Lessons from a Scuppered African Social Change Dream: Drawing Insights from the Facilitative Nature of Communication

Abstract

Africa, like other developing regions, continuously grapples with the achievement of sustainable development and social change. At the heart of the development conundrum engulfing the African continent lies issues of citizen participation, lack of good governance and leadership crises, and intra-and-inter-state conflict, among others. The need to understand how the facilitative nature of communication can be applied in the promotion of social change is often relegated as an academic exercise and research-based solutions hardly find expression in the strategic planning of various governance structures. This chapter draws on insights and contributions forwarded by scholars with an interest in the field of strategic communication management and communication for development and social change (notably, participatory communication). This is done by reflecting on some key observations emanating from the book with the objective of exemplifying key lessons from the perceived ‘scuppered’ African dream. This is important as the year 2023 is proclaimed as the diamond jubilee since the establishment of the then OAU (formerly known as the African Union), which similarly shared an objective of a united and prosperous Africa. Additionally, the chapter makes recommendations for future research, as complementary to the utility and heurism of an interdisciplinary approach espoused in this book.