Posted by 
Dear readers,
Our blog is soon coming to an end, even though a couple of blog posts are still to come. A virtual space where we have enjoyed conversations during six weeks with each other as a group, but also with all of you visitors.
This platform was created to share thoughts, impressions and ideas around the theme of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) and to generate discussions on the role of communications in humanitarian aid work. We wanted to raise awareness and expose different issues that communication in the aid sector has and to what extent those issues affect and reinforce stereotypes and representations that are problematic. We shared with you some suggestions and solutions that we thought could “ decolonize” development. The name of our blog “Developing narratives in digital times” sums up our intention.
As a group of authors with diverse cultural and professional backgrounds, our stories have been diversified and focused on different themes in an attempt to create new narratives and representations free from colonial influence. We have among all discussed the need for new standards for ethical storytelling, discrimination or racial bias within development work, the potential of podcasts for INGOs, and the ethical aspects of images of people in poverty. A central question for our discussion has been, how media and development actors can change and create new development narratives in a system that is attached to controversies and paradoxes?
We are grateful for your interactions on our posts and that we got the opportunity to open a discussion and exchange ideas on how we could redefine development communication. We hope that our reflections inspired you to self-reflexive practice on how to improve the way development is communicated but also the possibilities that come with digital ICT.
Goodbye from all of us and thank you for reading and engaging in our blog!
/Julia, Cecilia, Marianna, Claudine and Rhonda
