Communication the Key to a Post-2015 Development Framework

Information is power. That's the mantra on the lips of those who want a sea change in the narrative of poverty. It’s a timely issue, considering ongoing discussions around the post-2015 development agenda. Actors from UN member states, civil society and the NGO community are attempting to steer a new course that builds on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Established in 2000, the MDGs represent a broad roadmap for global development and have since energized efforts to eradicate poverty and promote development. Reflecting the mood of optimism around the turn of the millennium, they were designed as targets and indicators for countries to measure progress.

But times have changed. We are now digging deeper into some of the structural drivers of poverty and underdevelopment. Talk among development professionals is reflecting this. One of the chief architects behind the MDGs, Mark Malloch-Brown, has outlined the importance of securing states that are accountable and backed by the rule of law. Rather than concrete objectives defined solely by service provision, a new framework will most likely accommodate concerns around institutions, transparency and access to resources. The UN’s own process of consultation, dubbed the My World survey, has so far pointed to issues of inequality, employment and the environment as the burning topics on people’s radars.

These are big questions. Governance, inequality, conflict and resource allocation do not combine easily into a definitive framework. What we need are principles and tools that can be applied universally but also adjusted to specific contexts. Communication is one such tool and, encouragingly, beginning to gain traction amid the buzz surrounding post-2015 conversations.

A recent study by the Participate Initiative, What Matters Most, has highlighted the need for local participation to challenge barriers that exclude people’s access to resources. Additionally, the outcome document from Rio+20 also affirmed that "people’s opportunities to influence their lives and future, participate in decision-making and voice their concerns are fundamental for sustainable development."

As InterAction’s Lindsay Coates has said, citizen engagement provides the key to progressive development. Communication is fundamental to this vision, representing a universal right and adaptable to local needs and settings. For example, local radio stations in Chad broadcast programming that includes audience call-ins. A diverse set of voices is represented, involving people in a dialogue that promotes deeper understanding and breaks the silence around taboo issues like gender-based violence. Building processes of engagement like these opens the door to better understanding around the issues governments, donors, NGOs and other multilateral agencies like to talk about.

When people are able to provide, receive and access information, a more complete form of power emerges. Involving people in a dialogue ensures that development is accountable and not merely a top-down enforcement of services. Inclusion is critical. Without it, the same cycles of abuse, where one party dominates and controls the means of exchange, will emerge unchecked. Operating instead as dialogue, communication ensures that information meets the greatest need, is accessible to all and can empower those in poverty to act and influence the actions of others.

Renegotiating the contours of power can have profound implications beyond local community conversations. With strong channels of communication, the issues that matter to local civilians have the potential to reach a critical mass. To shape the agendas within the international community, these voices need a platform broad enough to sustain the necessary political and collective will. A strong, global commitment to communication is our starting-point. In the context of the post-MDG discussions, now is the perfect opportunity to unite behind the right of all citizens to speak up, share knowledge and transform their own lives.

By Ellis Tsang, a Communications intern at InterAction.