Communication for Development – (M.Sc.)

Contents

Communication for Development is an interdisciplinary field of study and practice, combining studies on culture, communication and development and integrating them with practical field work. It explores the use of communication – both as a tool and as a way of articulating processes of social change – within the contexts of globalization.

In this programme, where the form of study strives to be conducive to the course content, progression lies in the group dynamic process as well as in the coursework itself. The multidisciplinary nature of the subject means that the same content should provide in-depth knowledge for students with different backgrounds. One major point of this pedagogical approach is to bring together different experiences. The group diversity should allow students to deepen their knowledge of their own major as well as gain a sufficient overview based on the academic backgrounds and practical experiences of other students. This will allow them to be able to work both interdisciplinary and transculturally in their future professions.

What is Communication for Development?
What is the relationship between development communication and the emerging, influential nexus of communication for social change, and where does social communication fit in?

Regardless of what one calls it, communication and media strategies have been utilized in development cooperation for well over sixty years. From an early emphasis on mass media in agricultural extension work, communication for development has grown to encompass a wide array of approaches and methodologies, and has gradually increased in stature to become a key driver of contemporary debates in development. Initially, communication interventions were largely oriented around the use of mass media, and existed within a principally modernizing, top-down and technocratic paradigm.

Among other complex forces at play, the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) debates in the ’70s and ’80s and the rise of critical and alternative approaches to development stretched the definition of the field. In addition to mass media, practitioners began to evaluate the need for richer interpersonal communciation approaches that highlight the importance of power and culture in the success of development initiatives.

Dialogue, participation and the sharing of knowledge
Some of the most significant changes to global development cooperation have come about as a result of this critical field of study. As a discipline, Communication for Development embraces a broad range of functions and practices which centre around dialogue, participation and the sharing of knowledge and information, all with a view to creating empowerment and sustainable social change. Development communication is no longer an emerging discipline but one which has established itself as an integral part of development planning.

Labelled part science, part craft and part art, its multidisciplinary nature draws on aspects of anthropology, sociology, psychology and the behavioural sciences, and its implementation depends on flexibility, creativity and an understanding of communication processes. An awareness of the role media and communication have to play in development cooperation and diversity management have transformed the way development is perceived, mapped and implemented, and the field has pioneered some of the most ground-breaking improvements in global development undertakings.

As the recent surge in new communications technologies demonstrates, it is not the tools themselves that make good communication, but rather a rich and theoretically informed understanding of the political, social and cultural contexts in which media and communications interventions occur.