The aim of development is not clean roads, skyscrapers and a well built transport infrastructure. Development requires the removal of major sources of unfreedom: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities as well as systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well as intolerance or over activity of repressive states. (Sen, 1999) And in this process communication plays a pivotal role. A strong tool, if utilized effectively it can mobilize masses and increase awareness thus empowering the poor and the weakest of the society. Development and communication are inextricably linked. Thus, the concept of development communication is not alien to us. Development communication, as the World Bank effectively defines is the ‘Integration of strategic communication in development projects’. However, communication for long has been top-down or in other words linear with no participatory elements, which has led to the failure of many development initiatives. Numerous issues such as who and how are the concerns of the marginalized populations voiced, how are the policy frameworks developed and who is involved in the decision making process began to be highlighted. Beneath these concerns lies the most important and crucial aspect of development communication i.e. Participation.
Though technologies possess the potential to improve the lives of many people by giving them a voice, participation becomes a must as it facilitates dialogical communication. This sort of open and free communication is necessary as it allows identification of problems easily and through the experience and knowledge of both the parties in dialogue, solutions are often found. Participation is defined by some stakeholders as ‘mobilization ...
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...nd organizations realize the importance of involvement of the communities towards which they are working for and encourage them to be self-reliant and benefit themselves.
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Besides these groups who presented proposals there were city council representatives from various wards. I, myself represented Ward 2, Eddie Fogel represented Ward 13, and Fiorella Yriberry represented Ward 14. Our job was to ask vigorous questions to get the
Representation: the effort of elected officials to look out for the interests of those who elect them
The issue of purchasing the Reformed Church of Palos Heights exemplified that the citizens are the ones who run the city. The citizens made their presence known in the City Council meetings as well as in the media. The Aldermen attempted to first bribe the Al Salam Mosque Foundation of Chicago with $200,000, and then to purchase the Reformed Church of Palos Heights. The Mayor sided with the people and vetoed the idea of paying $200,000 to the Al Salam Mosque Foundation of Chicago. In the end, the democratic policies on which our country was founded prevailed. The voices of the citizens were heard with a vote AGAINST: 2,856.
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When people of a community are closely involved in communication strategy, it encourages them to take ownership of the initiative of development instead of considering themselves as recipients of development.
This paper will begin by highlighting aspects of citizen participation showing the advantages and disadvantages it has on the policy process and discuss how citizen participation in the policy making pro...