Recommendations to effectively mainstream Communication for Development

dear all

These were my recommendations for the Africa region in the background document of the XIII UN Roundtable on COMDEV (16-18 September 2014)

• Search and market the evidences of the contribution of COMDEV in the success of Programs/Projects
• Increase the visibility and the resources (human, financial) allocated to COMDEV in UN system agencies and all institutions promoting COMDEV

• At the national level, position COMDEV among the normal activities of the Ministry of Communication and Technical Ministries using it and create a specific budget line in order to progressively abandon the project approach
• In the meantime, favor iterative processes in planning and implementing programs/programs et secure the commitment of donors in flexible rules to accommodate the requirements of COMDEV
• Disseminate more widely the existing training resources and promote national learning opportunities (cf. CTA mechanism «web 2.0 and social media learning opportunities ») and initiate partnerships with Universities for inclusion/strengthening of COMDEV in the curricula
• Use more often online training (cf. IMARK/FAO model)
• Close the gap in the adoption of TICs (use the CTA « web 2.0 and social media learning opportunities » and other ICT training possibilities)
• Strengthen networking among all COMDEV champions using Yenkasa
• Build on the passion of the youth for social media to widen the COMDEV supporters

During the recent virtual consultation organized by AMARC and FAO on COMDEV, Community media ICTs and family farming, the participants from Africa mentioned the following barriers :

"Low literacy levels
o Low literacy is a serious limiting factor for family farmers as it deprives them from accessing important information that is available in written format.

Poverty and  lack of tech skills
o Family farmers being at the bottom of the economic ladder means they cannot afford computers or spend to access the internet at cafes if they were to need information from it. Unfortunately their low tech skills means even when social centers provide free internet, most rural farmers still cannot use it by themselves.

Lack of infrastructure in general and mass communication infrastructure in particular
o There is a need to invest in expanding mobile networks access.
o Lack of electricity, television, internet and community radio stations in most rural communities also pose a problem."