1997 Volume 11 No. 1 lev F >arr! mm By Donald Guambe and Arnold Sheppers Cultural Enginering and Development •avi Drama: An Appropriate Tool in Development Felix Fandyroy A African Council for Communication Education Copyright © 1997 (ACCE) Nairobi, Kenya ISSN 0258-4913 Africa Media Review provides a forum for the study of communication theory, practice and policy in African countries. It is published three times a year by the ACCE Institute for Communication Development and Research, P. O. Box 47495, Nairobi, Kenya. Telephone:254-2- 227043/216135/215270/334244 ext.28068 Tefax: 254-02- 216135 E-mail: acceb@arcc.or.ke acceb@fonn-nct.com Correspondence and Advertising Authors should send contributions to the Managing Editor, ACCE Institute for Communication Development and Research, P. O. Box 47495, Nairobi, Kenya. Books for review, book review articles and all other matters regarding AMR should be sent to the same address. Annual Subscription Rate Africa US$45:00 Outside Africa US$60:00 These rates include packaging and postage. Single copies are US$ 15:00 within Africa and US$ 20:00 outside Africa. Cheques and money orders should be made payable to African Council for Communication Education and sent to the above address. Special arrangements will be entered into where applicable for subscribers in Africa through their nearest ACCE national co- ordinator. ACCE institutional and individual members receive AMR as part of mem- bership privileges. Managing Editor Dr Charles Okigbo, African Council for Communication Education, Nairobi, Kenya. Editorial Assistant Charles Nyambuga, African Council for Communication Education, Nairobi, Kenya. Circulation Miss Lydia Gachungi, African Council for Communication Education, Nairobi, Kenya. ACCE President Mr Polycarp Omolo Ochilo, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Comments on this Issue This issue of AMR is designed to explore the intricate relationship between communication and culture. Keyan Tomaselli provides a succinct summary of all the other units in his lucid explanation of why governments do not listen. In the end, it is not only the governments that fail to use the results of participatory communication research. In their unit which deals with developing cultural policy research programmes, Guambe and Shepperson argue for a broad-based approach with focus on media types, regulation and message dissemination, at regional and national levels. Warren Parker's unit on action media is a good illustration of planned communication for social change in the health sector. It is a useful contribution to the evolving knowledge of social marketing and IEC. Writing on "Cultural Engineering and Development", David Kerr addresses the important issue of using indigenous cultural forms to promote development. This complements Lynn Dalrymple's unit on the uses of traditional cultural forms in community education. Felix Muyo's unit argues for better use of drama as a communication tool in development and positive social change. Each of the units presents interesting insights to the discussion of the catalytic roles of culture in development and communication. Table of Contents 1 Action Research, Participatory Communication: Why Governments Don't Listen By Keyan G. Tomaselli 10 Recherche d'Action, Communication Participative: Pourquoi les Governements ne Font pas Attention Par Keyan G. Tomaselli 18 Developing Cultural Policy Research Programmes: A Focus on the Material Communities of Cultural Practice By Donald Guambe and Arnold Shepperson 45 Action Media: Consultation, Collaboration and Empowerment in Health Promotion By Warren Parker 64 Cultural Engineering and Development By David Kerr 75 The Use of Traditional Cultural Forms in Community Education By Lynn Dalrymple 92 Drama: An Appropriate Tool in Development Support Communication By Felix Fandyroy Moyo Theme: Culture and Communication Theme Editors: Keyan G Tomaselli Director, Centre for Cultural and Media Studies University of Natal, Durban and Emmanuel Kasongo Development Communication Specialist, Centre for Cultural and Media Studies, University of Natal, Durban April 1997