At the end of 2009, despite the international commitments made to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, over a billion people are going hungry and 70% of those women and men who suffer from hunger live in rural areas. These alarming results inevitably raise questions as to the effectiveness of the devel opment policies being implemented and strengthen our determination to continue with our participatory communication actions. Thus, amidst the turmoil of the financial and economic crisis which is severely affecting all countries, we present issue 17 of the Dimitra Newsletter.