[governance] In Memoriam: Panos London - Development Experiences, Progress and Lessons

[michael gurstein]

A sad passing... Panos was a model of its kind...

M
-----Original Message-----
From: Warren Feek [mailto:wfeek at comminit.com] 
Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2012 5:39 AM
To: mgurst at vcn.bc.ca
Subject: [SPAM] In Memoriam: Panos London - Development Experiences,
Progress and Lessons

Re: IN MEMORIAM: PANOS LONDON
http://www.comminit.com/policy-blogs/content/memoriam-panos-london (and some
excerpts below)

Greetings Michael

"Panos was a curious blend of independent journalism and participatory
communication, but it was not about advocacy. The development world is full
of advocates keen to communicate their analysis and their prescriptions.
This has been responsible for much of the energy and success of development
in recent years but there is - or at least was - room too for development
analysis that seeks to explain and illuminate rather than persuade. As
advocacy fills the development sphere, that role seems more relevant now
than ever." (James Deane)
http://www.comminit.com/policy-blogs/content/memoriam-panos-london


In any field of work there will be times that prompt you to pause for
serious reflection and analysis. For me the closing of our very valued
partner Panos London provides the stimulus for such reflection and analysis.


This was one of the original agencies to place now central issues such as
the environment and HIV/AIDS onto the development agenda. It was also at the
forefront of respecting and supporting the voices, information and analysis
of the people and countries that were directly experiencing the major
development issues. Reflecting its principles Panos developed a structure in
which all of the Panos' offices across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and
Europe were equal - rather than the still predominant and traditional HQ in
the North and "branch" offices in countries. (Please note that it is only
Panos London that is closing)


James Deane who held numerous posts in Panos London has written a blog - see
http://www.comminit.com/policy-blogs/content/memoriam-panos-london - in
which he reflects on the strategic principles that drove Panos London, the
contribution it made to development thinking and action, and the challenges
that remain for all of us when one reviews the state of development from the
prism of the Panos perspective. 


A few excerpts follow. Can I please encourage you, your colleagues and
networks to access the full blog at
http://www.comminit.com/policy-blogs/content/memoriam-panos-london and take
a few minutes to review James's analysis, enter your reactions into the
Comments block, provide a rating of how valuable this blog is to your work
and share the blog with your online networks. 


Your response, analysis, questions and ideas will help all of us to further
refine and improve our work.


EXCERPTS


"Panos, and organisations like Earthscan before them, believed that the
foundation of human progress is built on people having access to the
information that shapes their lives, and to communicate with each other and
to those in authority."

"Increasingly we described our work as generating informed debate on the
issues that mostmattered to the people of developing countries."

"The organisation became known for its championing of participatory
approaches to communication, including its much respected Oral Testimony
programme. That participatory focus, for some a departure from its original
journalistic remit, was as much pragmatic as it was principled. By the mid
1990s, it was clear that the big social marketing and other large scale
communication programmes focused on preventing the spread of HIV were
failing."

"The story of the response to AIDS was in my view a catastrophic systemic
failure by the international community and I have always been puzzled why no
real international enquiry has been held into how an epidemic that affected
perhaps a few million people in 1985 could end up infecting more than 30
million."


The full blog is at
http://www.comminit.com/policy-blogs/content/memoriam-panos-london


Michael - Please do review this blog. We look forward to your comments and
critique.


Best wishes - Warren


Warren Feek
Executive Director
The Communication Initiative

http://www.comminit.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/warrencomminit
Facebook: The Communication Initiative Network
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Communication-Initiative-Network/344005148
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LinkedIn: Warren Feek

Skype: Warren Feek
Office - 1-250-658-6372
Mobile 1-250-588-8795
Fax 1-250-658-1728


!DSPAM:2676,50cc7dad25489493711174!


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