Communication for Development Roundtable Report

The November 2001 VIII International Communication for Development Roundtable, held in Managua, Nicaragua, focused on evaluating challenges and identifying new directions for Communication for Development in the context of HIV/AIDS. The biannual roundtable represents an opportunity for UN agencies, other international organisations, donors and senior communication practitioners from different regions and backgrounds to share experiences and lessons learnt.

A Global Declaration on the way forward represents the roundtable consensus that communication for development is an essential process within human development that must be integrated in economic, political and social change. In order to respond to the long-term needs of those affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the VIII Communication for Development Roundtable calls for:

• The international communication response to be rooted in and subject to local ownership and agendas
• A redirection of increased resources toward more effective communication programmes Programmes to be accountable to those they are designed to benefit
• Increased investments in capacity building, training and research at the country level Development of strategies, evaluation and appropriate indicators and,
• A coordinated and concerted multisectoral international and in-country communication response among all partners (governments, NGOs, religious leaders, donors, the private sector, and particularly those living with HIV/AIDS).

The report serves as a resource showing a number of different communications models and applications in the field. It highlights an emerging convergence in approaches and increasing efforts to build bridges between different types of activities, including Behaviour Change Communication, Communication for Social Change and Advocacy. You will also find examples of approaches to address young people's needs and gender issues, including community mobilisation against gender-based violence and discrimination, and use of community media.

The meeting was co-sponsored and organised by UNFPA Technical Support Division. It benefited from effective inter-agency collaboration from a large number of UN agencies, international organisations, foundations, NGOs, and universities. The Panos Institute, in close collaboration with and on behalf of UNFPA, coordinated the meeting and wrote the report. The UNESCO Communication Sector, together with the Rockefeller Foundation Communication for Social Change programme, co-sponsored the participation of Southern non-governmental organisations and the production of the final report, and contributed as resource persons. UNICEF, FAO, UNAIDS, WHO, and USAID contributed as members of the Roundtable advisory team, resource persons and cosponsors of participants.