The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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PAPER The Drum Beat - 24 - Ohio University - International Education

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The Drum Beat - 24 - Ohio University - International Education
Additional Information and Commentary - Please contact the student identified for a full copy of their paper.


By Jana Moser
International Student of Ohio University
July 1999
jm292892@oak.cats.ohiou.edu


10. The Contribution International Education Programs Make in Communication and Development

ABSTRACT

The major developmental issues facing the world today have been defined by various conferences such as the World Food summit, the UN International Conference on Population and Development and the UN Conference on Environment and Development. These conferences and others have focused on the developmental issues of hunger, poverty, child mortality, health, environment, human rights, education, illiteracy and the importance of women/the girl child. It is the goal of communication and development to use communication mediums combined with planning, strategies and evaluation to help promote development and social change. In pursuit of this goal, communication and development should take advantage of resources that could help teach communication and development skills. An excellent resource for this is international education programs.

The purpose of this study is to examine present international education programs to see in what ways they contribute to communication and development goals. The current study uses the theory of subjective culture and interpersonal relations and the social learning theory as a base for the contributions of international education in communication and development. Because of the magnitude of international education programs found, the programs investigated were limited to those addressing development issues. Also, because of the variation of these programs, the literature review was limited to those programs offering training in the United States.

The study found that two international education organizations contributed greatly to programs involving technical and other training on developmental issues. These two organizations are the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the Academy for Educational Development (AED). Both of these organizations offer programs allowing for internationals in such areas as government, business professionals, health care providers, educators and scholars to attend workshops, training sessions, tours and academic study in the United States. The study also found that it is not just technical training that the participants of the international education programs learn. The most important knowledge gained by these program experiences were the participants' opportunities to learn, participate and communicate in and with another culture.

Communication and development recognizes the importance of all forms of communication be it traditional media mediums or interpersonal communication. The field also recognizes that development for social change can only be achieved if the message is sent across all members of society. International education programs provide the development training and communication skills that are needed for social change. With this background, such programs are facilitators of some of the skills needed. Thus, international education programs contribute to communication and development in several areas of the field and should be considered more as a resource in contributing the to goals of communication and development.