Photo by Emmanuel Ikwuegbu on Unsplash
Authored By: Gyaviira Luwaga
(Inspired by ongoing research on strategic communication in development practice across Europe and Africa)
In a small town in Senegal, a mother named Aissatou tucks a mosquito net around her sleeping child. It wasn’t always this way. Years ago, she had refused the net offered to her. Not because she didn’t want to protect her family—but because the campaign that promoted it never spoke to her, never felt like it was for her. “They talked about economics,” she says, “but we think about our children.” It wasn’t until the messages changed—until she heard stories like her own on the radio, in her language, through voices she trusted—that she changed her mind.
This story is not unique. Around the world, we have the tools, the theories, and often the funding to deliver powerful communication for development. But something still breaks down—not always in the message, but in the way we craft it, frame it, deliver it, and most importantly, listen back.
Across Europe and Africa, the field of strategic communication has grown from technocratic press releases and slogans to something far more complex, far more human. We know that people don’t just absorb information—they filter it through experience, culture, history, and trust. And yet, as this new study reveals, our practice still too often leans on what we want to say, not what people need to hear—or how they need to hear it.
In Germany, messages about pandemic solidarity were met with cooperation. Why? Because people trusted the institutions and the science behind the message. But in rural Uganda, when farmers were encouraged to adopt new seed technologies, many turned away. Not because the seeds weren’t better—but because the message was carried by political figures they didn’t trust. In Nigeria, Ebola prevention campaigns stumbled because they ignored funeral traditions. In Portugal, they soared because health officials handed the mic to priests and village elders.
It’s not about who has the better theory. It’s about who takes the time to understand the audience.
As we race to meet the Sustainable Development Goals—especially in a world fractured by misinformation, conflict, and fatigue—strategic communication must stop being an instruction manual and start being a conversation. It must move beyond “raising awareness” to building understanding. And it must let go of the illusion that one message, no matter how beautifully designed, can fit every place, every person, every time.
This research calls on communicators, especially within development communication, to rethink our habits. Let’s stop treating “participation” as a checkbox. Let’s stop using crisis as the only moment for dialogue. Let’s invest in local knowledge, emotional fluency, and radical inclusion. Because the best messages are not those that are simply heard—they are the ones people repeat, adapt, and carry forward themselves.
If we can build campaigns that make Aissatou feel seen—not as a recipient, but as a partner—we’re not just communicating. We’re creating change.
And isn’t that the point?
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
If this story resonated with you, or if you’re a communicator, practitioner, or policy leader working in development—
👉 Request the full article here: Strategic Communication in Development: Theories, Practices, and Regional Contrasts Between Europe and Africa
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