A communication strategy for development initiatives with special reference to a population development case study in North-Eastern Kwazulu-Natal

• Main Author: Burger, Kobie-Marie
• Other Authors: de Clercq, J.L.W.
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: University of Zululand 2012
• Subjects: Communication Strategy; Development Initiatives; Population Development > Kwazulu-Natal
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10530/1122

Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 1997. === After the Second World War the West became actively involved in Third World development, focusing on the diffusion of information and technology, in its plight to persuade the Third World to adopt Western innovations and to change its behaviour accordingly. Growth and success were measured in economic terms and infrastructural development was usually the outcome of development. The communication approach (development communication or DC) coincides with this paternalistic approach and is top-down and one-directional. After the failures of this dominant approach became evident, a number of alternative approaches were proposed, culminating in the new paradigm, which supported equal status between benefactor and beneficiary, two-way communication, dialogue, and community participation, and emphasising the value of beneficiaries and their culture and traditions. In contrast to DC arguments for the mass media, the new development support communication (DSC) theory supports the small community media. The DSC approach may be applied effectively in small scale development efforts, such as community projects, provided the benefactors are willing to learn from the community, and do not "negotiate" development from a position of status or power, in order to identify the community's real needs. It is impractical to apply the DSC approach on large scale (national provincial, or regional) development projects, due to high costs and the time needed for of small group discussions. These reasons often prompt benefactors to choose the option of a communication campaign as a medium to convey messages. The DC/DSC discourse permeates the field of communication campaigns, dividing these practical frameworks into communicator-orientated campaigns (DC), and campaigns that combine aspects of both the DC and DSC approaches (integrative model). The integrative model inherited the top-down nature of diffusion of information from the DC approach as well as its focus on \aige scale projects, the mass media and externally created messages. These characteristics are then combined with the DSC aspects which are aimed at assisting beneficiaries to empower themselves by acquiring information, to formulate their problems, to suggest solutions and to take their own decisions by focusing on their own needs and interests. This includes aspects such as information sharing on an equal level, beneficiary participation, and the small media. The technique of market segmentation, dividing beneficiaries into (relatively) homogeneous groups, can be applied in large scale and small scale projects. In small scale projects such groups might already exist within a community, and need only to be identified. The Population Development Survey indicated that age, more than gender, should be the guideline for market segmentation in north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal. Younger people tend to enjoy the entertainment provided by roadshows. Edutainment combines entertainment with education, wfach is culturally not a new concept for these respondents. The older and more rural the respondents, the more they value interpersonal communication, but of the mass media, radio is the most popular. In large scale development projects the study suggests using the mass media in conjunction with the small media. The mass media are often used to create a general awareness of the existence of an issue/campaign, and face-to-face situations are created where the issues, dealt with in the mass media, are discussed in detail.