In the second week, we will continue our reflection on the ICT for Development, Aid Work and Communicating Development. Just like in the first week, my reflection will be focused on racism. However, I will add another element to the analysis – ethnicity.
The intersections between racism and ethnic discrimination accentuates even more complexity of the study of ICT for Development, Aid Work and Communicating Development. The apparently subtle differences at cultural and social levels can have a significant impact. According to Kleine (2010), shared ethnicity is an important definition of the group membership. Moreover, ethnicity is one the factors that may influence equal access to ICTs and how people in the society use technology to achieve their goals and make social changes. Besides the material limitations, there are also informal rules that are influenced by ethnicity.
From the point of view of communication, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has made some advances in the understanding of these issues. Nowadays, extremist groups use online and media content to popularize reductive racial, ethnic and religious narratives and false images of violent “heroism”. This tendency accentuates the urgency of creating a better understanding of the new realities of extremism. In some contexts, the simple act of holding informed and critical discussions can be an enormous challenge. The misinformation, anger and panic make it more difficult to approach certain issues that can be viewed as controversial, undesirable or sensitive. Despite the dangers that the popularization of digital technologies and platforms has brought, organisation and institutions can use ICT for Development, Aid Work and Communicating Development to promote development and democratic principles by engaging directly with the region’s populations on an unprecedented scale.
The UNDP approach transcends purely theoretical activities by focusing on the personal stories of people impacted by violent extremism. People that represent different races and ethnicities gain voice. This approach seeks to demystify dangerous ideologies and destroy the dangerous allure of extremist groups. It creates and cultivates awareness around regional conflict-related issues by sparking a critical dialogue among different regional audiences. Engaging professionals and volunteers from different races and ethnic groups is one of the key actions implemented by UNDP. As Hor (2017) notes, a reduced participation of some ethnic groups is often a seductive technocratic solution to problems and tensions in certain regions. However, in this way participation loses its meaning. All ethnic groups should participate in communication and development processes. In the UNDP approach, dense audience participation is also highly encouraged. For example, at radio stations, call-ins during the shows are a frequent practice. Bentley, Nemer and Vannini (2019) see identity factors such as race and ethnicity as essential to the understanding of culture. According to United Nations Development Programme (2019), hate speech and ethnic violence against minority groups could be reduced by creating more awareness around regional conflict-related topics and by encouraging critical dialogue. Communication for development could be seen as an important tool in this effort because it allows the continuity of reflexive and interactive processes.
References:
Bentley, C.M., Nemer, D. & Vannini, S. 2019: “When words become unclear”: unmasking ICT throughvisual methodologies in participatory ICT4D, AI & Society, 34, 477–493.
Hor, A. 2017: Searching for Redemption: Distancing Narratives in the Everyday Emotional Lives of Aid WorkersPreview the document. Draft paper.
Kleine, D. 2010: ICT4WHAT?—Using the choice framework to operationalise the capability approach to developmentPreview the document, Journal of International Development 22:5, 674–692.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2019: UNDP’s Engagement with the Media forGovernance, Sustainable Development and Peace, Oslo: UNDP Governance Centre.
