Rather than focus on participatory dialogue, the emphasis is placed on visibility—media coverage, social media posts, glossy reports—while the people at the center of these interventions are sidelined.
Because of our disregard for development communication that enables inclusive dialogue, the very people we aim to serve often become suspicious, and projects are abandoned.
Let me be clear: if our interventions continue to ignore development communication, they will continue to lose the very people they’re meant to serve. And when we lose the people, we lose the impact we aspire to make.
It’s time to rethink our assumptions. Visibility is not engagement. Funding is not transformation. Real change starts with the right kind of development communication.
hashtagOseniDevTalks