Communication: A key to human development

It is always said that the only thing in this world that is constant is CHANGE.
Change, what is change? Change has been defined as to cause to be different or
simply to give a completely different form or appearance to or to transform. Let us also
define social change. Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a
society. It includes modernization, progress and development. According to the great
Johnny F. Kennedy, change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or
present are certain to miss the future.

Change is the internal law. History and science bear ample testimony to the fact
that change is the law of life. Stagnation is death. They tell us stories of mans rise and
growth from the Paleolithic age to the Neolithic age, then to the Stone Age and next to
the copper age and so on. On the stage of the world, scenes follow scenes, acts follow
acts, and drama follows drama. Nothing stands still.

The wheel of time moves on and on. The old dies and the young steps into the
world. We ring out the old and ring in the new. A child changes into a boy, a boy into a
youth and then into a man. The bud changes into a flower. The dawn turns into
morning, morning into noon, noon into afternoon and afternoon into night.

It is said, Today is not yesterday, we ourselves change. No change is

permanent, it is subject to change. This is observed in all spares of activity. Change
indeed is painful, yet needful. Flowing water is wholesome, and stagnant water is
poisonous. Only when it flows through and alters with changes, it is able to refresh and
recreate.

With the growing conveniences of modern technology, fewer people are taking
the time to talk with people face-to-face, and when they do, its in mass audience
forums which are inherently designed to only pass along information one-way
communication.

We all live in a communication age, and its full impact on development is just
starting to be seen. All of us communicate every day to share information, ideas, and
emotions to the society, developing new ways of doing things. Communication media
and techniques can be powerful tools to advise people about new ideas and methods to
encourage adoption of those ideas and methods, and to improve training overall. A
development strategy that uses communication approaches can reveal peoples
underlying attitudes and traditional wisdom, help people to adapt their views and to
acquire new knowledge and skills, and spread new social messages to large audiences.

In this new era, with rapid expansion in the reach of mass media and improved
techniques for the interpersonal exchange of ideas. The advent of the cheap transistor
radio, for example, has brought this medium to remote corners of even the least
developed countries, where a lack of electricity can be overcome by solar-powered
transmitters and receivers.

Preparation of printed materials with types, graphics, and photographs, has also
been revolutionized. The use of computers for desktop publishing has sharply reduced
costs and production time, providing much greater access and versatility. With such
rapid advances in communication technology and know-how, the age of
telecommunication for rural development may already be upon us.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through
continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A
man can't ride you unless your back is bent. Understanding the need for change is the
first step in creating new behaviors within our community, behaviors that will represent
values in the future state. Let us accept and embrace change using communication for
the betterment of the future.