FOLLOW UP TO THE 9th ROUND TABLE

Riccardo del CastelloCommunication for Development Officer

FAO

The 9th UN Round Table

• FAO, Rome, 6-7 September 2004

• In collaboration with UNESCO, WB, IDRC, Italian Cooperation, CTA

• Previous Round Table: • Nicaragua 2001• HIV/AIDS communication and evaluation

• 150 Participants from UN agencies, academia, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs, practitioners...

Themes of the 9th Roundtable

Main Theme: Communication and Sustainable Development

The context of Communication for Sustainable Development

The role of communication in the MDGs

ICTs and Media

Historical background

Communication models, trends, challenges and priorities

Priority areas for organizations and practitioners

Different approaches at UN, Govt and NGO level

Thematic areas and Working Groups:

Themes of the 9th Roundtable

Results and Outcomes of the 9th Round Table

Shared and agreed principles on Communication for Development:

People are the drivers of their own developmentComDev is a horizontal two-way process that contributes to sustainable changeCo-creation and sharing of knowledgeRespect for local contexts, values and cultureCommunication is critical to the success of the MDGs

Challenges:

Rapidly changing environment due to globalization, privatization, ecological pressure, decentralization, explosion of mediaRapid expansion of ICTs, new scenarios, new actors but also widening gap between knowledge and information (divides)Mainstreaming ComDev into local/national development policiesDemonstrate the added value of ComDev

Results and Outcomes of the 9th Round Table

Recommendations

Scaling up and better resourcing ComDev

Building a communication component into development projects

Ensuring support for free and pluralistic information systems and community media

Improving research and training for ComDev practitioners

Developing new skills and tools for evaluation and impact assessments

Building alliances, fostering local, national and regional ComDev processes

Results and Outcomes of the 9th Round Table

General recommendations

Ensure that ComDev is an integral component of any development process. UN agencies must actively engage in coherent and systematic coordination effort.

Donors and development agencies should set up well resourced ComDev units.

Establish an inter-agency group to analyse experiences, suggest improvements and develop a common approach to ComDev.

Support training programs in ComDev in developing countries building on existing experiences.

Towards a Plan of Action

Results and Outcomes of the 9th Round Table

Towards a Plan of Action

Cross-cutting issues for priority collaboration

•Advocacy

•Learning and Capacity building

•Building Alliances

•Research M&E

•Information Sharing

...Have we succeeded?

The Way Forward: a collaborative framework...

• Loose commitment of UN Agencies

• Absence of officially designated focal points

• Lack of handover and follow up wherever staff turnover took place

• Lack of knowledge about each other’s work in ComDev

• Lack of a shared understanding of ComDev

• Insufficient funding for networking

Specific recommendationsA working group/network to foster global partnerships on ComDev

The participants will further develop the Plan of Action and monitor its implementation

FAO and UNESCO will accompany the follow up process to ensure the active participation of other partners and develop and information sharing mechanism (task force of focal points)

The Way Forward: a collaborative framework

The Way Forward: a collaborative framework...

...Have we succeeded?

Alternative forms of partnerships:

• Informal task force for the WCCD and for the preparation of the 10th Round Table

• Commitment of individual officers to establish collaborative initiatives

• Informal mechanisms for information sharing (conference calls, web site on 10th RT

• Concrete partnerships at field level