Just six weeks have passed since five authors’ paths crossed to start this blog. Six weeks is enough time to create a collaborative environment, support and inspire each other to publish ten blog posts, receive 16 comments, as well as witness one of the authors leaving the group.
As promised in our introductory post, we looked at various topics related to broadly understood development communications: the use of TikTok and podcasts in ComDev, the urgent need for ethical storytelling in the era of the internet, the latest digital technologies in service of human rights, activism as a way of bringing divided communities together, and the reality of soliciting for donations in the world of perpetual crises.
We raised questions regarding representation and recognition in the field of photojournalism, the necessity of holding the United Nations General Assembly, and whether is there really one truth in the post-truth age of fake news.
Our Takeaways
The devBridge authors hope that these posts have raised important questions for readers to considered, and spark conversations among practitioners and academics. The blogosphere remains a crucial space for conversation and debate for nuanced topics; topics that are too in-depth for social media. This has been a space for individuals from numerous countries to connect and share ideas, and we hope these conversations continue past the conclusion of this blog.
The future of ComDev
The rapidly changing world in which TikTok may soon follow MySpace and disappear from memory, and new ways of reaching donors, partners, recipients may evolve. What sadly will very likely remain is the need for fair representation and fair recognition in humanitarian journalism, the necessity to uphold universal human rights, and the obligation for ethical storytelling.
What we as a collective wrote about are new ways of tackling old problems. For these issues to be addressed, those in our sector must take part in these conversations, consider new ways of working and communicating, and make the concerted efforts to transition to ethical and equitable communication practices. We hope you’ll join us in those continued conversations.