A new report by Panos London, “At the heart of change: The role of communication in sustainable development,” challenges governments and all policymakers to involve civil society in decision making and to recognise the importance of media in debating development issues and challenging government accountability.

Development initiatives will not succeed unless they include and are supported by communication—from the very start in all analysis of development problems, in the establishment of development goals and policy, in planning, and at all levels of programme implementation. This is the key message that a new report “At the heart of change: The role of communication in sustainable development,” wants to put across.

Released by Panos London, an organisation committed to promote an enabling media and communications environment worldwide, this new report points out the failure of senior decision-makers in governments and development agencies to recognise communication as essential to development.  This is evident in the lack of mention of communication strategies in both international and national development initiatives and plans, including the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“We are half-way to the deadline set by the international community to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and it is almost certain that many countries will fail to reach them. One of the reasons is that policymakers are not doing enough to support more open, transparent information and communication systems,” said Mark Wilson, Panos London executive director and co-author of the report. “It’s time to wake up and harness the growing power of information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as mobile telephones and the Internet, and do more to support the media in developing countries.”

Kitty Warnock, senior advisor on communication for development at Panos London and co-author of the report, said that the MDG on improving maternal health is an area where communication needs to be considered at every level.

“The status of women within the family could be addressed through encouraging community discussions. Health services could be improved by disseminating information through the mass media and other channels. Provision of these services could be made more effective using ICTs such as providing satellite phones to health workers based in rural communities so they can quickly confer with doctors at clinics often hundreds of miles away. Cultural attitudes to women and reproductive health could be challenged through entertainment formats such as soap operas,” said Warnock.

The report argues that access to ICTs can provide opportunities for ordinary people to be involved in a country’s political, economic, and social life. However, the poor and marginalised people are often politically muted, seen as part of the problem, but never part of the solution.

“At the heart of change: The role of communication in sustainable development” calls for governments, national and international civil society organisations, development organisations, and donors to work together to:
- build more open, transparent information and communication systems and political cultures;
- find and support ways that enable the poor and marginalised people to participate in the debates and decisions that affect their lives;
- do more to support the development of a diverse, dynamic and free media in the developing world;
- establish media freedom and a supportive regulatory environment;
- invest in media infrastructure;
- build professional media standards;
- support improvements in the quality of media content; and
- take a holistic view of communication processes and integrate communications into development planning and implementation;

“Communication and the media are essential public goods, and only when governments and donors recognise this and take an integrated and sustained approach to their development will the power of the people be unleashed to meet development goals,” said Wilson.

Download the full report at <http://www.panos.org.uk/PDF/reports/heart_of_change_web.pdf>.

Sources:
“At the Heart of Change: The Role of Communication in Sustainable Development” from The Communication Initiative, posted on September 3, 2007, <http://www.comminit.com/drum_beat.html>.
“Panos London calls on decision-makers to commit to communication for successful development” from Voice of South, posted on September 3, 2007, <http://www.panos.org.uk/press/news_releases.asp?newsid=1540>.