ARE WE COMMUNICATING DEVELOPMENT?

Authors

  • Alfonso Gumucio Dagron

Abstract

The World Congress of Communication for Development (WCCD) took place in Rome, at FAO’s headquarters, late October 2006. Among all the international conferences on communication for development I have attended, this one was unique: it was organized by the World Bank, FAO and The Communication Initiative, institutions of very different nature that have little in common in their approach to development. With 700 hundred participants (government officials, international development organizations, NGOs and communication networks) from all regions in the world, the WCCD faced the risk of becoming a Tower of Babel where each delegate would speak his or her own language and ideas without caring much about what others would say. In fact, this is what often happens in international meetings, but it would have been sad if it happened during a communication conference, where dialogue is supposed to be central.

Author Biography

Alfonso Gumucio Dagron

Alfonso Gumucio Dagron is a Bolivian writer, filmmaker, and development communication specialist. Current Managing Director for Programs at the Communication for Social Change Consortium (CFSC). He has worked with UN organizations, bilateral cooperation agencies, international NGOs and foundations in Latin America, Africa and Asia. For more information about the CFSC see http://www.communicationforsocialchange.org/

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Published

2007-02-01

Issue

No. 7 (2007)

Section

Articles