Comm for Social Change—Rockefeller Fnd 

 Goal: To enhance the effectiveness of development initiatives focusing on the poor and excluded by fostering innovative communication approaches that engage, empower and engender positive social change.

Virtually all of the Foundation's work relies heavily upon the ability to "get the word out," to reach the affected stakeholders, and to position an issue or issues in the public consciousness. Foundation grantees must have effective communication strategies and skills in order to inform policy, advocate for change, or persuade users and consumers that their technologies are workable. We must also help grantees begin to identify how the voices of the poor and excluded can be better engaged, and how research, technology and programs can better incorporate their opinions and values. 

 Communication for social change is a technique for engaging communities in their own problem solving and decision making, then using such decisions to communicate essential information to all those impacted by the issue. It is defined simply as a "process of public and private dialogue wherein people define who they are, what they want, how to get what they need." Social change is defined as change in people's lives as they themselves define such change. This work seeks particularly to improve the lives of the politically and economically marginalized, and is informed by principles of tolerance, self-determination, equity, social justice and active participation for all. 

This special program finds ways to help poor people increase their abilities to use communication approaches and technology to improve their lives. For example, in rural Zimbabwe we are working with youth groups as they develop mechanisms to talk about AIDS and the dangers of the disease among their peers. Through drama, song, public-opinion polling, community dialogue circles and teen workshops, they are learning that behavioral change cannot be sustained absent effective communication among adolescents, and between youth and their parents. And, that information dissemination alone--or the distribution of pamphlets, posters and ads--is not effective communication. By testing community-developed approaches and evaluating their success using an integrated social-science model of social change, we are hopeful that the Foundation and our grantees can learn techniques for sustaining positive behavioral change which will allow youth to avoid risky sexual activities that can lead to HIV infection. 

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