Founder of DevCom honoured
by University of London |
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| Nora Cruz Quebral setting up her family’s 2011 Christmas tree. Photograph by Ron Diokno. |
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| Professor Nora Cruz Quebral was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) for her “pioneering and continued contribution to the field of development communication.” LSE is a School of the University of London. The Department of Media and Communications, LSE announced that the “doctorate is also an appreciation of the role played by the College of Development Communication, University of the Philippines [at Los Baños] (UPLB) in institutionalising development communication teaching and research.”
A celebratory seminar, “Development Communication, Los Baños Style,” was
held at Tower 1 of LSE in the evening of 14 December 2011 to mark the award of
her Honorary Doctorate. The full text of the lecture delivered by Nora is available
for download here. The seminar was organized in conjunction with C4D, the Communication for Development Network.
Nora is indeed a pioneer of development communication. The beginnings of much
of what we publish at Southbound can be traced back to her seminal work, and the work of a handful of her peers who founded the field. She established Asia’s first faculty for development communication whose alumni would in turn play pivotal roles in founding similar programmes at a number of universities across the region.
Nora began her lecture at the celebratory seminar by recalling the very early days:
“Development communication as a concept was first articulated on 10 December 1971 - 40 years ago, almost to the day - at a University of the Philippines College of Agriculture symposium in Los Baños in honor of Dr. Dioscoro L. Umali. The theme of the symposium was “In Search of Breakthroughs in Agricultural Development,” and development communication was presented as a social science breakthrough that was also a carrier of other breakthroughs. It was described as interventionistic, planned, and using multiple channels including the unmediated word. Its link to nonformal education was noted.”
Nora identified six unique attributes of the development-communication concept
she introduced into the field: |
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It referred to the human interchange of information, not to the mechanical media, least of all the mass media that were the favoured channels of communication then. |
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It was seen as a confluence of the development process and the communication process, thus changing its character and therefore its definition as each of the two components was altered by ever-evolving knowledge and experience. |
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Its end users were the poor and the disadvantaged in a developing society
– the small farmers and fishermen, the landless labourers, the women and children – most of whom lived in the countryside. |
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It was planned change for the better that started with the basics like enough food and income, renewable natural resources, social equality, and the predisposing values to normative change. |
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Its unit of study and analysis was more often the community rather than the individual. |
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It was nonformal education mainly for out-of-school learners. |
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Nora Cruz Quebral and Southbound collaborated recently on the publication of her first ebook, Development Communication Primer, which she generously agreed to make available for free download here.
Nora’s family are active DevCom practitioners. Her granddaughter, Denise,
uploaded a YouTube video made by her father, Ron Diokno, as a family celebration of Nora’s LSE honours. The video is available for viewing here. |
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Nora is professor emeritus of development communication at the College of Development Communication, University of the Philippines Los Baños; former independent consultant in development communication; and founding president
of the Nora C. Quebral Development
Communication Center, Inc. |
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MARKING WORLD AIDS DAY 2011
Sex in the Village |
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"This book provides insights into the nature of sex in the villages of Thailand. Dr. Patchanee Malikhao, its author and a Thai Sociologist, spent time in villages to obtain first-hand knowledge of strategies that may help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through sexual relations. The book also probes whether social determinants, including culture and religion, help or hinder local residents in their own attempts to curb the spread of AIDS. The cost of managing the disease has increased significantly compared to many other health interventions. To make sure such expenditures are effective, we need to understand the social context of prevention strategies and confirm that it is relevant to the social relations of people. This book will help us achieve this understanding." |
Emeritus Professor Santhat Sermsri
Chairman, Committee for Research Ethics (Social Science Branch)
Mahidol University, Bangkok |
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Sex in the Village: Culture, Religion and HIV/AIDS in Thailand
Author: Patchanee Malikhao |
The book begins by reviewing interesting secular HIV/AIDS prevention programmes and community based approaches, and highlights lessons learnt from them. It then describes and explains the Buddhist and Christian approaches followed in Thailand. The author examines how globalization has affected sexuality in the country from a historical perspective and discusses the dynamic interaction between Thai culture and globalization.
It then analyzes the worldviews, and narrates exclusive life stories of Buddhist and Christian religious leaders and villagers on HIV prevention from two communities. This is followed by an analysis of the Buddhist and Christian HIV/AIDS prevention perspectives. The book concludes with an assessment of the effectiveness of religious interventions in HIV/AIDS prevention, and research findings on sex education undertaken in Thailand. |
 Browse for more information |
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| Two short excerpts from the book are available for browsing: |
| • HIV/AIDS as a Manifestation of Unequal Development |
| • The Localization of HIV/AIDS in Thailand |
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