Jan Servaes

New challenges for communication for sustainable development and social change: a review essay

This article provides an overview of subdisciplines in the field of Communication for Development and Social Change. Different subdisciplines of communication science are analyzed to assess their connection to the field. Building on these subdisciplines the article reviews health communication, agricultural extension and rural communication, and environmental communication as practice-based subdisciplines of Communication for Development and Social Change. By assessing the current development and communication approaches within the different subdisciplines, the article aims to better understand the current state-of-the-art of the field and identify future imperatives.

Multitheoretical Approaches to Community Media: Capturing Specificity and Diversity

The concept of “community media” (CM) has shown to be, in its long theoretical and empirical tradition (cf. Janowitz, 1952, 1967), highly elusive. The multiplicity of media organizations that carry this name has caused most monotheoretical approaches to focus on certain characteristics, while ignoring other aspects of the identity of community media. This theoretical problem necessitates the use of different approaches toward its definition, allowing for a complementary emphasis on different aspects of its identity. This chapter combines four theoretical approaches to capture both the diversity and specificity of community media.

The tools of social change: A critique of techno-centric development and activism

Generally, the literatures on Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) and on networked resistance are evolving isolated from one another. This article aims to integrate these literatures in order to critically review differences and similarities in the techno-centric conceptions of agency and social change by political adversaries that are rooted in their socio-technical practices. We repurpose the critique of technological determinism to develop a multi-layered conception of agency that contains three interrelated dimensions: (1) “access” versus “skill” and the normative concept of inclusion; (2) fixed “system” versus “open-ended network” and savoir vivre; and (3) “institution” versus “extra-institutional network” and political efficacy. Building on our critique, we end by exploring the political possibilities at the intersections of conventional institutions or communities and emerging, extra-institutional networked formations.

The many faces of (soft) power, democracy and the Internet

Abstract Starting from a brief roundup of the correlation between ICTs and politics in Asia, and especially China, this introduction to a special issue on China explores a number of the more political and technological issues related to power and the Internet. It highlights some opportunities and dangers from a democratic technology perspective.

Sustainability and Participatory Communication A Case Study of the Transition Town Amherst, Massachusetts

Sustainability and resilience are two of the many concepts currently “en vogue” in the academic community, especially with regard to how we understand processes of lasting social change. Indeed, although there is no formal definition of “sustainability,” it continues to remain popular in various political, social, and economic discourses, particularly those of environmental groups as a call to action to raise awareness around the current depletion of finite natural resources (for recent overviews, see Servaes, 2013a, 2013b). The word is most often associated with being able to meet the needs of the present (socially, economically, environmentally), without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987). Two indigenous people from Winnipeg, Manitoba presented their vision of sustainable development through the eyes and experience of Indigenous people for the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Before contact with Europeans, the authors note that concepts of “sustainability” were already part of indigenous culture, and the development of social institutions and mechanisms of social

Comunicación Participativa: ¿El nuevo paradigma?

This paper presents an analysis of the communication strategies applied for the ParticipatorynBudgett (OP) implementation in Porto Alegre. The OP is an administrative-political projectnintroduced by the Popular Administration (PA) of the �Partido dos Trabalhadores� (PT, orn�Workers Party)� in Porto Alegre Town Hall. The study was carried out from 1989 to 2002,nwhich corresponded to four periods of the Popular Administration. These strategies had thenmain objective of giving visibility to the project that constitutes the parties political scope, andnPublic Relations was its fundamental strategy for implementation. The communication processnintroduced by Porto Alegre�s Town Hall implied a complex and diversyfied policy based onncommunication strategies in several areas, presenting a very strong emphasis in human relan-ntions. The difference in terms of communication by this project, was that Public Relations wasnimplemented with a new perspective that made possible the participation of cityzenship in thenproposal of social projects beyond the traditional and classic communication modelsespanolEste articulo intenta dar a conocer la conexion entre la teologia de la liberacion y la aparicion de cientos de medios ciudadanos, medios comunitarios, medios radicales, y proyectos de medios alternativos a lo largo de la region. Las paginas siguientes se centran en el proyecto del obispo Juan Luis Ysern: Radio Estrella del Mar, una red de emisoras radiales comunitarias en el sur de Chile EnglishThis paper is intended to shed light on the connection between liberation theology and the emergence of hundreds of citizens� media, community media, radical media, and alternative media projects throughout the region. The following pages focus on the case of bishop Juan Luis Ysern and Radio Estrella del Mar, a network of community radio stations in southern ChileThis paper will analyze the nature of the rupture which corresponds to the transition fromnfordism to post-fordism, and define the mechanisms which characterize the actual capitalism.nIn a firs part, from a Marxian point of view, I ?ll show how the limits of the commodity formnmay explain the development of immaterial activities and the limits of labor value theory. Inna second part, I will show the specificities of �immaterial� capitalism , and the way the valuencreation and appropriation changed today. I ?ll demonstrate how, below different forms, thenmercantile logic extends to other social activities. The system is characterized by the privatenappropriation of knowledge , but the production of this knowledge is highly socialized. So, thensystem continues being a capitalist one, below new historical formsespanolEl objetivo de este trabajo es comprender la importancia de la apropiacion social de las TICs �tecnologias de la informacion y la comunicacion� en el contexto de la Ley de Comunicacion Social. Este trabajo comienza con una investigacion documental, bibliografica y descriptiva sobre los principios democraticos en el contexto de las regulaciones para el area como una necesidad creciente del desarrollo y la participacion de la sociedad civil. El objetivo es analizar los debates y la toma de decisiones sobre la elaboracion de la Ley de Comunicacion Social. Esta fue elaborada en 2005, y considera la articulacion del Grupo de Trabajo Interministerial y del Consejo Consultivo formado por una sociedad civil que viene de asociaciones corporativas vinculadas al movimiento de comunicacion EnglishThe purpose this paper is to comprehend the importance of social appropriation of ICT�s �in - formation and communication technologies- in the context of Social Communication Law. This work starts on a documentary, bibliographic and descriptive research stressing on the demo - cratic principles in the context of the regulations for the area as a growing necessity for the development and participation of the civil society. The objective is to analyse the debates and the making decisions about the elaboration of the Social Communication Law. It was made in 2005, and considers the Interministerial Working Group articulation and a Consultive Council formed by a civil society coming from corporative associations linked to the communication movement

Studying the global from within the local

Global Communication Research should be (1) concerned about the transformation of society (hence: normative), (2) human-centered (hence: not driven by technological determinism), (3) truly global, and (4) focused on content and (human) rights. Therefore, (5) more participatory and qualitative communication research, (6) and monitoring and evaluation from the perspective of social relevance are needed.

The Chinese dream shattered between hard and soft power

Sometimes the Chinese dream is of sustainable development, of anti-corruption, of constitutionalism, of a clean environment, or of social harmony. Essentially, like the American dream or any dream for that matter, the Chinese dream can mean anything to anyone. However, more so than in ‘democratic societies’, where dreaming is free and extensively discussed, the authoritarian Chinese government and Communist Party seem to have a problem as these slogans do not resonate with the broader public, neither nationally nor internationally

A Village in the Jungle: Culture and Communication in Thailand

This article provides analytical components of Thai culture: worldviews, value systems, symbolic representation , and social organization. The Thai Buddhist worldview and beliefs will be discussed from a historical perspective. Power hidden in the hierarchical structure will be assessed in the realm of interpersonal and mass communication. Thai cultural products will be analyzed in relation to the Thai value system and symbolic representations. How Thais organize their social life will be illuminated by looking at the role and impact of ‘face ’ and ‘leadership’ in Thai society.

Health Communication Strategies for Sustainable Development in a Globalized World

This chapter explores the interconnected discourses on health, health communication, development, sustainability, and globalization, and advocates for (a) a broader understanding of the role of communication to promote and sustain health behavior; (b) a broader social scientific approach to public health, a contemporary definition of health as a social construct and the social determinants of health with stronger emphasis on health policies and management such as governance, accountability, and leadership; and (c) strategic policy perspectives that deal with resource allocation, human resources and capacity building, enabling environments for health communication, and recognition of the value and contribution of health communication strategies to public health in a globalized world. Several challenges remain ahead for the health communication community, including practitioners, academics, and policy makers.