This study scrutinizes the trajectory of an international development communication intervention aimed at mediating, rendering public and mobilizing processes of reconnection among estranged citizens across the former Yugoslavia. The intervention, which took place between 2000 and 2005 in the wider context of post-conflict international development assistance and peacebuilding operations in the region, was known as the Videoletters project. Centered on a documentary TV series aimed at promoting the reestablishment of relationships among ordinary people affected by ethno-political divisions, Videoletters was adopted by European bilateral funders for large-scale implementation and categorized as a “tool for reconciliation”. Starting from an understanding of communication as a right to which citizens are entitled, as a responsibility of practitioners and institutions, and as a capability that is socially distributed in unequal ways and has an ambiguous potential, the study looks into the contextualized potential and limitations of international development communication intervention to attend to the citizens that it is supposed to benefit. By providing rich empirical details about a process of intervention, the study argues in concrete terms for the study of development communication not as a presumably positive tool, but as an institutionally driven practice that may or may not strengthen conditions of justice, with consequences that will differ depending on the specificity of sociopolitical situations in time and space. Depending on contextual and institutional conditions and on the forms of mediation privileged/disregarded throughout the process, the deployment of a specific development communication intervention may/may not foster proper distance, and thus strengthen/weaken conditions of justice for the citizens under consideration, who are subject to the governance structure of international development assistance. By linking the practice of international development communication to a framework of justice, the study brings the political and ethical dimensions of said practice to the fore and contributes to a critical agenda for theorization and research that takes accountability into consideration and puts citizens at the center.

ABSTRACT The principal objective of this inductive study is to map the communication methods that are being used in the organization Sister Namibia. I intend to find communication mechanisms that together can constitute a communication framework. The main questions at issue are; How is the organization working from a communication perspective? What methods and channels are central for their external communication work? What messages are they trying to convey to the target group? The questions will generate in analyses and deeper understandings of communication processes in a NGO. The conceptual approach for the study is Development Communication, which can be seen as the integration of strategic communication in development projects. Communication for Social Change is an approach of development communication, where focus lays on an elaborated social change agenda rather than the agenda of strategic communication. The study has a qualitative approach and it is built up as an inductive case study with the NGO Sister Namibia in focus. Sister Namibia is a non governmental women organization that fights for women’s rights in the Namibian society. I have found several factors in their communication work that together can create a communication framework. Dialogue is vital in their communication work and it can be seen as a prerequisite for social change. Another central aspect of their communication framework is networking. Sister Namibia can be seen as a piece of puzzle in a bigger network that allows the organization to reach a wider audience and it is a strategy for how they can gain power, grow and establish deeper in the society. The diversity among women makes it necessary with a communication framework that provides flexibility, which includes different communication methods and channels depending on the target group. A holistic approach in the communication framework is important; the communication have to be focused on change at individual, societal and governmental levels. Furthermore, I have observed that to be able to understand processes of communication it is vital to look at the whole social context. In this social context knowledge, power, and material & social needs have been found as central aspects. They are needs and factors that are gained and created by individuals and groups in societies, and can be seen as prerequisites for social change to appear. Finally, this study shows the importance of looking at communication not just as a tool for spreading information, but also as the goal of development. Through communication it is possible to create a social environment where private and public dialogue can take place. Keywords: Development communication, Communication for Social Change, NGO, Dialogue, Networking, Flexibility, Holistic approach.

Celebrities participate in performances from the zones of suffering in order to triggeremotions to their audiences and engage them in such causes. In this combination of criticaldiscourse analysis and rhetoric analysis, the author analyses four cases of celebrities:Angelina Jolie, Mandy Patinkin, a group of actors form the popular series Game of Thronesand Susan Sarandon who visited refugee camps in the island of Lesvos to see the conditionsunder which, the refugees were living. The combination of those methods with Chouliaraki's(2013) work on humanitarian celebrities and Goffman's (1959) work about the presentationof the self in everyday life, is used to unveil how celebrities communicate and use theirpolitical power in order to evoke participation in the global north.

The aim of this study was to explore and analyze the application of a participatorydevelopment approach in Stokholm, Bortkyrka, and Värmdo local municipalities in Stockholm County in Sweden. The reason for chosen municipalities in Sweden is because Sweden is relatively an advanced country with an established infrastructure and democracy to necessitate an advanced level in participatory development approach. This study examined participatory strategies and interventions within the context of development communication and how they are used to engage citizens in community-based development initiatives. I used a participatory theory to answer the following question “To what extent do local municipalities apply a participatory approach in their community development initiatives?By applying appropriate methods, a comprehensive understanding of how municipalities apply a participatory approach in development initiatives was explored and analyzed. The study findings indicate that participatory development approach is still unclear, and it is at a rudimentary stage in the municipalities studied, and that although community participation in development initiatives in the municipalities align with the concept of development communication, there is still a lack of comprehensive aapreciation of participatory development in the context of communication for development (ComDev).Therefore, the lack of clarity on how participatory approach is understood and applied plays a fundamental role in retarding the realization of the full potential of participatory development approach.

In Sierra Leone unemployed young college graduates explored entrepreneurship as alternatives to formal employment. Qualitative approaches were followed to understand their motivations and the entrepreneurial environment in which they operated. The sample for this study included forty-two unemployed graduates in two regional districts of Sierra Leon and tenkey informants as resource persons. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the graduates through individual interviews in the city of Freetown, Western district and focus groups in the city of Bo, Southern district. Telephone interviews were conducted with the tenkey informants/resources persons. Using the integrated theoretical frameworks of Azjen’s Theory of Planned Behavior and the Shapero-Sokol Entrepreneurial Event Model the study identified the underlying factors of desirability and feasibility of entrepreneurship with insights into the entry-level experiences in setting up a venture. The data wereanalyzed using the theoretical thematic approach and open coding techniques to identify patterns and trends. Thefindings were then triangulated and validated. Desirability of entrepreneurship was found to begenerallyhigh, but feasibility was generally low and difficult to explore. The inability to secure start-up capital and a generally weak support system for entry level entrepreneurs accounted for the barrierstosuccessful entrepreneurship. Two descriptive models, each on desirability and feasibility, were developed from the findings. Theyexplainthe processes involved in the transmission from entrepreneurial intentions to actions. The findings of this study would contribute to advocacy campaigns for the facilitation of entrepreneurship for unemployed young graduates aspiring for self-employment, inform educational programs about the gaps in entrepreneurial proficiencies, and advice policy interventions to scale-up support for young adults to enable them to create businesses for self-employment in a developing country context.The study suggests collaborative engagements to synergize the actions between communicators, educators and policy actors to facilitate entrepreneurship for unemployed graduates.

Much is written on the importance of participatory communication and its role in uplifting indigent communities. As the closest government sphere to communities, local government is charged with directly improving the lives of the poor and is required by legislation to conduct Integrated Development Planning (IDP). This requires that a municipal authority utilise participatory communication aspects such as dialogue, empowerment, and planning. These are most important pillars of community development. However, many studies have warned that elements such as modernisation, dependency and bureaucracy need to be re-assed and observed with caution since they have the potential to impede and limit the extent of participatory communication in community development. These concepts serve as the basic points of departure and theoretical background underpinning this study, which is tasked with exploring the extent of participatory communication in the IDP context of Jouberton Township in the Matlosana LocalMunicipality. In her public address on challenges facing North West Local municipalities (Including Matlosana Municipality) in January 2014, former premier, Thandi Modise, emphasised the need for municipalities to ensure that communities attend IDP meetings, approve earmarked IDP projects and be aware of how a municipality spends its budget earmarked for specific development projects. It is evident from theory and higher echelon of government that participatory communication is seen as the most important pillar and the basis for the existence of a municipal government. It is against this background, that this study was carried out under the assumption that the practice of participatory communication in contemporary local government only exists on paper; while in reality the public does not enjoy active participation in municipal IDP consultative frameworks. This is despite much discourse being available in government and in academia around the importance and role of participatory communication in community development. The study espoused a qualitative research approach to gather data and purposive sampling was used to select respondents linked to two IDP projects in Jouberton Township from the 2012/13 financial year. Its purpose was to explore perceptions among Matlosana municipal representatives and community members in Jouberton Township on the extent of participatory communication in the IDP context. The empirical part of the study comprised of focus group and unstructured interviews, as well as participant observation. By using a typology of participation by Anyaegbunam et al (2004), the study revealed that Jouberton communities are passive participators in municipal IDP consultative frameworks where they participate by just being informed about what is going to happen or has already happened and feedback is minimal. This is opposed to a desired form of empowered participation which is highly recommended by scholars in development communication where stakeholders should be able to and are willing to participate in joint analysis, which leads to joint decision making about what should be achieved and how. It has been discovered that there is a lack of active participation in community development in the IDP context of Matlosana Municipality and the study makes recommendations on how transformative elements of participation can be applied to improve current norms and standards in participatory communication. / MA (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Much is written on the importance of participatory communication and its role in uplifting indigent communities. As the closest government sphere to communities, local government is charged with directly improving the lives of the poor and is required by legislation to conduct Integrated Development Planning (IDP). This requires that a municipal authority utilise participatory communication aspects such as dialogue, empowerment, and planning. These are most important pillars of community development. However, many studies have warned that elements such as modernisation, dependency and bureaucracy need to be re-assed and observed with caution since they have the potential to impede and limit the extent of participatory communication in community development. These concepts serve as the basic points of departure and theoretical background underpinning this study, which is tasked with exploring the extent of participatory communication in the IDP context of Jouberton Township in the Matlosana LocalMunicipality. In her public address on challenges facing North West Local municipalities (Including Matlosana Municipality) in January 2014, former premier, Thandi Modise, emphasised the need for municipalities to ensure that communities attend IDP meetings, approve earmarked IDP projects and be aware of how a municipality spends its budget earmarked for specific development projects. It is evident from theory and higher echelon of government that participatory communication is seen as the most important pillar and the basis for the existence of a municipal government. It is against this background, that this study was carried out under the assumption that the practice of participatory communication in contemporary local government only exists on paper; while in reality the public does not enjoy active participation in municipal IDP consultative frameworks. This is despite much discourse being available in government and in academia around the importance and role of participatory communication in community development. The study espoused a qualitative research approach to gather data and purposive sampling was used to select respondents linked to two IDP projects in Jouberton Township from the 2012/13 financial year. Its purpose was to explore perceptions among Matlosana municipal representatives and community members in Jouberton Township on the extent of participatory communication in the IDP context. The empirical part of the study comprised of focus group and unstructured interviews, as well as participant observation. By using a typology of participation by Anyaegbunam et al (2004), the study revealed that Jouberton communities are passive participators in municipal IDP consultative frameworks where they participate by just being informed about what is going to happen or has already happened and feedback is minimal. This is opposed to a desired form of empowered participation which is highly recommended by scholars in development communication where stakeholders should be able to and are willing to participate in joint analysis, which leads to joint decision making about what should be achieved and how. It has been discovered that there is a lack of active participation in community development in the IDP context of Matlosana Municipality and the study makes recommendations on how transformative elements of participation can be applied to improve current norms and standards in participatory communication. / MA (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

In South Africa, certain areas are well developed with infrastructures that compare with first world standards, while in others, people live in abject poverty without basic services being rendered Poverty is the single greatest burden of South Africa's people. It is defined as the inability to meet a specified set of basic needs. This means that apart from low income levels, malnutrition and hunger, poverty manifests itself in poor people's lives in many other ways, including lack of access to basic social services. Poverty is characterized by the inability of individuals, households or communities to command sufficient resources to satisfy a socially acceptable minimum standard of living. It is perceived by poor South Africans themselves to include alienation from the community, food insecurity, crowded homes, usage of unsafe and inefficient forms of energy and lack of jobs that are adequately paid and I or secure. Because the government doesn't want to alienate those it is trying to serve, public services are being brought closer to people, so as to improve the quality of community life. The underlying reason for the implementation of Multi-purpose Community Centres (MPCCs) is to bring government services closer to people and to provide the community with the opportunity to communicate with government. Multi-Purpose Community Centres have been identified as the primary approach for the implementation of development communication and information programmes. MPCCs also serve as a base from which a wide range of services and products can reach communities. The aim is for communities to access such services and engage in government programmes for their own empowerment. As a result, MPPCs are a necessary poverty alleviation strategy that needs to be promoted for the improvement of the quality of community life. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Launched as post-2015 development framework for the world, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), popularly known as Global Goals, are based on the premise of ‘leaving no one behind.’ The campaign aims to translate the high awareness levels of people to an increased pressure on governments for delivering on SDGs. Drawing on the theoretical framework of development communication; this study ascertains if the campaign is reaching the stated audience. By analyzing creative choices in designing messages and the media channels used to reach ‘everyone’, the research examines the media narrative of Global Goals. This thesis contributes to development studies and international communication, and highlights the biased logics of development planning. The supplemental files include ‘We the People’ film, an African crowd sourced song to ‘tell everybody’, the fundraiser video featuring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the remake of Spice Girl’s ‘Wannabe’ song and a video that shows the statistics of gender equality.

Like many developing countries, and for many years, Morocco has sought the help of television to disseminate development ideas to its citizens. The Moroccan government has recently given policy considerations to regulate the use of television and radio airwaves as important outside sources for promoting its development objectives. The newly assigned importance of television in Moroccan developmental policies makes a study on the relationship between television and development interesting and crucial. This study investigates the extent to which the Moroccan public service television meets the challenges of effectively contributing to the development objectives of the nation. It focuses on the two government-owned public service television stations, Radiodiffusion et Television Marocaine (RTM) and Soread 2M. Based on initial observations, the general hypothesis is that television programming decisions in the two public television stations are influenced by the elite class that wants more entertainment and has less need for educational programs than their rural and urban-poor counterparts. Concerning methodology, the study uses three main areas in critical media studies: content analysis, production analysis, and audience analysis. The study conducted a quantitative and a qualitative content analysis of a sample of Moroccan produced programs to examine the developmental themes addressed by the two public service television stations. Concerning the production study, the study carried out a critical assessment of the current choices undertaken by the TV producers in the two public service television stations through conducting in-depth interviews with media executives. The third important area is audience reception. Addressing this area helps tackle these research questions from both 'sides' of the screen, examining the issues from the perspectives of both the broadcasters and the audience. The audience reception study assesses the opinions of television viewers on the quality of Moroccan produced programs and their perceptions on the public service provided by the two TV stations. The audience study uses focus groups as a standalone data-gathering strategy. Finally, the study offers a list of recommendations for the use of TV for development.