatory environment and finding ways of supporting and including the voices of isolated and marginalized groups.
- The setting up of an interagency group to analyse communication experiences in Research, Extension and Education and develop a framework and a common approach to indicators of success.
The Ninth Roundtable was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the Government of Italy, UNESCO, the World Bank, IDRC and CTA.
The UN interagency Roundtable is a bi-annual event which brings together the various agencies, bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations, development agencies, non-governmental organizations, scholars, and a number of practitioners in development communication throughout the world.
The 10th Communication for Development Roundtable for 2006-2007 will be hosted by UNESCO.
Related themes/countries
· Public Service Broadcasting: News Archives 2005
· Capacity Building: News Archives 2005
· Media Development: News Archives 2005
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Contact information
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Contact
- Wijayananda Jayaweera, Director, Division for Communication Development
- Venus Jenning, Division for Communication Development
- UNESCO
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