Communication for Another Development

Wendy Quarry and Ricardo Ramirez are both independent consultant practitioners in Communication for Development, they have worked together on field projects, evaluations and publications over the last years, and they have been involved in relevant academia and development circles.Ricardo Ramírez was born and raised in Mexico and is now based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. His consulting and research work includes communication planning, participatory evaluation and capacity development. Ricardo began his career in agricultural sciences that he followed with demonstration farm projects in South America. His graphic design and illustration skills led to a focus on participatory learning and media. He then switched to the field of adult education and community development. His doctoral work focused on how rural and remote communities harness information and communication technology. He has worked with the Communication for Development group at FAO, Rome, with non-governmental organizations, and with consulting firms. For two years he was professor in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph where remains as adjunct. The writing of this book has helped him reflect on the rare conditions under which international development achieves its goals, in contrast with the many achievements that people demonstrate in the absence of aid.Wendy Quarry began her work as a communication specialist with an apprenticeship to the radio school movement in Latin America. Before that she had been a broadcaster in radio and television in Montreal. In 1981 she accepted a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to learn to adapt her Canadian communication experience to a development context. She joined the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in 1982 as a communication specialist on the Bangladesh program. Later she and her family moved with CIDA to Ghana, West Africa and from there took a secondment to the World Bank in New Delhi. This was followed by a return to CIDA in Pakistan where she stayed for four years. After leaving CIDA in 1994 she became an independent consultant in communication, evaluation and capacity building working for governments, NGOs, the private sector and a variety of donors. In 2004 she and her husband moved to Kabul for two years where she worked with Afghan NGOs funded by Novib. Now back in Canada she lives in Ottawa and continues to consult in communication. She has a great deal of experience working in the grey zone.

'Personal funny and entertaining, this book provides a better insight into the value, potential - and ultimately hugely frustrating practice - of using communication to listen rather than tell than any I’ve come across for a very long time. Anyone interested in development will learn much from this book. Those working or interested in using communication in development could usefully place it on their required reading list.'James Deane, BBC World Service Trust'Quarry and Ramirez have written a highly readable, information-packed, lucid book on the challenges and successes of communication for international social change. Drawing from their extensive expertise, they patiently dissect the lessons from numerous programs showing how grassroots communication contributes to sustainable change.'Silvio Waisbord'This should become required reading for communication for development practitioners. This highly personal reflection by two experienced advocates of participatory communication lays bare the reasons why we are so often frustrated with the outcomes of our work, while showing clearly the opportunities for creative support of empowering development from good deployment of communication processes. The stories from their own and others’ professional experience demonstrate the power of narrative in bringing us face to face with our preconceptions and misunderstanding.'Chris Garforth, Reading University

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionAbout this book1. Communication for development: Setting the scenePart I: What We Know2. The meaning of Another Development3. Planners and searchers: Two ways of doing development4. Why communicators can't communicatePart II: What We Learned5. Working in the grey zone6. Early champions: Uncovering principles7. New activists: Principles that travel8. The forgotten contextPart III: What We Can Do Differently9. Training and negotiating in the grey zone: A collection of touchstones10. Searching and listening: Good development breeds good communicationPostscript: Cultivating common sense on the farmReferences