FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION IN DEVELOPMENT
Initially, communication for development was vertical, one-way and top-down in its approach. Feedback was not only delayed but also not necessary, as people’s views were not considered. But today communication is circular and participatory. This has added some duties to communication for development. The functions, therefore, specifically include, but not limited to:
HUMAN EMPOWERMENT
To empower is to give somebody more control over his/her own life or the situation he/she finds himself/herself. Empowerment liberates and, therefore, gives people the access to the resources which they hereto had no access to.
A cursory look at this shows that, free and participatory communication is the only way that the people can achieve equality, mutual articulation and collective bargain. With this, the people are given power to influence the decision making process that affects them or their community. For this to benefit the grassroots people, understanding, skills, information and knowledge are made central and easily accessible. Participatory communication is the only avenue through which this can be made possible.
CONSENSUS BUILDING
Human society is so heterogeneous and varied that no single issue of public importance goes without eliciting divergent views and arguments. Development projects as an all important aspect of human life always generate this different views and opinions in the society.
They are those who like a particular project and there are some who do not want it. No development can occur where they are diverging opinions and perceptions on what development is. For a development intervention to be relevant, the people must come together to articulate and prioritize their problems, and collectively seek solution to them.
To do this is to build consensus among the people. Building consensus is the process that requires trust, transparency and knowledge of the dynamics of human relationships. This exercise throws up information about formal and informal power relation among the people, key stakeholders; past conflicts that might affect the future process, etc.
When all these are known, consensus and understanding are said to have been achieved. This brings about the ownership and sustainability of development interventions. The society can now draw up a development agenda and priorities. Without consensus building, development would not be easy in any society.
CAPACITY BUILDING
Capacity building means creating locally the human capital needed for the development of a particular society. It explores the cultural and environmental potential of the people concerned. One major way of achieving this is through education and training. Development education as a participatory exercise fosters this education, training and knowledge transfer causing cross ventilation of ideas among members of a society.
TRANSMISSION OF CULTURE
Culture as people’s way of life cannot be useful to the development if the norms, values, local wisdom, technology etc cannot be transferred from one generation to the other. This is called “cultural transmission.”
Communication plays a very important role in this transmission. Cultural and traditional wisdom is usually communicated verbally and non- verbally from one generation to another. Through this, the community maintains its values and standard that guide individual and group behavior. Anti-social or negative behavior which is capable of breaking this tradition is usually discouraged through ex-communication.
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