Roles of Communication in Community Development (Published)
The focus of the paper is on the roles of communication in community development. The paper highlighted the roles of communication in community development to include conscientation of members of participating communities, provision of relevant information, provision of opportunities for dialogue and discussion and provision of opportunities for sharing of information and ideas that will facilitate effective service delivery in community development. Based on the issues discussed, the paper recommended the followings: (1) Communication should be explored appropriately to reach various segments of the participating communities in community development (2) Dialogue and discussion in communication with relevant stake holders should be explored extensively in promoting meaningful community development. (3) There should be regular communication with community leadership in the participating communities. (4) There should equally be regular communication with the various segments and community based organizations (CBOs) to elicit collective action and participatory involvement of members of the participating communities in promoting sustainable people-oriented community development projects.
Keywords: Community and Development, Roles, communication