IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/122801.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Transformative Communication in Development Organisation: Strategic Engagement and Celebrity Influence

Author

Listed:
  • Xu, Tao

Abstract

This essay uncovers the evolving paradigm of communication for development, then with a focus on the strategic engagement of celebrity influence. Contextualised against the historical dominance of the Euro-Americentric modernisation discourse and with the multi-step communication framework, it situates celebrity engagement within a bidirectional model of information diffusion and participatory advocacy. The essay integrates the theoretical perspective with illustrative case studies to articulate the interplay between emotional resonance, mediated narratives, and public mobilisation. The findings reveal both the potential of celebrity influence to amplify development initiatives and the challenges posed by sensationalism and skepticism. Ultimately, it advances a call for strategic alignment between academic inquiry and institutional praxis, advocating for the positive celebrity influence to achieve cogent policy change in international development.

Suggested Citation

  • Xu, Tao, 2024. "Transformative Communication in Development Organisation: Strategic Engagement and Celebrity Influence," MPRA Paper 122801, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 26 Nov 2024.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:122801
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/122801/1/MPRA_paper_122801.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Lewis & Dennis Rodgers & Michael Woolcock, 2008. "The Fiction of Development: Literary Representation as a Source of Authoritative Knowledge," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(2), pages 198-216.
    2. Johnson, Glenn L. & Okigbo, Bede N., 1989. "Institutional-Building Lessons From Usaid'S Agricultural Faculty Development Projects In Nigeria," 1989 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 2, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 270715, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    3. John Cameron & Anna Haanstra, 2008. "Development Made Sexy: how it happened and what it means," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(8), pages 1475-1489.
    4. Jennifer Chapman & Thomas Fisher, 2000. "The effectiveness of NGO campaigning: Lessons from practice," Development in Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 151-165, May.
    5. Dan Brockington, 2014. "The production and construction of celebrity advocacy in international development," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 88-108, January.
    6. Glenn L. Johnson & Bede N. Okigbo, 1989. "Institution-Building Lessons from USAID's Agricultural Faculty Development Projects in Nigeria," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 71(5), pages 1211-1218.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eicher, Carl K. & Rukuni, Mandivamba, 1996. "Reflections On Agrarian Reform And Capacity Building In South Africa," Staff Paper Series 11703, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    2. Eicher, Carl K., 1999. "Institutions and the African Farmer," Distinguished Economist Lectures 7660, CIMMYT: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.
    3. Eicher, Carl & Haggblade, Steven, 2013. "The Evolution of Agricultural Education and Training: Global Insights of Relevance for Africa," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 183417, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    4. Eicher, C K & Rukuni, M, 1990. "Zimbabwe's Experience in Restructuring Institutions to Support Communal Farmers: Lessons for Namibia," 1990 Symposium, Agricultural Restructuring in Southern Africa, July 24-27, 1990, Swakopmund, Namibia 183522, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. John D. Cameron & Emmanuel Solomon & William Clarke, 2022. "Soundtracks of Poverty and Development: Music, Emotions and Representations of the Global South," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(2), pages 785-805, April.
    6. Eicher, Carl K., 2004. "Rebuilding Africa'S Scientific Capacity In Food And Agriculture," Staff Paper Series 11543, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    7. Byerlee, D., 2024. "How Michigan State University Became a Leader in African Agricultural Economics: A Personal Memoir," Staff Paper Series 345227, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    8. Palash Kamruzzaman, 2017. "Understanding the Role of National Development Experts in Development Ethnography," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 35(1), pages 39-63, January.
    9. David Beer, 2014. "Hip-Hop as Urban and Regional Research: Encountering an Insider's Ethnography of City Life," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 677-685, March.
    10. Alfred Ndi, 2011. "Why Liberal Capitalism Has Failed to Stimulate a Democratic Culture in Africa," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 27(2), pages 177-200, June.
    11. David Lewis & Dennis Rodgers & Michael Woolcock, 2013. "The Projection of Development: Cinematic Representation as A(nother) Source of Authoritative Knowledge?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(3), pages 383-397, March.
    12. Filippo Menga & Michael K. Goodman, 2022. "The High Priests of Global Development: Capitalism, Religion and the Political Economy of Sacrifice in a Celebrity‐led Water Charity," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(4), pages 705-735, July.
    13. Lucy Hewitt & Stephen Graham, 2015. "Vertical cities: Representations of urban verticality in 20th-century science fiction literature," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(5), pages 923-937, April.
    14. Murat Arsel & Bram Büscher, 2015. "Forum 2015," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 46(4), pages 949-960, July.
    15. Amrita Chhachhi & Alaka M. Basu, 2014. "Demography for the Public: Literary Representations of Population Research and Policy," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(5), pages 813-837, September.
    16. Richey, Lisa Ann & Ponte, Stefano, 2021. "Brand Aid and coffee value chain development interventions: Is Starbucks working aid out of business?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    17. David Lempert, 2014. "Popular Fiction and Development Studies," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 30(4), pages 389-414, December.
    18. Kimberly N. Hill‐Tout & Roberta Hawkins, 2023. "Accessorizing development: Fundraising bracelets for International Development as a New Development Responsibility," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 2046-2066, October.
    19. Kamna Patel, 2022. "Being Cosmopolitan: Marketing Development Studies in the Neoliberal University," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 22(3), pages 222-238, July.
    20. Sara Kinsbergen & Dirk-Jan Koch & Christine Plaisier & Lau Schulpen, 2022. "Long-Lasting, But Not Transformative. An Ex-post Sustainability Study of Development Interventions of Private Development Initiatives," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(1), pages 51-76, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    celebrity; communication for development; development organisation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
    • Z18 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Public Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:122801. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.